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160 experts for Abu Dhabi real estate summit

Abu Dhabi, April 13, 2010

More than 160 experts from over 25 countries will be speaking at a conference which forms part of an upcoming international real estate investment and development event in Abu Dhabi.

Cityscape Abu Dhabi will be held from April 18 to 21 at the Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre.

“Greater transparency and improvements in the regulatory environment are set to dominate proceedings at what will be without a doubt the most comprehensive event to date on the future of the real estate investment industry in the region,” said Chris Speller, Cityscape group director.

“For the real estate investment community these have been difficult times so it is not surprising that the combined issues of transparency, regulation and project delivery are among the most important concerns as strategies are planned for the future,” he added.

“Those concerns will be directly addressed and have been woven into the 36 conference sessions of the conference across three days to provide both an overview of the dramatic changes that have impacted markets as well as focusing on economic recovery, policy reforms and investment opportunities regionally and globally,” Speller continued.

“Allied to this will be a further session on how the wider GCC countries and the Middle East in general have confronted the global economic turmoil and how growth forecasts have been altered.”

From the institutional investor perspective, the key debate will be on establishing transparency and consistency in data and real estate market analytics, Speller said.

“The role of institutional investors in the revival of the regional real estate industry is crucial and foreign investors in particular are looking for improvements in transparency and the regulatory framework. We will be looking at what long-term institutional investors think about Abu Dhabi and the regional markets and how to incentivise them to enter the market,” Speller said.

“We will also be examining investment strategies in some detail including the viability of Middle East real estate investment trusts (REITs), including Shariah-compliant vehicles, where there is also concern over transparency.”

A recent wealth management report by Bank Sarasin of Switzerland said the lack of public data on the performance of Islamic REITs and real estate funds in general needed to be “addressed urgently if the sector is to mature.”

Other topics at the conference will include the merits of investing in emerging markets versus mature markets; maximising opportunities in distressed real estate; corporate and debt restructuring strategies; dissecting real estate boom and bust cycles in real estate to make strategic investment decisions.

The conference will also examine the impact of the US stimulus package; the emerging potential of the Levant countries; Saudi Arabia, the economic powerhouse of the Middle East; opportunities in South and Latin America, Eastern Europe, Turkey and Russia; India versus China; investment and development opportunities in Africa; and the resilience of Asia in the global recession. – TradeArabia News Service




Tags: investment | real estate | GCC | Conference | REIT | Cityscape Abu Dhabi |

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