Eastern European-focused property stocks such as Nepi Rockastle, MAS Real Estate and EPP NV look set to reward investors in 2019 as they benefit from strong economic growth and improving rentals there, say two prominent fund managers. These companies have exposure to the likes of Poland, Romania and other countries in central and Eastern Europe, which have strong property fundamentals. The World Bank has projected that the Polish economy will grow about 3.9% in 2019 and 3.6% in 2020. It expects 3.5% and 3.1% from the Romanian economy in 2019 and 2020. This is while domestic property stocks are facing a barrage of challenges. South African fund managers expect the listed property sector to fall short of double-digit growth in 2019 as its counters battle with sluggish economic activity and rising electricity and other utility costs. Lawrence Koikoi, an analyst at Stanlib, said his team forecast total returns for the FTSE/JSE SA listed property sector (Sapy) in 2018 to be 9%- 10% with ...

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