MTD TV Value-Add Forum Opens Tuesday with Link REIT Interview

Mingtiandi’s Asia Value-Add Real Estate Forum gets under way early Tuesday with an exclusive interview with George Hongchoy, chief executive officer of Link Asset Management on MTD TV.

Hongchoy, whose firm manages Asia’s largest real estate investment trust, Link REIT, joins us in the first session in our three-part value-add real estate series on MTD TV, as we investigate how Asia’s most successful fund managers boost returns from existing assets.

During the one-hour interview at 10:00 am Hong Kong time on 30 March, the head of the HK$199 billion ($25.6 billion) trust will sit down for a talk with Mingtiandi founder Michael Cole, to cover not only how Link REIT enhances yield from its existing portfolio in Hong Kong and mainland China, but also how the trust manager is approaching its new remit to invest in other parts of Asia Pacific and the UK.

Green Yields

With Link REIT having been one of the pioneers of green financing for real estate in Asia, the impact of sustainability loans and bonds on investors’ debt options will also be on the menu for Tuesday’s talk, which is sponsored by Yardi.

With Link REIT among Asia’s largest retail landlords, and after the trust made its latest mall investment in Shanghai this month, viewers can also look forward to questions on the future of retail in Greater China and beyond.

Following the spotlight interview, there will be a question-and-answer session for audience participants to dig deeper into any of the topics discussed.

China Panel on 7 April

Following the lead interview session, Mingtiandi’s deep dive into value-add opportunities will continue on Wednesday 7 April with a China-focused panel, looking at how investors are making value-add work on the mainland. Learn more here.

Our panel for this first-ever event includes Gaw Capital managing director Johnny Shao, who leads the fund manager’s China operations from Shanghai; Don Tan, managing director for fund management with Kailong; Francis Li, head of capital markets for Greater China at Cushman & Wakefield, and Megan Hu, managing director of mainland private equity real estate firm WorldUnion Investment.

Core Cities Talk on 12 April

The final session in the value-add series is set for Monday, 12 April, and centres on how fund managers and developers are achieving premium returns from existing assets through strategic enhancements.

The core cities panel includes Stephen Tang, head of value-add and opportunistic real estate for Asia Pacific at ARA Asset Management; Andrew MacPherson, head of asset development for Asia Pacific at JLL; Gordon Marsden, regional director for APAC capital markets at Cushman & Wakefield; and Jason Lee, chief investment officer for APAC at AEW.

In the one hour panel, the group of veteran investors and advisors will be revealing lessons learned from successful projects, including how investors are leveraging energy saving features and new technologies to reduce operating costs and attract top level tenants at both commercial and residential projects in the region. Learn more here.

Multi-Family on the Way, Logistics in July

The value-add series is among the eight forums organised by Mingtiandi this year and will be followed in the coming months by sessions focusing multi-family strategies and logistics investments around the region.

With rental residential opportunities having proved to be some of the most pandemic-proof strategies, Mingtiandi’s Multi-Family Forum will start on 29 April with a spotlight interview, to be followed by panel discussions set to cover the markets in Greater China and Japan, as well as a dedicated session focused on emerging rental residential classes.

Speakers from Warburg Pincus, SC Capital and JLL are already scheduled to speak at the rental accommodation event, with more top executives expected to confirm in the coming weeks. Details on the multi-family event are available here.

Perhaps the only asset class hotter than rental apartments this year is logistics, and Mingtiandi’s Asia Logistics Forum will be bringing you insights from the region’s biggest players starting from 29 June.

Speakers from Logos Property, SC Capital and JLL are already confirmed for this five-session series, and more details on the forum are available here.

Stay tuned later this year for discussions on sustainability, data centres, office strategies and proptech. A full schedule is available on Mingtiandi’s MTD TV event calendar here.