ESR, Gaw and Stephenson Harwood Lead MTD TV Logistics Forum This Week

Mingtiandi’s fifth annual logistics forum kicks off this week on MTD TV with panels on the China, Japan and Korea markets featuring speakers from some of the region’s top developers, warehouse operators and expert advisors.

The programme, which is sponsored by Yardi, starts off at 10:00 Hong Kong time on Wednesday, 12 June, with a panel dedicated to the China market, featuring speakers from ESR, Forest Logistics Properties, Gaw Capital Partners and Stephenson Harwood.

The second session in the four-part forum takes a look at the Japan and Korea markets on Thursday, 13 June, with speakers from ESR, Seoul-based start-up Qube Industrial and the Netherlands’ APG Asset Management.

This week’s sessions will be followed by a panel looking at Asia’s emerging logistics markets on Tuesday, 18 June and a discussion of warehouse investment opportunities in Australia on Thursday, 20 June. You may register to view the panels at the link above.

Cross-Border E-Commerce Reshapes Demand

In mainland China, one of the biggest stories of 2024 is how the rise of cross-border e-commerce giants like Shein and Temu is reconfiguring warehouse demand, with vacancy in Guangdong province, where much of the activity takes place, now well below levels in northern or eastern China.

To find out more about this trend, and other forces reshaping investment opportunities in China’s warehouse market, Mingtiandi’s panel session on Wednesday, 12 June, features Luke Li, managing director of ESR China, whose company has $30.7 billion in total assets under management in Greater China, along with Hank Hsu, co-founder and CEO of Forest Logistics Properties, which has developed and acquired around 2 million square metres of warehouse space in top Chinese cities.

Also, joining the Wednesday program is Humbert Pang, managing principal and head of China for Gaw Capital Partners, whose company has established and managed a series of warehouse investment vehicles in China for more than 10 years and Janice Yau Garton, a Hong Kong-based partner with international law firm Stephenson Harwood, who specialises in real estate and has advised on numerous transactions in the logistics sector.

Japan and Korea Surge

On Thursday, Mingtiandi will dive into the Japan and Korea markets where rents have been holding steady despite rising vacancy, and investment yields have been softening.

To help explain the situation on the ground in these two markets, in our Thursday, 13 June panel Mingtiandi is pleased to welcome Pierre-Alexandre Humblot, managing director for fund management and capital at ESR; James Lim, co-founder and CEO at QUBE Industrial and Brian Hung, a director with APG Asset Management based in Hong Kong.

During the past year ESR has reached some fundraising landmarks in Japan, including bringing in fresh capital for a $1.35 billion warehouse investment vehicle late in 2023.

Launched in the closing weeks of last year as a joint venture between Warburg Pincus and Seoul-based third-party logistics provider and warehouse developer MQ, Qube Industrial already has four projects underway in the Seoul area, with the company’s chief executive set to share insights on what comes next for the startup.

APG Asset Management has been one of the most active European pension funds in Asia Pacific’s logistics sector and has worked with ESR in Japan as well as having invested in its ESR Kendall Square business in South Korea.

Emerging Markets, Australia Up Next

Following this week’s shows, Mingtiandi’s APAC Logistics Forum will continue on Tuesday, 18 June with a conversation focused on logistics opportunities Southeast Asia and India, featuring Jai Mirpuri, head of Southeast Asia for ESR; Souvik Mukherjee, head of logistics development for India with Mapletree Investments, and Fion Ng, chief operating officer with Vietnam’s BW Industrial.

The forum’s Australia session on 20 June will include Simon Sayers, head of development for ESR Australia; George Anastasiou, head of real estate for Australia with DWS; Nicholas Bradley, joint managing director at Hale Capital Partners and Benjamin Chow, head of real estate research for Asia at MSCI Real Assets.

In September, Mingtiandi will be back on a physical stage in Singapore with a forum focused on Southeast Asia’s wealthiest city, featuring speakers from Brookfield Asset Management, ESR and more.