Absa Sees East Africa Property Boom, Eyes Kenya Expansion

Absa Group Ltd., South Africa’s third-biggest lender, is seeing surging interest among real estate investors in East Africa and plans to bolster its balance sheet to meet demand for financing.

“Kenya is the most dynamic market” of Absa’s 11 operations outside South Africa, with the property market a key and growing component, said Sandile Mpanza, head of commercial property finance for Africa at the lender’s corporate and investment banking business. Given the size and diversified nature of Kenya’s $132 billion economy “we definitely see this as an anchor in the region,” he said.