• .This is possible thanks to the conditions Mexico has been modeling with structural reforms, changes to boost the country’s development and growth that permit the attraction of greater investment, he said.
  • This investment joins those in other areas. In the last round of tenders, as a result of Energy Reform, the participating companies committed investments for $8 billion USD, he said.
  • Today we are pleased to see that the growth rate Mexico has had in the first four months is greater than analysts expected: 2.8 per cent.

President Enrique Peña Nieto, today led a meeting with the Association of Real Estate Developers (ADI), at which he declared that, “Real estate infrastructure is the projection of development Mexico is experiencing”.

"If we did not have these changes in the urban face of our cities, as is the case today, it would mean that as a country we are not growing, that there has been no economic, social or political progress, which Mexico is in fact experiencing,” he said.

The president said that the country’s real estate developers, “Have made a great commitment to what they think lies ahead of Mexico, hence the significant investment they have made in various developments”.

He recalled that on the first occasion he met with the ADI, “They had made a commitment to invest $16 billion USD over the next six years”.

He said that almost five years later, “The investment you committed has doubled and now stands at $32 billion USD.

This is possible thanks to the conditions Mexico has been striving to achieve through structural reforms, changes to boost the country’s development and growth to attract further investment,” he said.

He added that this investment joins those in other areas. “We have just seen this in the last round of tenders, as a result of Energy Reform, where participating companies pledged investments for $8 billion USD”.

He also added that, “We have obtained the commitment of Mexican companies that belong to the Business Coordinating Council and the Mexican Business Council, for billions of pesos to be materialized precisely this year”.

He stressed that all these investments have meant that, “Today we have growth rates exceeding our expectations”.

When it began this year, he continued, “We were aware of a frankly complex, difficult scenario for the international environment”. However, “Today we are pleased to see that the growth rate Mexico has had in the first four months is greater than analysts expected: 2.8 per cent”.

THE GOVERNMENT HAS BEEN WORKING TO BRING CREDIT TO MORE MEXICAN FAMILIES

President Peña Nieto highlighted, “The government’s effort to make housing more affordable for Mexican families”.

He declared that, “FOVISSSTE (the Housing Fund of the Institute of Social Security and Services of State Workers) increased the average amount of its credits by 32 percent and also expanded the universe of beneficiaries to include groups that did not have access to financing”.

He said that INFONAVIT (the Institute of the National Housing Fund for Workers), the world’s fourth largest mortgage lender, “has granted almost 2.5 million loans, and it is hoped that by the end of this Administration, next year, one out of every three credits that the INFONAVIT has historically granted will have been awarded during this Administration”.

“This speaks of the government’s will and aim of bringing credit to more Mexican families, so that they can find the opportunity to build their homes and have decent housing,” he said.

The president said that in order for real estate projects to be successful, “Economic stability, legal certainty and a proper regulatory framework is required”.

“My government is aware of its responsibility to ensure that these conditions are met, and I believe we have been making the effort required to achieve this goal,” he said.

He instructed, “Various departments, whose directors are here today, to redouble their efforts and act in a coordinated way, in order to facilitate the successful development of private investment and productive activities”.

He reiterated his, “Firm commitment to continue channeling all public effort towards the consolidation and strengthening of the real estate sector in our country”.

After the event, the president walked to Manuel Ávila Camacho Hall, where he saw models of the various projects designed by the Real Estate Developers’ Association.

REAL ESTATE DEVELOPMENT CREATES NEW JOBS AND PROMOTES THE GROWTH OF THE ECONOMY: JOSÉ ANTONIO MEADE

Secretary of Finance and Public Credit José Antonio Meade Kuribreña said that, “Thanks to the structural reforms and investments resulting from this process of renewed confidence, Mexico is growing and moving towards a better future”.

“This confidence is shared by investors and, above all, those who use their savings and take out a mortgage loan to buy a house, an apartment, an office or a commercial locale”.

He declared that, “Real estate development promotes the growth of the economy. For three consecutive years, building GDP has grown above national GDP and lends dynamism to over 40 industries such as iron, steel, cement, wood and aluminum”.

He added that, “Real estate development creates new jobs in both the construction sector and other sectors that trigger employment, and more or less 8.4 of the formal sectors throughout the country are linked to this activity and have been growing at a rate of 10 percent per year. The projects they will invest in this year will help trigger the creation of two thousand new jobs and will do it both this year and next year”.

“Mexico’s strength lies in Mexicans themselves. Today our strength lies in our internal market, in its strength and dynamism. That is why we are happy that our friends from ADI are here, trusting in Mexico, and translating that trust into investments that will generate prosperity,” he said.

THE CONSTRUCTION SECTOR IS NOW ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT PILLARS OF OUR COUNTRY’S ECONOMY: ROSARIO ROBLES

Rosario Robles Berlanga, Secretary of Agrarian, Territorial and Urban Development (SEDATU), said that, “ADI has clearly demonstrated that the construction sector is now one of the most important pillars of our country’s economy,” and said that it creates employment and involves national industries and companies.

She said that the New General Law of Human Settlements, Territorial Ordering and Urban Development, “Consolidates the vision this government has proposed since day one: the need for major urban reform”. It is, she said, the, “vision to achieve better urban planning, increase mobility, generate infrastructure works and build sustainable, productive and compact cities”.

She pointed out that the housing sector has undergone radical changes since the president's arrival. "A sector that was in crisis, a sector that was losing jobs, that was declining, whose main companies had left the stock market, is now a strong sector that contributes significantly to the Gross Domestic Product, which maintains three million jobs annually.” Thanks to the changes, particularly in INFONAVIT and FOVISSSTE, housing can now be purchased in Mexico City. “After many years, 20,000 homes will be built in Mexico City for its workers”.

She pointed out that, “The rights approach, particularly, the right to the city, prevails in this sector, as well as in SEDATU and in national housing organizations, as the guiding principle,” adding that the Secretariat she directs will continue to collaborate to revive and diversify the housing market, as pledged in the National Agreement for the Strengthening of Housing, and emphasizing care for the population that demands immediate solutions.

WE NEED TO WORK TOGETHER TO ESTABLISH AN URBAN POLICY TO ACT MEET THE CHALLENGES WE FACE: SALVADOR DANIEL KABBAZ ZAGA

President of the Association of Real Estate Developers Salvador Daniel Kabbaz Zaga said that today more than ever Mexico needs to work to shape an urban policy that addresses and solves the challenges we face: mobility, sustainability and security, as well as the promotion of values such as legality, fairness, equity and transparency.

After announcing the achievements of this Association, he declared that the demand for housing continues to be another important challenge in the sector, since this year alone, the Federal Mortgage Society estimates a demand for 4.2 million new homes. “It is therefore necessary to review the housing rental regulations and continue to provide facilities and incentives to purchase housing”.

Noting that ADI has a great responsibility and commitment to transparency and that combating corruption is a fundamental pillar of that organization, he told President Enrique Peña Nieto: “Count on us as an ally in the promotion and fulfillment of these values”.

 “On behalf of the 79 members of ADI, I wish to reiterate our commitment to Mexico. In us, you will always find a reliable, professional interlocutor, ready to forge alliances to boost the investments and economic growth the country requires,” declared Sergio Kabbaz Zaga.