Dr. Sudhir Ruparelia is the founder and Chairman of the Ruparelia Group, one of Uganda’s largest business conglomerates with investments in financial services, real estate, education, hospitality, agriculture and broadcasting. He is also arguably Uganda’s richest businessman. CEO East Africa’s Muhereza Kyamutetera sat down with him for take on various business issues.
A number of analysts have made different takes on the economy and where it is headed. Being one of Uganda’s largest players in the economy should give you a better and more grounded take on the economy; what are your thoughts on our economy today?
Two – three years ago, things were quite tough; am sure you have seen that the economy grew by about 2.5% in 2016 but recovered in 2017 and 2018 to grow at about 5% and 6% for 2017 and 2018 respectively, according to figures from ministry of finance and IMF.
I also know that the Central Bank eased down on its monetary policy and as such, commercial banks have responded generally by cutting interest rates and increasing lending. I can say the situation has improved and the private sector is more optimistic than it was 2 years ago. I also believe there is room to even improve that by further easing down on interest rates, so the economy can recover fully.
We hope in the next budget, this June, the ministry of finance can announce further measures to further stimulate the economy.
Specifically for the Ruparelia Group, would you say the last 1-2 years have been good?
As you know, we are a multi-sectoral entity- so some sectors have done better than the others- but across the board I can say things are looking up.
First of all I must say that as a group we are confident in this economy which is why we continue to invest and reinvest in Uganda. Whatever challenges there are, we have come to accept that, that is the nature of business. There is no economy without challenges; so we just have to learn how to navigate around them and wake up each day with the hope and optimism that things will get better.
From the hospitality front we recently added a number of investments- we completed Speke Apartments at Wampewo, in early 2018 as well as completed the remodeling of Speke Resort Hotel in Munyonyo, creating 45 world-class suites for both long and short stays.
We also recently completed Speke Apartments, Kitante- a set of 83 one and two-bedroom fully furnished apartments. We also in the year announced plans to construct a one of a kind Speke Resort and Convention Centre, Entebbe- a trail blazing hotel, with a marina and convention centre that will fully transform Entebbe town.
We also recently completed renovations at Kabira Country Club.
Our efforts were also rewarded with major global and local recognition. Other than hosting major global and local events and conventions, group hotels won several awards.
Recently Commonwealth Resort Munyonyo and Speke Resort Munyonyo won the coveted 2018 World Luxury Hotel Awards regional and country categories respectively. Speke Resort was also awarded the 2018 “Certificate of Excellence” by Trip Advisor for the fourth consecutive time since 2015.
We also got recognition from Africa’s 8th richest man, Mr. Strive Masiyiwa who said Speke Resort Munyonyo and the adjoining Commonwealth Resort should be named the “the official African Conference Centre” for its “amazing” beauty and unique meetings, incentives, conferencing, exhibitions (MICE) solutions.
Speke Resort Munyonyo was also recognized as the best Service and Luxury Business Hotel – in the Ekkula Pearl of Africa Tourism Awards, where I was also recognised as a Lifetime Tourism Achiever.
We are humbled by all these recognitions; they are surely an inspiration to do better each day for the group but also do our country Uganda proud, because as a group, we can only be as successful as the nation where we are domiciled.
On the education front, Kampala Parents School had all its 234 pupils who sat the 2018 Primary Leaving Exams passing in first grade. We believe, this was driven by the group’s $7 million facelift, expansion and re-equipping of the school.
In real estate, we had many major milestones- but the biggest and most iconic is the completion of the Kingdom Kampala Mall; an ultra-modern mixed-use Grade A property- a blend of 4,000m2 of retail and 18,000m2 of office space, 4,000m2 of retail as well as parking for up to 450 cars.
These are some of the more monumental successes by the group and we thank all our staff and customers for their individual input- we are what we are because of them.
In 2016, BoU of Uganda closed Crane Bank, one of the group’s iconic businesses- a development that many people thought would mark the beginning of the end of the Ruparelia Group. How did the closure of Crane Bank impact the group?
As you are aware, we are in court contesting what we believe was an unjustified closure of our bank, but also the rushed, negligent and fraudulent manner in which it was closed. So there is only much we can say at this moment as the matter is sub judice.
However, our claims have so far been proven by the findings of the Auditor General and Parliament’s Commissions, Statutory Authorities and State Enterprises (COSASE) who found out that the closure of Crane Bank and 6 other banks before that, breached several provisions of the Financial Institutions Act (2004) and was therefore illegal.
That said, as a Group, we are determined to defend both our integrity and that which belongs to us. We are also determined to expose the wrong doing by some of these entities that were involved in the fraudulent and illegal closures- because we know that it is not only us who were affected but many other Ugandans.
Many analysts have told of a real estate bubble coming soon- yet we see continued investment in the sector. As largest developer of commercial and residential space in Uganda, what’s your take on investing in real estate? Is it still viable?
Every sector has its highs and lows but like most other entrepreneurs have said before, if you want to invest, you need to go mainly for the basics of life i.e. food, shelter, clothing etc. These seem to have infinite demand.
SHAKEN BUT NOT STIRRED: An artist’s impression of Dr Sudhir’s planned 5-star Speke Resort and Convention Centre, in Entebbe, said to be his best hotel project. Dr. Sudhir maintains that despite a few bumps caused by Crane Bank’s unjust closure, the Ruparelia Group is both solid financially and committed to Uganda- where several multimillion dollar real estate and hospitality projects are in the works.
Therefore, real estate, even with its highs and lows is a good sector to invest in with average 8%-12% returns on investment- as long as you get the fundamental right.
The construction & real estate sector, continues to attract a lot of attention from the banking sector- accounting for over 20% of all private sector credit- in fact it is the biggest recipient of private sector credit, followed by the trade sector.
Most of this money is being directed to the demand side- 70 percent of all lending goes to financing residential and commercial mortgages, an indicator that demand is there.
Industry and group insights show, occupancy rates of above 80% for Grade A and B office space in Kampala and above 70% for warehouses. Residential occupancy rates in both the upscale suburbs and metropolitan suburbs also remain above 80%. If the projections of 6% growth in the coming years, come to pass- the sector should remain vibrant.
That said, the key tenets in the business remain: location and quality. That is the hallmark of the business if you want to make it big.
What are your parting shots? What advice would you like to give to Ugandans especially entrepreneurs?
I would like to tell especially the youths and the young entrepreneurs to get down and get their hands dirty.
Uganda, like every other country has its own challenges and opportunities; but the future belongs to those who go after the opportunities not the ones that are always whining about the challenges.
Government has invested significantly in roads, electricity generation and distribution- which are all factors of production. It is now up to us as Ugandans to put in our all and make the best use of these, all the challenges regardless.
The youth of today are blessed to be born in the era of the internet- there is boundless opportunities there.
Lastly, I would like to urge government to work towards closing the long awaited oil & gas opportunities. Many investors have made projections and investments based on that opportunity, the longer it takes to materialize the more these investors will be hard pressed.
I also expect government will pay more focus on settling its domestic creditors, as this could add more pulse to the economy.