The Johannesburg-based International Housing Solutions (IHS) has won a tender from the United States Overseas Private Investment Corporation (Opic) to commit $100 million - some $720 million - in funding to finance housing in developing states.

IHS is a joint venture between the United States' MuniMae - which arranges debt and equity financing for developers and owners of real estate - and top Irish property group Howard Eurocape.

IHS chief executives Cathal Conaty and Howard Eurocape and chairman Frank Gormley are prominent Irish investors in the company.

Having recently opened its Africa's head office in Rosebank, Johannesburg, IHS is using its experience in financing affordable housing to bring foreign capital and expertise to South Africa to boost the supply of urgently needed housing.

In a statement on Thursday, the company said that this would fund a large investment pool of up to a potential one billion US dollar (R7.2 billion) that would finance housing for low-and middle-income houses in Africa - including a significant portion to target South Africa - and the Middle East.

The statement pointed out that the housing shortfall in SA was estimated by the National Treasury at some 2.4 million homes. "The lack of finance has often been cited as one of the primary causes of this housing gap, particularly for people in the R3,000 to 8,000 a month income bracket who do not qualify for fully subsidized homes."

Opic is the US government-sponsored agency that supports US private investment in emerging markets. It provides funding from large structured finance transactions to small business loans, political risk insurance and other assistance to companies that, in turn, help promote the further economic development of developing countries.

"We are very excited to have won such a competitive tender and to be able to bring such large amounts of foreign investment into South Africa," said IHS managing director UK and Africa Soula Proxenos.

"IHS has already been speaking to several international institutional capital providers who are keen to participate. We have been introducing them to the South African market - there seems to be no end to the current wave of interest in investment in South Africa," said Proxenos.

IHS director: South Africa, Elize Stroebel, said IHS had identified several housing projects nationwide which are attractive investment targets. Some of these were focused on inner-city regeneration, particularly in Johannesburg, as well as on building up a stock of affordable rental housing.

"We believe there are many opportunities in which we can accelerate the current pace of regeneration of South Africa's cities," she noted. "We have been working on several deals that are in the approval process, and will be announcing them once they have been finalised."

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