Part One
The Philippines were well-represented with over 40 attendees, from member-companies, such as Ayala Land Inc., Leechiu Property Consultants, Aecom, ArthaLand Corp. and other prominent real-estate firms.THE 2018 ULI Asia Pacific Summit was recently concluded from June 5 to 7 in Conrad, Hong Kong, under the theme of “Leadership in the Age of Disruption.” This year’s summit was the largest yet in Asia Pacific, bringing together over 600 decision-makers from 22 countries from all sectors of the real-estate industry to share ideas and best practices, as well as make new connections and strength existing relationships.
ULI is a nonprofit education and research institute supported by its members. Its mission is to provide leadership in the responsible use of land and in creating and sustaining thriving communities worldwide. Established in 1936, the institute has more than 40,000 members worldwide representing all aspects of land use and development disciplines, including more than 2,000 in the Asia-Pacific region. One of their district councils in Asia Pacific includes the Philippines National Council.
This year also marks the 10th anniversary of the opening of ULI’s Asia-Pacific headquarters in Hong Kong, and the summit provided a chance to look back and celebrate the organization’s achievements and thank its long-term members for their collaboration over the past decade.
The first day of the summit allowed attendees the chance to mingle and participate in various ULI talks, with topics such as flexible workspaces and experiential retail. Another ULI talk was the PropTech Forum, cochaired by ULI Philippines National Chairman, Raymond Rufino. The forum focused on the “Future of Real Estate Innovation,” converging the believers, the assets, the tech and the community of users driving the transformation of the landscape in one extensive panel discussion. The other chairs of the PropTech Forum were Ariel Shtarkman, cofounder and managing director of Orca Capital and Eli Konvitz, director for Urban Development and Design of South East Asia, Atkins.
The Honorable Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor, chief executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region opened this year’s ULI Asia-Pacific Summit on June 6, the Main Summit Day. Her speech focused on the opportunity of leading a top-tier global city in the rapidly changing age. Lam said that Hong Kong has unique strengths but is facing challenges: “If we want to rise to new heights, we have to enhance competitiveness, and we cannot sit back as the world is changing around us.” Lam also said that the SAR needs to seize the opportunities offered by the “One Belt, One Road” initiative and the Greater Bay Area master plan.
Urban development expert Dr. Richard Florida gave the summit’s keynote speech on “The New Urban Crisis—in the Asia Context.” The lively polemic was based on his new book about some of the issues facing modern cities. Florida said that we are living through the greatest disruption in human history as power shifts from nation states to cities across the world. He believes that cities power economic growth: “It is cities that collect companies and creative people, and out of this clamor comes economic innovation.” However, he believes that the issue of land is critical, especially in cities like Hong Kong, and the cost is resulting in mounting housing unaffordability and inequality, which will inevitably lead to a backlash.
Some other highlights of the summit included the Honorable Leung Chun-ying, National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, and former chief executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, together with Vincent Lo, the founder and chairman of the Shui On Group, discussed “The Connected Megalopolis—Business and the Bay Area.” They deliberated on the economic integration of 11 major cities across the Pearl River Delta promises to boost incomes and drive efficiencies for 66m people in South China’s Greater Bay Area (GBA). CY Leung called for “boldness and imagination in order to unlock the opportunities offered by the GBA,” as he outlined how he believes that Hong Kong will be the regional office of choice for overseas companies.
Two fast-paced and fun Oxford-style debates saw industry speakers take opposing positions on how their sector was being disrupted in “The Future of Retail is Stores that Aren’t Stores and The Rise of Co-working Space: Boon or Bane?” The debaters argued the motions, the moderator cross-examined before the audience was polled in an engaging look at how the world of real estate is constantly changing, and how market leaders and innovators are trying to keep up.
In addition to the main summit day, on June 7, seven study tours took members on insiders’ tours of different parts of Hong Kong and its neighbors. These tours included Shenzhen—a Modern Metropolis Linking Hong Kong to China’s Mainland; Hong Kong Harbour—The Future of a Globally-significant Waterfront and Tech; and Commerce—Hong Kong Science and Technology Park. Other tours were Taikoo Place—Transformation from a Former Industrial Area into a Leading Decentralized Business Hub, and Creating Value for the Community through Neighborhood Rejuvenation and Repositioning—TKO Gateway.
“This year’s program was designed to bring together people from all disciplines of the real-estate industry and meet their demands and expectations. We were here to learn together and educate each other and the theme Leadership in the Age of Disruption clearly resonated. We are in the middle of the Fourth Industrial Revolution and things are changing fast: ULI’s message to our members is don’t run from these changes but be nimble and embrace this generational opportunity,” said ULI Asia-Pacific Chairman Dr. Ngee Huat Seek.
“This summit is our signature event in Asia-Pacific and ULI’s prominence and influence continues to grow. We are all about creating cities for future generations, and our forward-thinking members are creating impact and changing cities across the globe. We hope the program inspired members to rise to the challenges and opportunities ahead of us,” said John Fitzgerald, CEO of ULI Asia Pacific. To be continued