First speakers and programme announced for the PropertyGuru Malaysia Real Estate Summit 2017

Experts will explore how the future of Malaysian real estate is shaping up

PropertyGuru Group, Asia’s foremost online property company, has released the first round of speakers who will share valuable insights at the PropertyGuru Malaysia Real Estate Summit 2017, which takes place on 16 August at InterContinental Kuala Lumpur.

The forward-looking theme of the conference is ‘Shaping the future of Malaysian real estate’ prompted by the need for the industry leaders to look ahead and construct a sustainable industry that’s currently witnessing market consolidation and a mixed performance.

Sigrid Zialcita, managing director and head of Asia Pacific research at Cushman & Wakefield, will give a talk called ‘Turning a negative into a positive: What can be learnt from the depreciation of a currency?’ Focusing on the impact of a devalued ringgit on the property sector, Zialcita will discuss how the country’s currency fluctuation work at a time when there seems to be a slowdown in luxury segment and ever-growing demand in affordable housing.

A closer look at the market

Based in Singapore, the veteran speaker is a staple at PropertyGuru events and conferences. “We need PropertyGuru and other companies to be really looking closely at the market – it’s the only way to support this business and sort of upgrade how we do things in the industry,” Zialcita said.

Joining the line-up is Iain Twine, chief executive officer at Edelman South East Asia and Australasia, who will examine the state of the Malaysian property sector in his session ‘The key to being competitive in a crowded market’ and how a strong marketing strategy can transform a good product into an outstanding one to move ahead the competition.

More: Industry leaders will ‘educate, innovate and inspire’ at PropertyGuru Asia Real Estate Summit

Industry best practices will be covered by a panel discussion featuring Dexter See, managing director for RICS (Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors) in ASEAN. See’s forum ‘The increasing costs of being a developer’ will take on burning issues such as rising land prices, construction and building material costs, government-led financial schemes, and fast-tracking development period. The discussion will be moderated by an expert from BDO Advisory Limited.

The next decade of real estate

Four chief executives from some of Malaysia’s top real estate development firms – all winning companies at the PropertyGuru Asia Property Awards (Malaysia) series – will jump ahead into the future by comparing with other industry leaders how they foresee the next decade of Malaysian real estate, and how that vision can be achieved.

In the forum called ‘Meet the CEO’s: Our 10-year real estate vision’ to be moderated by PropertyGuru Property Report’s head of publishing Liam Aran Barnes, the confirmed panelists are:

• Dr James Tee, CEO, Medini Iskandar
• Mohd Salem Kailany, CEO, PNB Development Sdn. Berhad (PNBD)
• KK Wong, CEO, UMLand – Seri Austin, Malaysia
• Anwar Syahrin Abdul Ajib, CEO, UEM Sunrise Berhad

“The PropertyGuru Malaysia Real Estate Summit programme will provide insights to stakeholders from prominent industry personalities and thought leaders,” said Terry Blackburn, founder and managing director of PropertyGuru Asia Property Awards and Property Report magazine, who is spearheading the conference.

More: Race for the Asia Property Awards (Malaysia) gold begins

More than 100 regional experts, C-level executives and senior managers from the real estate, design, finance and government sectors are expected to participate in the conference, which takes place a day before the fourth annual PropertyGuru Asia Property Awards (Malaysia) gala dinner.

Highly praised conference series

The PropertyGuru Malaysia Real Estate Summit 2017 is part of the PropertyGuru Asia Real Estate Summit conference series, which will also hold events in Thailand (14 September, Plaza Athenee Bangkok), Indonesia (11 October, Fairmont Jakarta), and Singapore (7-8 November, Sands Expo and Convention Centre).

Supported by PropertyGuru’s market-leading websites – PropertyGuru.com.my in Malaysia, DDproperty.com in Thailand, Rumah.com in Indonesia, and PropertyGuru.com.sg in Singapore – the conference programme succeeds the company’s highly praised Property Report Congress series in 2015 and 2016.

Speaking, sponsorship and media partnership opportunities are now available. For bookings and enquiries, contact [email protected].

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