Industry experts to discuss real estate innovations at IRERS 2016

PETALING JAYA (April 17): The International Real Estate Research Symposium 2016 (IRERS 2016) has invited real estate experts from here and abroad to discuss the importance of innovation in real estate.

Organised by The National Institute of Valuation (INSPEN), IRERS will be held at Putra World Trade Centre (PWTC), Kuala Lumpur, this coming April 26 to 28.

A panel discussion themed “Leading the Way: Innovation in Real Estate” will have among its panel members the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) Asean managing director Dexter See, Savills Malaysia managing director Allan Soo, Ministry of Finance Indonesia director general of state asset management Sonny Loho, and Khazanah Research Institute director of research Dr Suraya Ismail.

See is responsible for all of RICS’ operations in Asean. He has more than two decades of experience in the real estate industry covering all asset classes in Singapore, China, India and key cities in Asean.

Meanwhile Soo, who specialises in retail planning, research as well as retail development and leasing, has advised retailers such as Isetan, Metrojaya, Jaya Jusco, Giant, Carrefour and KFC. He was responsible for conducting the first and only geographic information system (GIS)-based market plan survey for KFC involving data capture of 48,000 customers within KFC’s retail trade zones.

Another panelist, Sonny, was appointed the inspector-general of the Ministry of Finance Indonesia in 2011. Since 2015, he has been serving as the director general of state assets.

Lastly, Suraya has served on a number of national committees. Internationally, she has also provided consultancies in areas such as urban development and socio-economic studies for the public and private sectors.

Besides the importance of innovation in the real estate industry, panelists will also touch on professional practices and market scenarios in real estate at both the local and international levels.

Dr Chris Eves from Australia’s Queensland University of Technology will be the moderator of the discussion.

Eves is a professor in property economics at the School of Civil Engineering and Built Environment at the Science and Engineering Faculty. Prior to entering Academia in 1994, he worked as a valuer for the State Bank of New South Wales.

The discussion will be held on April 28 from 2:30pm to 4:30pm at PWTC.

IRERS is a real estate research forum held in collaboration with several international universities and property organisations. IRERS 2016 is the eight in its series. It is held once every two years. TheEdgeProperty.com is the media partner this year.

Besides the panel discussion, the event will also feature plenary sessions, parallel sessions, real estate forums and exhibition, and best poster awards.

IRERS aims to serve as the platform for reseachers to present new findings on areas of concern affecting a broad spectrum of real estate issues. The policymakers, stakeholders and key players of the real estate industry are then able to make informed decisions from them, where relevant.

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This story first appeared in TheEdgeProperty.com pullout on April 15, 2016, which comes with The Edge Financial Daily every Friday. Download TheEdgeProperty.com here for free.