Real Estate Investor Magazine South Africa Real Estate Investor Magazine - May 2017 | Page 57

Guptas while he was in charge of Eskom. The politics of
The Republic never ceases to amaze.
You’d do well to start moving your cash-based assets offshore to
try weather this latest Rand storm. It may be wise to sell some
Rands and buy some hard currency at this point. If things do turn
around in the medium-term, one can always repatriate them as
when it is prudent to do so.
Stay calm, think with your head, look offshore
The recent Rand rally will most likely become a distant
memory in the near future. History will likely confirm
that its run was built on speculation and opportunists
seeking high yields in our money markets.
The Rand was thus overvalued relative to its emerging
market peers and was probably about fairly valued
against the basket of so-called hard currencies.
Now, with the latest political upheaval it could well be
time for the embattled currency to swing the other way.
www.reimag.co.za
As the fallout from this debacle develops, we will likely
see a long run of Rand devaluation driven by the brazen,
arrogant decisions made by the South African President
in the last month.
Things may be bad, but don’t let them get
worse
Get out of your comfort zone and act now. Use the
generous annual offshore investment allowances that
the South African Reserve Bank has made available to
private citizens while you still can. Who knows how long
these will remain in place.
Property has always been a safe-haven investment.
However, the local repo-rate is likely to start climbing
in the wake of South Africa’s new junk status and local
buyers are weary to go wading in right now. Offshore
property purchases may seem expensive, but a well-
chosen offshore property could be the smart bet to help
you avoid the pains of a depreciating, volatile Rand.
RESOURCES
Sable International
MAY 2017 SA Real Estate Investor
53