Business Trip for KCB S&L Developers Club

Over 40 members of the KCB S&L Mortgages Developers Club will be attending the 108th Canton fair in Guangzhou, China next week. Speaking during the briefing the KCB Group Chairman Peter W. Muthoka said that the trip comes just after five months when another team of 47 members visited commercially-endowed Guangzhou province and the cities of Chingping and Chengdu.

“While in China, the members will visit various construction sites, meet suppliers of building materials, furniture and textiles relating to the construction industry in order to learn more about modern trends in construction and appreciate the new advanced construction technologies that are available in other parts of the world,” he said.

Guangzhou is known for its exquisite exhibitions of construction machinery, household electrical appliances, lighting equipment, building and decorative materials, sanitary and bathroom equipment among other fixtures and appliances.

The S&L Developers Club was launched last year to support growth of the construction sector through provision of affordable mortgage facilities and creation of value-adding partnerships.

“KCB is proud to be providing such opportunities for exposure and networking through S&L Developers Club as part of our efforts to build stronger relationships with our clients,” said the Chairman.

The KCB Group Deputy Chief Executive Peter Munyiri said KCB S&L mortgages offers one of the most competitive interest rates in the market at 13.5% and recently negotiated with East African Portland Cement Company for members to buy cement at a 5% discount on factory price.
“We shall continue to work in partnership with our members and other players in the industry for the good of our respective businesses,” he added.
KCB is the largest commercial bank in the region with presence in Kenya, Tanzania, Southern Sudan, Uganda and Rwanda with branch network of 212 spread regionally, with asset base of Sh226billion and capital base of Sh35bilion.

The Deputy Chief Executive said that KCB will continue to make mortgage financing accessible to the market through the large branch network and work with other players to make the cost of acquiring residential and commercial property reachable to the middle class in the region.
“Together we shall continue to lobby for better policy environment to support development of affordable housing and commercial property for low income earners to underpin Kenya’s and East Africa’s economic development into the future,” he added.

The Divisional Director for S&L Mortgages Mrs. Caroline Kariuki said housing development is important for achievement of Kenya’s Vision 2030.
“Kenya requires an annual development of 150,000 new housing units yet we barely make a third of that number, she added.

Mrs. Kariuki explained that the difference is driven by high cost of construction materials and the inhibitive costs of construction materials which make it unaffordable to a common man.
“I would urge developers to show inventiveness by embracing cheaper high quality construction technologies,” she said.