CDPQ, Warburg Pincus, Hilton to Lead Fourth Annual Mingtiandi Singapore Forum on 13 May

Top executives from the world’s largest real estate investment firms will be gathering in Singapore on 13 May as Mingtiandi holds its fourth annual real estate conference in the Lion City.

Senior leaders from CDPQ, Warburg Pincus, Hilton and Scape Australia will headline the Mingtiandi Singapore Forum 2025, which is expected to attract 250 industry executives for the full-day programme at the Conrad Centennial Hotel.

Among the highlights of the agenda are a pair of spotlight interview sessions, including a talk on the future of life science real estate in Asia with former Abu Dhabi Investment Council executive Bart Price, who now serves as chief executive of Vita Partners, a Warburg Pincus-LendLease life sciences joint venture. Price will be joined on stage by Warburg Pincus principal Tag Yuxiang and CBRE executive Rimon Ambarchi.

Also appearing in a spotlight interview will be Stephen Gaitanos, founder, group CEO and managing director of student accommodation specialist Scape Australia, who will speak with Mingtiandi’s Michael Cole about the evolution of Australia’s housing market and opportunities for achieving favourable returns from rental residential strategies.

A keynote panel which opens the forum’s afternoon session will feature top investors sharing insights on the trends and themes driving change in Asia Pacific real estate markets this year featuring George Agethen, managing director for real estate in Asia Pacific and Latin America at CDPQ; Alan Watts, president for Asia Pacific at Hilton and Galven Tan, chief executive officer with Knight Frank.

More than 35 industry experts are expected to speak at the event, which is sponsored by Yardi, with discounted ‘early-bird’ tickets for the forum available at the link above.

Living Sector Takes Centre Stage

With investments in hotels, rental apartments and other ‘beds’ strategies continuing to offer attractive risk-adjusted returns in many Asia Pacific markets, the forum features panel discussions on a range of living sector segments.

A session on global student housing strategies brings together Tjarko Edzes, chief capital officer for Scape and Victor Lor, head of investment management for Asia Pacific at GSA Group, with additional speakers to be named in the coming days.

A panel on the outlook of residential investment in Asia Pacific will bring together Ho Lip Chin, chief investment officer for SGX-listed Centurion Corporation with Kelvin Lim, executive chairman of LHN Limited and founder of Singapore’s largest co-living operator, Coliwoo, with two more speakers set to join the discussion.

Turning to one of the region’s hottest sectors, a panel on hospitality investment in Asia Pacific will feature Gisle Sarheim, vice president for feasibility and investment analysis in the real estate and asset management division for Asia Pacific at Hilton; a representative of CREAL Asia, the Singapore branch of Japanese real estate investment firm CREAL; and additional industry leaders.

Commercial, Industrial and India

Beyond the living sector, Jeremy Lake, managing director for investment sales and capital markets for Savills Singapore will be joining Samuel Lee, chief executive officer and executive director for fractional property investment platform Fraxtor and additional speakers in a session on Singapore’s growing importance as a global capital hub.

Benjamin ST Tay, deputy head of corporate real estate with Rajah & Tann Asia will moderate a panel examining the outlook for Southeast Asia industrial real estate markets, which will feature the region’s biggest investors in warehouses and workshop, and Bernie Devine, senior regional director for Asia Pacific at Yardi; will join a panel of experts exploring Asia Pacific’s commercial real estate markets.

With India having emerged as a top target for the world’s largest real estate investors, the Mingtiandi Singapore Forum this year, for the first time will feature a panel on the world’s most popular nation. The India Investment Opportunities session will feature Clarence Tan, senior vice president for development in Asia Pacific at Hilton, among a panel of experts sharing their insights on the market.

More speakers will be named as the event date approaches, with sponsorship opportunities still available for select organisations through Mingtiandi’s marketing team.