Institute of Real Estate and Urban Studies (IREUS), National University of Singapore (NUS)

We had a capacity turnout last Friday – nearly 300 people listening in rapt attention as our speakers and panellists broached the topic of REThink Retail – The Future of Malls.   The event furnished a comprehensive overview, ranging from broad themes such as sustainability and environmental responsibility to more localised issues such as rejuvenating Orchard Road, customer and employee engagement, and addressing the needs of an ageing population. We hope we had something for everyone in the audience that day!   Many thanks to our speakers and panellists: (i) Frasers Centrepoint REIT CEO, Richard Ng, (ii) Lendlease Global Commercial Trust CEO, Kelvin Chow, (iii) Knight Frank Singapore CEO, Galven Tan, (iv) City Developments Limited's EVP and Head of Global Asset Management, Callie Yah, (v) Cistri’s Regional Director, Jack Backen, (vi) Chairman of Orchard Road Business Association, Mark Shaw, (vii) Urban Redevelopment Authority of Singapore (URA)’s Director of Urban Design, Ong Lay Hua, (viii) Starbucks Singapore’s GM, Patrick Kwok, (ix) Love, Bonito’s Head of SG & Global Retail Excellence, Chun Yan Tan, and (x) Singapore Retailers Association’s Executive Director, Stephen Sing.   Thanks also to our moderators: IREUS Co-Director, Professor Joseph Ooi, and IREUS Adjunct Senior Research Fellows Leslie Yee and Dr Tuan Chiong Chew. We also appreciate IREUS Chairman, Professor Teng Chye Khoo and IREUS Director, Professor Wenlan Qian for respectively delivering the opening and closing addresses.   Last but certainly not least, thanks to our supporting organisations Asia Pacific Real Assets Association (APREA), REITAS (REIT Association of Singapore) and ULI Singapore.   We hope everyone enjoyed themselves, and we hope to see you again at our next event!   #IREUS #REThink #IREUSREThink #Retail #FutureOfMalls #SingaporeRetail #OrchardRoad #Shopping 

Today is a good day for us!   Just earlier, we had three seasoned industry experts drop by to deliver public lectures to students, NUS colleagues and other industry practitioners.   DBS Bank's, Mr Kia Chiak Yeo shared how real estate and banking share a close connection in project financing, planning and strategy. The real estate graduate who eventually works on the lend side will need a holistic perspective that not only understands the risks and rewards of capital, but also includes a good appreciation of property market dynamics and other exogenous factors such as regulatory risks and interest rates. Notwithstanding the expanding role of AI, there remains ample leeway for human expertise, judgment and experience at the intersection of real estate and finance.   JLL’s Dr Bruce P. and PIMCO Prime Real Estate’s Dr Eric LI (Dr.) next broached the rental markets in China and Japan. The key drivers of rental housing in China include shifting demographic patterns, rural-to-urban migration, supportive government policies and increasing acceptance of renting as a norm. Given that the Chinese rental market is now in the “lift-off” stage and still in a state of flux, Dr Pang shared his insights on how the market there might pan out.   The Japanese rental market, on the other hand, is a mature system characterised by well-established rental infrastructure and high occupancy rates supported by demand emanating from a large pool of renters. Amid high corporate profitability, real wage growth in Japan has outpaced inflation. Dr Li therefore shared an analysis on opportunities for investment returns in the Japanese rental market.   Many thanks to our lecturers today, and also to Professors Joseph Ooi, Kah Poh Tay and Binglin Wang for their support.   #IREUS #realestate #banking #finance #rental #rentalhousing #rentalmarket #propertymarket

IREUS Co-Director, Professor Joseph Ooi had the honour to speak at The Edge Singapore REITs Investment Forum on 26 August 2024. We hope the audience had benefitted from the wide-ranging expertise of Prof Ooi and other leading industry experts like ESR-LOGOS REIT’s CEO, Mr Adrian Chui, Lendlease Global Commercial REIT’s CEO Mr Kelvin Chow, and SGX Group’s SVP Equity Capital Market Mr Ronald Tan.           Kudos to The Edge Singapore for organising an inspiring event, and many thanks to executive editor Goola Warden for moderating the panel discussion.

[ Public lecture ] Rental housing markets in focus: Lessons from China and Japan Register: https://lnkd.in/gv9h_6Yq Rental housing markets in focus: Lessons from China and Japan The Singapore government's announcement of long-stay serviced apartments underscores a growing demand for rental accommodations in a country traditionally known for high home ownership rates. Are there similar trends elsewhere, and what can we learn from there? For our public lecture on 9 September 2024, Jones Lang LaSalle's Dr Bruce P. will delve in the Chinese rental market and how rental reforms there attempt to raise housing availability and accessibility in high-demand urban areas. In contrast, PIMCO Prime Real Estate's Dr Eric LI (Dr.) will deep dive into the Japanese rental market, which is a mature system characterised by well-established rental infrastructure and high occupancy rates supported by demand emanating from a large pool of renters. Register now to hear from these experts: https://lnkd.in/gv9h_6Yq #IREUS #PublicLecture #RentalHousing #RentalMarket #RentalHomes

[ Registration now open! ] REThink Retail Forum 2024 (13 Sep 2024) [ For Public ] https://lnkd.in/gJGnikd3 [ For NUS staff / students ] https://lnkd.in/gHwaMW2a The retail landscape was disrupted by e-commerce, and Covid-19 further accelerated changes. Yet physical retail has also evolved rapidly and held its ground. Singapore's retail landscape is highly dynamic. How can landlords and retailers ensure future success? For September’s REThink Retail Forum, we have brought together diverse thought leaders who will share on mega trends impacting malls such as changing demographics and sustainability, investment prospects, active asset management, the remaking of Orchard Road and using physical spaces to extend brand outreach. Join us for this event. Register now! This event is jointly organised with Asia Pacific Real Assets Association (APREA), REITAS (REIT Association of Singapore) and ULI Singapore. [ For Public ] https://lnkd.in/gJGnikd3 [ For NUS staff / students ] https://lnkd.in/gHwaMW2a

As fears of an impending US recession loom, stock markets were routed worldwide on 5 August earlier this week.                 Export-oriented economies – particularly those heavily reliant on America – could be badly hit if the US economy takes a turn for the worse. According to World Bank data, the US accounts for more than 15% of China’s exports. In the event of a hard landing, will China be dragged down, or can it offer an alternative safer haven for capital? Read more in Prof Wenlan Qian’s commentary with ThinkChina.sg.   #IREUS #stockmarket #economy #economics #USRecession

Happy National Day, Singapore!

[ IREUS roundtable series ] ESG - Beyond Compliance (11 July 2024 roundtable report for available for download now: https://lnkd.in/gYx-dxjQ) Beyond ambitious goals for sustainability, environmental conservation and social responsibility, how do we exactly apply ESG to everyday life? Also, how do we measure success? How do we know we have achieved what we had initially set out to do? On 11 July 2024, we teamed up with the MIT Center for Real Estate and Raffles Quay Asset Management to set up a roundtable session on the topic of practical ESG. Joining us were Keppel REIT's chairman, Mr Swee Yiow Tan, who shared about how Keppel is weaving ESG into both strategy and operations, while MIT's Professor Siqi Zheng demonstrated how data, technology and research can work in tandem to support effective policymaking and corporate strategy. Get more details in our post-event report here: https://lnkd.in/gYx-dxjQ #IREUS #ESG #PracticalESG #Sustainability #Environment #SocialResponsibility #Roundtable #IREUSRoundtable

[ IREUS Roundtable 2024 ] ESG - Beyond Compliance ESG today is more than just a matter of checking off boxes.   A determined commitment to ESG can improve company bottom lines, and attract talent and clients who place a premium on sustainability and social responsibility. Even more so than before, doing good can actually result in doing well.   For today’s roundtable session, Keppel REIT chairman, Mr Swee Yiow Tan shares how Keppel's sustainability initiatives make a robust business case through long-term cost-savings and paybacks.   MIT Center for Real Estate’s Professor Siqi Zheng broaches the intersection of data, technology and research to demonstrate how these, in tandem with cross-sectoral collaboration, can contribute to solutions with high real-world impact.   Many thanks to co-organiser Raffles Quay Asset Management for sponsoring the lovely Bayspace! Thanks also to Professor Joseph Ooi for connecting the dots to make this event happen, and Leslie Yee for moderating the session.   #IREUS #ESG #Sustainability #Decarbonisation #GreenBuilding #RealEstate #Climate #ClimateRisks #NetZero

What unexpected outcomes might property cooling measures trigger? More details in Prof Wenlan Qian's op ed with The Business Times, and thanks to National University of Singapore for sharing the article.