Connecting Asia: PropertyGuru Asia Real Estate Summit 2017 in Singapore announces keynotes, speaker line-up

Premier gathering of global experts and thought leaders will cover Proptech, China’s One Belt One Road plan, and evolving markets

PropertyGuru, Asia’s foremost online property company, has announced the keynotes and guest speakers who will appear at the PropertyGuru Asia Real Estate Summit, which is set to take place on 7-8 November 2017 at the Sands Expo and Convention Centre at Marina Bay Sands in Singapore.

The C-suite event will gather more than 20 global experts, 40 industry leaders, and 100 delegates from around Asia to explore key topics such as property and technology (“Proptech”), the impact of China’s One Belt One Road (“OBOR”) initiative, and insights on the region’s evolving property markets.

Interested parties are now invited to register for the two-day conference on the official website.

With the theme “Connecting Asia: insights, innovation and evolving markets,” the PropertyGuru Asia Real Estate Summit will welcome keynotes from:

Day 1: Proptech – the future of real estate

• Dr. Liu Thai Ker, senior director of RSM Architects Planners & Engineers (Pte) Ltd and chairman, Centre for Liveable Cities
• Shailesh Rao, board director at JLL, and former vice-president at Twitter and managing director at Google India

Day 2: OBOR – what does China’s new Silk Road plan mean for you?

• Tom Miller, author and senior analyst at Gavekal Research
• Rafiq Jumabhoy, executive chairman at Orkney Investments

A renowned architect-planner and educator, Dr Liu Thai Ker will deliver the opening keynote of the two-day Summit and share his wisdom on urban development and responsible city planning earned over years as chief planner and CEO of Singapore’s Urban Development Authority, where one of his main achievements was leading the re-evaluation of the Singapore Concept Plan ’91.

Currently an adjunct professor of the School of Design & Environment and of the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, National University of Singapore, and Nanyang Technological University, Dr. Liu was awarded in 2015 the Singapore National Day Award – The Distinguished Service Order, the Singapore Design Council – Golden Jubilee Award, and the Singapore Institute of Planners Distinguished Lifetime Achievement Award.

JLL board director Shailesh Rao serves as the Proptech keynote speaker on Day 1. The accomplished digital expert is behind the development of some of today’s most-used digital products, including Google Maps and Google Earth, as well as growing Google’s YouTube business, earning the prestigious Google Founder’s Award for his work. Rao’s successful stint at Twitter introduced him to the world’s emerging markets and consumers.

Oxford-educated author and former journalist Tom Miller kicks off Day 2 with his keynote “One Belt One Road: China’s lion has woken – what this means for business across Asia.” The UK-based Miller spent more than a decade studying and living in Beijing and has written two acclaimed books on China’s urban migration and New Silk Road empire.

Rafiq Jumabhoy returns to the PropertyGuru Asia Real Estate Summit stage also on Day 2, following his participation in the Malaysia conference last August. With more than 35 years of experience in international real estate advisory and strategic planning, Jumabhoy is widely regarded as a pioneer in serviced apartments as an asset class. He is an honourary fellow at the National University of Singapore and was a main board member of Singapore Economic Planning Committee in the 1990s.

Additional speakers to look forward to at the PropertyGuru Asia Real Estate Summit include:

• Jack FitzGerald, founder of Disruptproperty.com, who is moderating a panel on disruptive technologies with: Hari Krishnan (CEO, PropertyGuru Group), Darvin Kurniawan (CEO, REIDAO), Julian Kwan (CEO, InvestaCrowd Ltd), and Dr John Leslie Millar (Chief Strategic Development Officer, Ananda Development)
• Chungha Cha, co-founder and chair of Re-Imagining Cities Foundation, who will lead a panel discussion on building smarter and more sustainable cities for the next generation

There will also be spotlight sessions featuring overseas experts who will provide on-the-ground and first-hand knowledge of:

• Mongolia – with Oliver Nicholl, director of research at Asia Pacific Investment Partners
• Sri Lanka – with Roshan Madawela, founder and CEO at Research Intelligence Unit
• OBOR: project of the century – with panel moderator Winston Lee, regional head of new projects, PropertyGuru
• ASEAN markets outlook and opportunities – featuring Asia Property Award-winners and recipients of the coveted Real Estate Personality of the Year honour
• Country roundtable discussions – featuring judges from the Asia Property Awards series
• Women in REC: Rising through the ranks – with Cyndy Tan Jarabata (CEO and President, Tajara Hospitality), Emilie Röell (Founder, Doh Eain), Emeritus Prof. Chitra Weddikkara (Managing Director, QServe Pte Ltd), Kamolpat Swaengkit (Thailand Country Manager, DDproperty.com), and Sigrid G. Zialcita (Managing Director, Research, AsiaPacific, Cushman & Wakefield)

Chaired by Amarit “Aim” Charoenphan, CEO and co-founder of Hubba Co-Working Space and Techsauce.co, the PropertyGuru Asia Real Estate Summit 2017 is supported by Singapore’s No.1 property website PropertyGuru.com.sg; media partners Oxford Business Group, and PropertyGuru Property Report, Asia’s leading luxury real estate, architecture and design publication; supporting association RICS: Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors; and marketing partner Disrupt Property.

The two-day PropertyGuru Asia Real Estate Summit in Singapore is the flagship event of the PropertyGuru Asia Real Estate Summit 2017 conference series, which began in Malaysia last August and continued in Thailand in September.

The Summit will be concurrently held alongside the PropertyGuru Asia Property Awards (Singapore) gala dinner on 7 November, and the seventh annual PropertyGuru Asia Property Awards Grand Final on 8 November, where the best in Asian real estate from more than 10 countries will be recognised at the black-tie finale event.

Sponsorship and media partnership opportunities for the Summit are still available. For enquiries, contact [email protected] or visit the official website: AsiaRealEstateSummit.com

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