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Africa Weekly\Business

Out of Asia and into Africa

By Pan Zhongming | China Daily Africa | Updated: 2017-03-24 08:35

After living in Japan for 16 years, Zhang Liqiang, CEO of Panestate Development, says his affection for Kenya can be summarized in three Cs: climate, career and culture.

Zhang, who is originally from Fuqing, Fujian province, went to Japan in 1995 and stayed until 2010. He was so accustomed to the environment there that he wanted to find a similar place to set up his own business after leaving.

Kenya is the place.

"I love the climate here in Kenya," he says. "The sky is blue and the clouds are as white as cotton, which entices me to stay on. Nairobi, the capital city has a lot of forest coverage."

Zhang says that when he saw the golf courses, the lawns and the trees in Nairobi, he made up his mind to stay.

Earlier, in 2012, Zhang's friend began to explore the real estate market in Kenya. They formed a three-way partnership that included a civil engineer and registered Panestate Development Ltd. The move, in fact, followed in the footsteps of China Wuyi, which is among the six largest Chinese construction companies in the country.

Market surveys at the time indicated that the real estate industry would experience growth in 10 years, providing a big space for investment and profit. In its first year, the company purchased several pieces of land in the capital.

Out of Asia and into Africa

"We think the real estate market in Kenya is yet to boom," Zhang says. "In Japan, the market is quite mature and prices for land are relatively fixed. Prices in Kenya are more flexible. So I chose the property sector as my new Kenyan career."

Construction on the first property in the Kelilishwa area of Nairobi started in March 2015. For convenience in overseeing the project, Zhang moved to Nairobi. After two years of construction, the property, Rose Garden, is nearly complete.

"As for the operation of the Rose Garden, we decided to turn it into serviced apartments to cater to local demand," Zhang says. "This requires decorating to a high standard, and all the details are given great attention during the final touch."

As the project approaches completion, it is attracting many property management companies.

"We're likely to have a contract with a local property management company this week," Zhang says. "The handover is due by the end of May."

Rose Garden is a twin-tower design with nine floors, plus two elevated floors, and covering 10,300 square meters. The two buildings have 76 suites.

"The leasing business in Kenya is quite active," Zhang says. "There is huge demand for house leasing, as many UN organizations are headquartered in Nairobi. The UN officials form the biggest market. Plus, because it's the capital city, people working in foreign embassies tend to lease houses."

"Nairobi is a melting pot of different cultures," Zhang says, adding Kenya is also a tourism attraction known for wild animal migrations.

(China Daily Africa Weekly 03/24/2017 page27)

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