Musings From Abroad

Canada freezes out foreign house ownership for two years

Published

3 years ago

April 12, 2022

Foreigners wishing to buy homes in Canada will have to wait for a while as the North American country has imposed a two-year ban on foreign property purchases in a bid to curb a market that has left home grown buyers in despair due to unfavourable competition.

The ban which also comes with other measures aimed at protecting homegrown business people, was announced on Monday by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s office, highlighted the huge price increases across Canada’s real estate market where prices have soared by more than 50 per cent in the past two years.

In announcing the ban on foreign home buying and higher taxes for people who sell their homes within a year, the government said both measures, however, hold exceptions, including for permanent residents and foreign students.

According to a recent report in Bloomberg, “home prices in Canada have surged more than 50 per cent over the past two years and the housing market had a record monthly increase in February as buyers acted before rate increases by the Bank of Canada, taking the benchmark price of a home to the equivalent of US$693,000.”

What the ban means for would-be homeowners in Canada, especially migrants from Africa, is they would not be able to purchase houses in the next two years.

And even when the ban expires, owning a home will be more stringent as the country plans to do away with the practice of “blind bidding” where offers are kept secret when someone is selling a home, only for higher bids to spring up to knock out the smaller bids.

The secret bidding is being blamed for accelerating price gains with properties often selling for hundreds of thousands of dollars over the asking price, leading to a bidding war often won by foreign investors.

Musings From Abroad

Brazilian meatpacker JBS invests $2.5 billion in Nigeria, builds six facilities

Published

22 hours ago

November 22, 2024

Ifeoluwa Dada

Brazilian meatpacker JBS says it has inked a memorandum of understanding with the Nigerian government for a $2.5 billion investment plan that will include the construction of six new plants in the African nation.

Three of the plants would deal in poultry, two in beef, and one in pork, according to a statement from JBS.

In accordance with the memorandum of understanding, JBS stated that it would develop a five-year investment plan in Nigeria, which would include budget estimates, feasibility studies, and an action plan for the development of the local supply chain.

The Nigerian government would then guarantee the sanitary, regulatory, and economic conditions required for the project’s viability, JBS continued.

Musings From Abroad

China’s Xi meets with Morocco’s Crown Prince

Published

22 hours ago

November 22, 2024

Ifeoluwa Dada

Morocco’s official media reports that Chinese President, Xi Jinping, visited Morocco briefly on Thursday.

According to Morocco’s MAP, Crown Prince Moulay El Hassan welcomed Xi in Casablanca. The visit demonstrated the close ties of camaraderie, collaboration, and solidarity between the Moroccan and Chinese peoples, it said.

China’s official broadcaster, CCTV, said that Xi and Hassan had a “cordial conversation” at the airport after being received by the Crown Prince and Moroccan Prime Minister Aziz Akhannouch.

After attending the G20 Summit in Brazil, Xi paid the visit.

In recent years, China has increased its investments in Morocco’s rail and infrastructure. Morocco is desirable for Chinese electric car battery manufacturers because of its proximity to Europe, free trade agreements with important EU and US markets, and an established automotive sector.

Morocco was chosen by Chinese EV battery company Gotion High Tech in June to establish Africa’s first gigafactory, which will cost $1.3 billion in total.