<p><img alt="ASEAN countries are on Chinese buyers' radar, despite capital controls and high upfront costs. KYTan/Shutterstock" src="/documents/10204/0/shutterstock_315926132-compressor.jpg/c5db387c-5249-4fab-b2ad-e1f1acc89ba6?t=1529056950502" style="width: 1000px; height: 667px;" />Southeast Asian countries and Japan emerged as top favourites for real estate purchases among mainland Chinese, a recent study revealed.</p> <p>The UBS Evidence Lab survey of 3,403 buyers suggested that Southeast Asian countries, especially Thailand, are set to capture a bulk of the mainland Chinese buying market for the rest of 2018.</p> <p>With the government plotting to lure investors to its USD45-billion economic zone in the east, Thailand is projected to take a hefty share of the mainland Chinese market despite buyers' activeness in Canada, US and Australia.</p> <p>“The Thai government's flagship Eastern Economic Corridor (EEC) is expected to attract more foreign experts and researchers to Thailand given the significant tax breaks for companies and individuals which could lead to additional foreign buying,” the report stated.</p> <p>"Evidence emerged during [the second half of 2017] suggesting Chinese buyer interest turned to South East Asia; specifically <a href="http://www.property-report.com/detail/-/blogs/what-homes-you-can-get-for-your-money-in-bangkok-and-hong-ko-1">Thailand</a> and Vietnam."</p> <p>Such is Chinese interest in ASEAN countries that despite high upfront costs, buying interest from mainland Chinese has held steady at eight percent in Singapore, UBS noted. Singapore imposes a 15 percent Additional Buyer's Stamp Duty (ABSD) on foreigners.</p> <p><a href="http://property-report.com/detail/-/blogs/propertyguru-inks-deal-with-anjuke-part-of-china-s-leading-online-marketplace-58-c-1" target="_blank"><strong>More: PropertyGuru inks deal with Anjuke, part of China’s leading online marketplace 58.com</strong></a></p> <p>Southeast Asia has been gaining Chinese buyer market share faster than any other global region since early 2017, according to international real estate website <a href="http://www.property-report.com/detail/-/blogs/get-ready-for-chinese-real-estate-robots">Juwai.com</a>. Trailing only the US and Australia, Thailand surfaced as the top three country for Chinese buyers in 2017, with tourist arrivals in the kingdom from the mainland rising 400 percent over the last five years. </p> <p>Vietnam and Malaysia placed ninth and 10th, respectively, while Singapore and the Philippines ranked 12th and 13th. </p> <p>“The biggest drivers are the lower prices in these countries and the fact that they seem to have government blessing as Belt and Road Initiative countries,” noted Juwai.com CEO Carrie Law.</p> <p>“Capital controls are constraining the amount Chinese buyers can spend, so they have turned to lower priced countries and lower priced property even in high-cost countries like Australia.”</p> <p>Elsewhere in Asia, Chinese buyer interest is gaining buoyancy in Japan. However, UBS discussions with Japanese developers suggest that they do not see gains in demand as meaningful since most prefer to keep foreigners from buying more than 10 percent of a project.</p> <p>More than 45 percent of Chinese investors have bought an overseas property in the past two years, UBS data showed.</p>
<p><img alt="Cebu from the sky. Image: Aleksandar Todorovic/Shutterstock" src="/documents/10204/0/shutterstock_760659919-compressor.jpg/5ef24ea0-c8a3-4f12-8221-11d518b7a1e6?t=1528884440146" style="width: 1000px; height: 640px;" />2018 is looking to be the year for Cebu’s real estate and construction sectors to be noticed on the global scene.</p> <p>Construction of several acclaimed projects in the residential and commercial segments are underway in Metro Cebu and nearby provincial locations, which will be boosted by the opening of the sprawling Terminal 2 of the Mactan Cebu International Airport (MCIA).</p> <p>Inaugurated on the heels of President Rodridgo Duterte’s bullish ‘Build, Build, Build’ infrastructure improvement programme, Cebu’s Terminal 2 was one of the top projects of the previous Aquino administration’s <a href="http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/999071/new-international-airport-in-cebu-raises-the-bar-for-ppp-program-cebu-international-airport-mactan-terminal-2-megawide">PPP (Public-Private Partnership) initiative</a>.</p> <p>Building the 65,000-square-metre terminal was the GMR-Megawide Cebu Airport Corporation (GMCAC) consortium, which received the Special Recognition for Public Facility award at the 2018 <a href="http://www.property-report.com/detail/-/blogs/winners-list-2018-propertyguru-philippines-property-award-9">PropertyGuru Philippines Property Awards </a>held last 11 May.</p> <p>The new terminal – already dubbed by Philippine media as the “best airport in the country” – eyes a capacity of 4.5 million domestic and international passengers annually. The three-storey project, architected by Asya Design, boasts furniture by Cebuano designer Kenneth Cobonpue, with interior design by Budji + Royal.</p> <p><a href="http://www.property-report.com/detail/-/blogs/diversity-sustainability-celebrated-at-6th-propertyguru-philippines-property-awar-5"><strong>More: Diversity, sustainability, CSR celebrated at 6th PropertyGuru Philippines Property Awards</strong></a></p> <p>With improved connectivity, Metro Cebu is expected to increasingly become an alternative option to Manila among condominium seekers in the Philippines. More than 150 residential condominium developments are being actively marketed at present in the city, according to a recent report by Santos Knight Frank. Monthly take-up of high-end projects in Metro Cebu averaged 14 units in the second half of 2017, five units higher from the previous year.</p> <p>Among the anticipated completions within two years is AppleOne Mactan Inc’s The Residences at the Sheraton Cebu Mactan Resort, voted as Best Condo Development (Philippines) – the first time a Cebu project has earned such distinction, besting high-profile towers located in Metro Manila.</p> <p>Two winning condo projects by Grand Land Inc – Grand Residences Cebu and Amani Grand Mactan – will serve the high-end and affordable segments, respectively, whilst its Dusit Princess - Grand Tower Cebu will serve business travelers in the region.</p> <p>ArthaLand Corporation, winner of the second highest plum, Best Boutique Developer, has long bet on the province’s potential. Its local arm Cebu Lavana Land Corporation, was awarded the Best Office Development (Cebu) crown for its Cebu Exchange tower along Salinas Drive. When completed, the 39-storey Grade-A office structure will become the tallest building in Cebu’s bustling IT park.</p> <p>More tall buildings could soon rise in Cebu City after its Mayor Tomas Osmeña approved new guidelines to allow construction of high-rises (more than four storeys) as long as safety requirements are met before, during and after the construction periods, according to <a href="http://cebudailynews.inquirer.net/174640/new-guidelines-set-cebu-citys-high-rise-buildings">Cebu Daily News.</a></p>
<p><img alt="Downtown Sydney skyline in Australia at twilight. Sydney. f11photo/Shutterstock" src="/documents/10204/0/shutterstock_662769640.jpg/b68af0e7-f774-46a2-9484-1f3237e9be3b?t=1528189377616" style="width: 1000px; height: 667px;" />Foreign investment in Australian residential real estate nose-dove by a staggering AUD47 billion last year, according to the <a href="http://firb.gov.au/" target="_blank">Foreign Investment Review Board</a>’s (FIRB) annual report issued Tuesday.</p> <p>Only 13,198 approvals were granted to foreigners for residential real estate investment from the second half of 2016 through the first half of 2017, compared with 40,149 approvals in financial year 2015-16.</p> <p>At AUD25.2 billion (USD18.9 billion), the value of approvals in 2016-17 marks a 65.2 percent plunge from the AUD72.4 billion recorded in approvals in the previous financial year.</p> <p>Such mammoth decreases were attributed to a spate of cooling measures on speculative activities by foreign entities continent-wide. One of the primary causes was the "introduction of application fees in December 2015, which has resulted in investors only applying for properties they intend to purchase,” the FIRB explained.</p> <p>"Other factors that may also have contributed to a reduction in applications include tighter Chinese capital controls, weaker market conditions and additional taxes in some jurisdictions."</p> <p>Mainland China indeed remained Australia’s fastest-growing source of investment, even though it was outranked by other countries in ownership of assets in Australia. China ranked first in foreign investment approvals (worth AUD38.9 billion) in 2016-17, followed by Canada, the US, Singapore and Malaysia.</p> <p>In real estate, China accounted for AUD15.3 million of approved investment, compared to AUD7.3 million from Canada and AUD6.8 million from the United States. </p> <p><a href="http://property-report.com/detail/-/blogs/what-will-it-take-to-cool-down-australia-s-property-marke-8" target="_blank"><strong>More: What will it take to cool down Australia’s property market?</strong></a></p> <p>“In the second half of 2016, the Chinese were investing in Australian real estate at an almost irrational pace,” recounted Carrie Law, CEO and director of <a href="http://www.juwai.com" target="_blank">Juwai.com</a>, a Chinese international real estate website and real estate partner to online giant Tencent. “It was like money falling from heaven for vendors and developers," before a combination of capital flight controls, financing restrictions, and foreign buyer taxes reduced Chinese investment to "more reasonable levels" in early 2017. </p> <p>Capital controls heavily undercut applications for approvals of real estate investment by the Chinese in Australia, with a recent report by UBS all but pronouncing the boom in buyers from China <a href="https://www.afr.com/real-estate/chinese-foreign-buyer-boom-over-ubs-20180529-h10o07" target="_blank">“over.”</a></p> <p>“China’s capital controls have worked," added Law. "Today, China’s foreign reserves are up, the yuan is stronger, the flow of money out of the country has been reduced, and fears of a devaluation have virtually disappeared. But they have succeeded without having to make it impossible for ordinary Chinese families to buy property overseas.</p> <p>The total value of approved foreign investment in Australia from all nations stood at AUD192.9 billion in financial year 2016-17, down from AUD247.9 billion. Residential and commercial property comprised 36 percent of all approved foreign investment.</p> <p>Victoria and New South Wales, respectively, accounted for the largest approvals in residential real estate sales.</p>
<p><img alt="" src="/documents/10204/0/VPA+2018_Shortlist_Artworkbig.jpg/4ad9d247-6471-4eb3-9995-bd0afe1efa6f?t=1528183788850" style="width: 1000px; height: 667px;" />Here are the 25 companies that have been shortlisted for Vietnam's most prestigious real estate awards!</p> <p>Vietnam’s finest and most active real estate developers will face each other at the fourth annual PropertyGuru Vietnam Property Awards 2018, presented by Kohler and co-organised by Oriental Media.</p> <p>Leading the list is CapitaLand Vietnam with 16 nominations, more than any company. <a href="http://www.property-report.com/detail/-/blogs/capitaland-s-inspiring-success-story-in-the-vietnamese-real-estate-sect-5" target="_blank">Following its Best Developer win in 2017</a>, CapitaLand returns with the most citations that include two nods for Best Green Development, as well as for outstanding Condo, Housing, and Retail.</p> <p>Majority of CapitaLand’s nods hail from the company’s projects located in Ho Chi Minh City, where it is directly competing in many categories with Alpha King, this year’s second-most nominated developer with 13 citations. Alpha King’s luxury condo project Alpha City receives six shortlists across the Development and Design categories.</p> <p><a href="http://www.property-report.com/detail/-/blogs/capitaland-s-inspiring-success-story-in-the-vietnamese-real-estate-sect-5" target="_blank"><strong>More: One company's inspiring success story in the Vietnamese property sector</strong></a></p> <p>Tied in third place are Gamuda Land and KIEN A Corporation with eight appearances on the list, including nominations for Best Mid-End Condo Development (Ho Chi Minh City) and Best Affordable Condo Development (Ho Chi Minh City), respectively.</p> <h3>Building communities</h3> <p>KIEN A Corporation's founding chairman Dr Huynh Ba Lan has also been named recipient of the Vietnam Real Estate Personality of the Year – the sole award not selected by the judging panel, but by editors of PropertyGuru Property Report magazine.</p> <p>Dr Huynh was chosen for leading an organisation that prioritises producing quality projects for lower-income consumers, as well as building schools in Vietnam that follow international standards.</p> <p>Surpassing the number of awards presented at last year’s ceremony, the 2018 programme has 43 categories, including new awards such as Special Recognition for Building Communities, for Design and Construction, for Customer Care, and for Public Facility.</p> <p>A total of 25 companies have been shortlisted in the competition categories. The prestigious annual competition welcomed returning and new entrants as more world-class projects are launched across the country. </p> <p>Thien Duong, managing director of Transform Architecture, who serves as third-term chairman of the independent judging panel, commented: “I think there has never been another time in our history where the country is developing at such an accelerated pace,” he said. </p> <h3>Biggest edition yet</h3> <p>“Our local property market has continued to grow in every price range from affordable to luxury. The market has matured considerably within a very short period of time due to more competition from more experienced foreign developers as well as local developers maturing and learning industry best practices from their overseas partners.”</p> <p><a href="http://www.property-report.com/detail/-/blogs/a-chat-with-top-vietnam-architect-thien-duo-1" target="_blank"><strong>More: A chat with top Vietnam architect Thien Duong</strong></a></p> <p>He added that the PropertyGuru Vietnam Property Awards has become a symbol of a revitalised property sector that encourages high quality construction and development, world-class design and amenities that today’s consumers expect.</p> <p>“Thanks to the profound experience and the influence of foreign developers, who have raised the overall standards of the market, Vietnamese real estate projects have continually been improved in every single offered project,” said the head judge.</p> <p>The exclusive gala dinner on Friday, 22 June 2018 at the InterContinental Saigon Hotel ballroom, is touted as the programme’s biggest edition yet. Organisers expect that the black-tie ceremony will be attended by nearly 500 guests and members of the press to honour the achievements of the property sector.</p> <h3>Main engines of the industry</h3> <p>Terry Blackburn, founder and managing director of the PropertyGuru Asia Property Awards, said: “Vietnam real estate is fast becoming a major draw for investors in Asia-Pacific because of its acclaimed offerings in the condominium, hotel, resort and mixed-use segments.</p> <p>“Whilst Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi continue to be the main engines of the industry, it is encouraging that a provincial location such as Khanh Hoa now has a strong domestic market that developers there can be recognised on an internationally-known platform like the PropertyGuru Vietnam Property Awards.”</p> <p>The 2018 PropertyGuru Vietnam Property Awards is supported by platinum sponsor Kohler; co-sponsors Malloca, An Cuong, Dulux Professional, and Electrolux; official portal partner Batdongsan.com.vn; official charity CARE Vietnam; media partners DELUXE magazine, and PropertyGuru Property Report; supporting associations European Chamber of Commerce in Vietnam, and British Business Group Vietnam; official supervisor BDO Vietnam; and local representative Oriental Media Vietnam.</p> <h3><strong>OFFICIAL SHORTLIST OF NOMINEES</strong></h3> <h3>4th PropertyGuru Vietnam Property Awards 2018</h3> <p><strong><u>DEVELOPER AWARDS</u></strong></p> <p><strong>Best Developer</strong></p> <ul> <li>Winner to be revealed on 22 June 2018 at the gala dinner</li> </ul> <p><strong>Best Boutique Developer</strong></p> <ul> <li>ANGIA</li> </ul> <ul> <li>Anpha Holdings</li> <li>Hung Thinh Real Estate Business Investment Corporation (Hung Thinh Corp)</li> <li>SonKim Land Corporation</li> </ul> <p><strong>Special Recognition in CSR</strong></p> <ul> <li>CapitaLand Vietnam</li> </ul> <ul> <li>Gamuda Land</li> <li>Hung Thinh Real Estate Business Investment Corporation (Hung Thinh Corp)</li> <li>Novaland Group</li> <li>Phu Long Developer</li> <li>TTC Land</li> </ul> <p><strong>Special Recognition in Sustainable Development</strong></p> <ul> <li>CapitaLand Vietnam</li> <li>Gamuda Land</li> </ul> <p><strong>Special Recognition for Design and Construction</strong></p> <ul> <li>Anpha Holdings</li> </ul> <ul> <li>CapitaLand Vietnam</li> <li>Phu Long Developer</li> </ul> <p><strong>Special Recognition for Building Communities</strong></p> <ul> <li>CapitaLand Vietnam</li> </ul> <ul> <li>Gamuda Land</li> <li>Phu Long Developer</li> </ul> <p><strong>Special Recognition for Customer Care</strong></p> <ul> <li>CapitaLand Vietnam</li> </ul> <ul> <li>Phu Long Developer</li> <li>TTC Land</li> </ul> <p> </p> <p><strong><u>DEVELOPMENT AWARDS</u></strong></p> <p><strong>Best Luxury Condo Development (Ho Chi Minh City)</strong></p> <ul> <li>Alpha City by Alpha King</li> </ul> <ul> <li>D’Edge by CapitaLand Vietnam</li> <li>One Alpha Riverside District One by Alpha King</li> <li>Serenity Sky Villas by SonKim Land Corporation</li> </ul> <p><strong>Best High End Condo Development (Ho Chi Minh City)</strong></p> <ul> <li>De La Sol by CapitaLand Vietnam</li> <li>RichLane Residences by Mapletree</li> </ul> <p><strong>Best Mid End Condo Development (Ho Chi Minh City)</strong></p> <ul> <li>Celadon City – Emerald Precinct by Gamuda Land</li> <li>Skyline by ANGIA</li> </ul> <p><strong>Best Affordable Condo Development (Ho Chi Minh City)</strong></p> <ul> <li>Citiesto by KIEN A Corporation</li> </ul> <p><strong>Best Mid End Condo Development (Hanoi)</strong></p> <ul> <li>Green Pearl by Phong Phu – Daewon – Thu Duc Housing Development Corporation</li> </ul> <ul> <li>Imperia Sky Garden by MIK Group (Vietnam) JSC </li> <li>TNR Goldmark City by TNR Holdings Vietnam </li> </ul> <p><strong>Best Affordable Condo Development (Hanoi)</strong></p> <ul> <li>The K-Park by Century Real Estate Investment and Development Joint Stock Company – CenInvest</li> </ul> <p><strong>Best Condo Development (Khanh Hoa)</strong></p> <ul> <li>Scenia Bay by Nam Tien Lao Cai Jsc. Co.</li> <li>The Arena by Nha Trang Bay Investment & Construction Joint Stock Company</li> </ul> <p><strong>Best Luxury Housing Development (Ho Chi Minh City)</strong></p> <ul> <li>D2eight by CapitaLand Vietnam</li> </ul> <ul> <li>Lavila De Rio by KIEN A Corporation</li> <li>The Venica by Khang Dien House Trading and Investment Joint Stock Company</li> </ul> <p><strong>Best Housing Development (Ho Chi Minh City)</strong></p> <ul> <li>Park Riverside Premium by MIK Group (Vietnam) JSC</li> </ul> <ul> <li>SIMCity by Anpha Holdings</li> <li>Victoria Village by Novaland Group</li> </ul> <p><strong>Best Housing Development (Halong Bay)</strong></p> <ul> <li>Dragon Hill City by National Housing Organization</li> </ul> <p><strong>Best Office Development</strong></p> <ul> <li>Alpha Town by Alpha King</li> </ul> <p><strong>Best Hotel Development</strong></p> <ul> <li>Le Méridien Cam Ranh Bay Resort & Spa by KIEN A Corporation</li> <li>Movenpick Resort Waverly Phu Quoc by MIK Group (Vietnam) JSC</li> </ul> <p><strong>Best Mixed Use Development</strong></p> <ul> <li>Alpha City by Alpha King</li> </ul> <ul> <li>Celadon City by Gamuda Land</li> <li>Dragon Riverside City by Phu Long Developer</li> <li>Saigon South Place by Mapletree</li> </ul> <p><strong>Best Retail Development</strong></p> <ul> <li>Alpha City by Alpha King</li> <li>Faifo Lane by CapitaLand Vietnam</li> </ul> <p> </p> <p><strong><u>DESIGN AWARDS</u></strong></p> <p><strong>Best Luxury Condo Architectural Design</strong></p> <ul> <li>Alpha City by Alpha King</li> <li>Serenity Sky Villas by SonKim Land Corporation</li> </ul> <p><strong>Best High End Condo Architectural Design</strong></p> <ul> <li>De La Sol by CapitaLand Vietnam</li> <li>One Verandah by Mapletree</li> </ul> <p><strong>Best Condo Architectural Design</strong></p> <ul> <li>Celadon City – Emerald Precinct by Gamuda Land</li> </ul> <ul> <li>Scenia Bay by Nam Tien Lao Cai Jsc. Co.</li> <li>The Arena by Nha Trang Bay Investment & Construction Joint Stock Company</li> </ul> <p><strong>Best Condo Interior Design</strong></p> <ul> <li>Alpha City by Alpha King</li> </ul> <ul> <li>De La Sol by CapitaLand Vietnam</li> <li>One Alpha Riverside District One by Alpha King</li> <li>Serenity Sky Villas by SonKim Land Corporation</li> </ul> <p><strong>Best Office Architectural Design</strong></p> <ul> <li>Alpha Town by Alpha King</li> </ul> <p><strong>Best Retail Architectural Design</strong></p> <ul> <li>Alpha City by Alpha King</li> <li>Faifo Lane by CapitaLand Vietnam</li> </ul> <p><strong>Best Hotel Interior Design</strong></p> <ul> <li>Le Méridien Cam Ranh Bay Resort & Spa by KIEN A Corporation</li> <li>Vinpeal Ha Tinh Hotel by KAZE Vietnam Co., Ltd</li> </ul> <p><strong>Best Resort Architectural Design</strong></p> <ul> <li>Le Méridien Cam Ranh Bay Resort & Spa by KIEN A Corporation</li> <li>Movenpick Resort Waverly Phu Quoc by MIK Group (Vietnam) JSC</li> </ul> <p><strong>Best Resort Interior Design</strong></p> <ul> <li>Premier Village Phu Quoc Resort by Darkhorse Architecture Company</li> </ul> <p><strong>Best Housing Architectural Design</strong></p> <ul> <li>Ecopark Grand – The Island by Darkhorse Architecture Company Limited</li> </ul> <p><strong>Best Housing Architectural Design (Ho Chi Minh City)</strong></p> <ul> <li>D2eight by CapitaLand Vietnam</li> </ul> <ul> <li>Dragon Village by Phu Long Developer</li> <li>Lavila De Rio by KIEN A Corporation</li> <li>Valencia Riverside by Anpha Holdings</li> </ul> <p><strong>Best Condo Landscape Architectural Design</strong></p> <ul> <li>Gem Riverside by Dat Xanh Group (DXG)</li> </ul> <ul> <li>Green Pearl by Phong Phu – Daewon – Thu Duc Housing Development Corporation</li> <li>Imperia Sky Garden by MIK Group (Vietnam) JSC</li> </ul> <p><strong>Best High End Condo Landscape Architectural Design</strong></p> <ul> <li>De La Sol by CapitaLand Vietnam</li> </ul> <ul> <li>Jamona Golden Silk by TTC Land</li> <li>One Verandah by Mapletree</li> </ul> <p><strong>Best Housing Landscape Architectural Design</strong></p> <ul> <li>Lavila De Rio by KIEN A Corporation</li> </ul> <ul> <li>Senturia An Phu by Tien Phuoc Real Estate Joint Stock Company</li> <li>Victoria Village by Novaland Group</li> </ul> <p><strong>Best Mixed Use Landscape Architectural Design</strong></p> <ul> <li>Celadon City by Gamuda Land</li> </ul> <ul> <li>Gamuda Gardens by Gamuda Land Vietnam LLC</li> <li>Dragon Riverside City by Phu Long Developer</li> </ul> <p> </p> <p><strong><u>SPECIAL AWARDS</u></strong></p> <p><strong>Best Universal Design Development</strong></p> <ul> <li>Le Méridien Cam Ranh Bay Resort & Spa by KIEN A Corporation</li> <li>Movenpick Resort Waverly Phu Quoc by MIK Group (Vietnam) JSC</li> </ul> <p><strong>Best Green Development</strong></p> <ul> <li>Alpha City by Alpha King</li> </ul> <ul> <li>Alpha Town by Alpha King</li> <li>D’Edge by CapitaLand Vietnam</li> <li>De La Sol by CapitaLand Vietnam</li> <li>One Alpha Riverside District One by Alpha King</li> </ul> <p><strong>CARE Special Recognition for Positive Construction Practices</strong></p> <ul> <li>Winner to be revealed on 22 June 2018 at the gala dinner</li> </ul> <p><strong>Special Recognition for Public Facility</strong></p> <ul> <li>Nguyen Hue Walking Street by Planning Information Center of Ho Chi Minh City</li> </ul> <p> </p> <p><strong><u>BEST OF VIETNAM AWARDS</u></strong></p> <p><strong>Best Condo Development (Vietnam)</strong></p> <ul> <li>Winner to be revealed on 22 June 2018 at the gala dinner</li> </ul> <p><strong>Best Housing Development (Vietnam)</strong></p> <ul> <li>Winner to be revealed on 22 June 2018 at the gala dinner</li> </ul> <p> </p> <p><strong><u>PUBLISHER’S CHOICE</u></strong></p> <p><strong>Vietnam Real Estate Personality of the Year</strong></p> <ul> <li>Dr. Huynh Ba Lan, Founding Chairman, KIEN A Corporation</li> </ul> <p> </p> <p>Thien Duong’s colleagues on the central judging panel are: David McDonald (General Director, WT Partnership (Vietnam) LLC); Duc Truong (CEO, OJS Investment & Consulting Ltd; Chairman, Edison Academy Vietnam Ltd.); Edward Haysom (General Director, HAYSOM Architects Vietnam); Haig Conolly (Director, Lloyds Property Ltd); Hang Dang (Managing Director, CBRE (Vietnam) Co., Ltd.); John Reeves (Creative Director/Senior Designer/Founder, REEVESdesign); and Mauro Gasparotti (Director, South East Asia, Savills). Supervisors from BDO Vietnam are: Jeffrey Ong Peng (Audit Partner); Nguyen Thuy Hoa (Audit Manager); and Vu Thu Huong.</p> <p>For more information email <a>awards@propertyguru.com </a>or visit <a href="http://www.asiapropertyawards.com/vietnam-property-awards/">AsiaPropertyAwards.com/vietnam-property-awards/</a></p>
<p><img alt="The next economic meltdown may arrive in two years' time. Who is Danny/Shutterstock" src="/documents/10204/0/shutterstock_349461494-compressor.jpg/bd8f649b-9255-456f-a8cf-ee65cedf363c?t=1527227063935" style="width: 1000px; height: 667px;" />The US could be entering another recession in 2020, a little more than a decade after the subprime mortgage crisis triggered a banking emergency nationwide, according to a poll by Seattle-based property portal Zillow and the consultancy Pulsenomics.</p> <p>The upcoming recession will cap the ongoing economic expansion in the US, the second-longest in the nation's history, suggested the respondents composed of more than 100 real estate pundits and economists.</p> <p>Factoring largely into the onset of the next recession are the Federal Reserve's decisions on monetary policy, respondents predicted. Hiking interest rate hikes too quickly could push the economy over the edge — and the Federal Reserve has already raised short-term interest rates four times since the start of 2017, with two more rate hikes expected this year.</p> <p>"As we close in on the longest economic expansion this country has ever seen, meaningfully higher interest rates should eventually slow the frenetic pace of home value appreciation that we have seen over the past few years, a welcome respite for would-be buyers," said Zillow senior economist Aaron Terrazas in a statement.</p> <p><a href="http://www.property-report.com/detail/-/blogs/you-can-now-own-this-star-studded-american-estate-with-2m-in-landscaping" target="_blank"><strong>More: You can now own this star-studded American estate</strong></a></p> <p>"Housing affordability is a critical issue in nearly every market across the country, and while much remains unknown about the precise path of the U.S. economy in the years ahead, another housing market crisis is unlikely to be a central protagonist in the next nationwide downturn."</p> <p>Around 48 percent of respondents believe the next recession could take place in 2020, with 22 percent of this group expecting it to begin in the first quarter of that year. </p> <p>The last recession began in late 2007 and intensified through 2008 before ending around June 2009. Effects of the meltdown reverberated in Asia, with GDP growth in the region markedly slowing in the second half of 2008.</p> <p>By the fourth quarter of the year, economic activity in Taiwan and Thailand had dwindled more than 20 percent at an annual rate while those of South Korea and Singapore by more than 15 percent, according to a <a href="https://www.frbsf.org/economic-research/files/Bernanke.pdf" target="_blank">2009 paper</a> by former Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke. </p>
<p><img alt="" src="/documents/10204/0/russia-dispatch-lead-compressor.jpg/027d627c-a87c-4aeb-8862-02721fa0f628?t=1528969081178" style="width: 1440px; height: 640px;" />In the Thai resort city of Pattaya, the streets have a very cosmopolitan flavour. Snap-happy Chinese tourists rub shoulders with Arabs and Indians. Meanwhile, long term residents from around the world observe the lively street life from the city’s famously rambunctious bars. Until recently, however, one nationality had been conspicuous by its absence. </p> <p>For the last decade at least Russians have helped buttress the city’s property market, which offers more bang for the rouble than in expensive Bangkok. Russians were purchasing about 20 to 30 percent of properties, making them the second-biggest pool of investors after Thais themselves, according to data from Pattaya-based real estate agency Premier Homes.</p> <p>Then came Russia’s incursions into Ukraine. That 2014 military campaign, and the annexation of Crimea that followed, earned Russia the opprobrium of NATO. The attendant economic blockade, along with the global oil price slump, resulted in the rapid depreciation of the rouble, which crashed 56 percent against the US dollar by December 2014 and hit a record low of RUB82 against the greenback in 2016. </p> <p>But the currency is bouncing back. It has been one of the best-performing emerging market currencies of 2017, rallying more than 10 percent against the dollar over a 52-week period. </p> <p>“The stabilisation of key macroeconomic indicators, gives us an optimistic view of the market,” says Mikhail Titov, associate director for research at CBRE Russia. “We expect the Russian economy to reach pre-crisis level with steady real estate market recovery.” </p> <p><a href="http://property-report.com/detail/-/blogs/this-russian-mansion-is-worth-your-every-bitco-1" target="_blank"><strong>More: This Russian mansion is worth every Bitcoin</strong></a></p> <p>The domestic property market was early to illustrate the rouble’s resurgence. Investment in all Russian real estate sectors stood at USD930 million in Q2 2017, up 102 percent from the same quarter in 2016, according to data from the National Statistics Office. </p> <p>“The appreciation of the rouble is improving investor confidence and perception of Russia,” says Olesya Dzuba, head of research at Jones Lang LaSalle (JLL) Russia & CIS.</p> <p>And the rouble rally is sparking a resurgence in interest in Asian favourites such as Thailand, where the currency has appreciated 20 percent against the Thai baht in 2017. </p> <p>“While Russian investment into property markets in other Asian countries is insignificant, that’s not the case in Thailand,” says Yulia Kozhevnikova, real estate researcher at international property brokerage Tranio.com. “They almost disappeared in 2014 and 2015, but have been gradually returning since 2016.”</p> <p>Take-up of condominiums in Phuket soared 22.6 percent in 2016, partly because the Russians are “back in business,” according to Risinee Sarikaputra, director for research and consultancy at Knight Frank Thailand. </p> <div class="pull-quotes-container">We all know that the Russian crisis will come to an end and a new and thriving property boom is ahead of us, it is just a matter of when</div> <p>In Banglamung, near Pattaya, Russians have recently purchased “some hundred or more” units in the luxury villa complex Baan Dusit, says Clayton Wade, managing director of Premier Homes. A Russian Orthodox church has been built at the entrance to one of the project’s seven villages. </p> <p>“I think it is too early to calculate the recovery, but the Russians are definitely coming back to Thailand,” he says. “We all know that the Russian crisis will come to an end and a new and thriving property boom is ahead of us, it is just a matter of when.” </p> <p>Most Russian buyers had before the crash been seeking residential property in Thailand for end use, but are now more are active in the buy to let market, Wade adds.</p> <p><a href="http://property-report.com/detail/-/blogs/new-thailand-lease-laws-are-ruffling-landlords-feathe-8" target="_blank"><strong>More: New Thailand lease laws are ruffling landlords’ feathers</strong></a></p> <p>Indeed, Thailand emerged as the top destination worldwide for Russian investors seeking relatively high yields, according to a 2016 survey of Russian investors by Tranio.com. Sixty-two percent of respondents sought yields north of 8 percent when purchasing residential properties in the kingdom.</p> <p>In Southeast Asia, it is not only Thailand that will welcome the reinvigoration of the Russian rouble. </p> <p>Russians are the second biggest tourism source market for Vietnam, next only to the Chinese. And with Vietnam easing restrictions on foreign ownership of residential property, Russian investors will clearly be a target.</p> <p><img alt="A miniature replica of St. Basil's cathedral in Moscow at a park in Pattaya, Thailand. ArliftAtoz2205/Shutterstock" src="/documents/10204/0/shutterstock_1061387966-compressor.jpg/12e61367-07cc-454e-a459-141589985c0a?t=1528969733298" /></p> <p>The Philippines is having its Russian moment as well. President Rodrigo Duterte returned home from a Moscow trip in 2017 with USD875 million in investment pledges from Russian firms, including property developers. </p> <p>The impetus for Russian property purchases abroad goes beyond mere economics though. Political and economic stability, potential for price growth, and the possibility of obtaining residency are among the chief factors driving Russians to scour for property overseas, the Tranio survey revealed. About 50 to 70 percent of respondents cited prospects for capital growth as their motivation for investing in Thailand, along with Portugal, the UK, and US. </p> <p>In any other market, a volatile currency would exhort investors to take on less risk. Overseas real estate, however, remains a great hedge against inflation — a viable store of wealth at a time of crisis. And with their purchasing power returning, Russian investors are once again making their presence felt in places such as Pattaya, Phuket and beyond. </p> <p><em>This article originally appeared in <a href="https://www.magzter.com/TH/PropertyGuru-International-(Thailand)-Co.,Ltd/Property-Report/Business/255811" target="_blank">Issue No. 145 of PropertyGuru Property Report Magazine</a></em></p>
<p><img alt="" src="/documents/10204/0/phnom+penh+dispatch+146+lead.jpg/23f4c9d7-1a8e-498a-a808-49f22a82dffa?t=1527158461036" style="width: 1400px; height: 640px;" />In Phnom Penh, the sight and sound of construction often seem inescapable. As investors and developers continue to pour money into retail, residential and commercial complexes, the din of drilling, clanging and sawing serves as a reminder of the city’s unrelenting building boom.</p> <p>Recent years have seen much of the money flow into high-end condominium towers, which have raised the city’s skyline and put thousands of units on the market.</p> <p>But many experts believe developers and speculators may have got ahead of themselves.</p> <p>There are currently 110 condo projects both finished and ongoing in Phnom Penh, with 37,570 units slated to come online by 2020, according to a 2017 report by real estate company Century 21. Since 2016, however, demand for new condos has slowed down significantly.</p> <p>The report notes that only 13 percent of 13,300 new units were sold in a presale launch during the first half of 2016, compared with year-on-year sales of 18 percent in 2015 and 31 percent in 2014.</p> <p>Adding to the anguish was the announcement in a CBRE Cambodia mid-year report that there was just one new launch in Q2 2017.</p> <p>“Whilst there has been little fluctuation in sales prices for condominiums, some developers have started to employ increasingly commercial marketing strategies, including discounts on quoting sales prices of between 2 percent and 10 percent,” CBRE states in its analysis.</p> <div class="pull-quotes-container">There’s going to be a lot of units coming online this year and that’s when the big glut will hit the market. There simply won’t be enough people to rent them</div> <p>There is widespread concern about the oversupply of condo units, with fears 2018 will be even worse.</p> <p>“A lot of [the properties] haven’t been finished yet so they won’t be sitting there empty, but there’s going to be a lot coming online this year and that’s when the big glut will hit the market,” Grant Fitzgerald, country manager for local realtor Independent Property Services, says. “There simply won’t be enough people to rent them.”</p> <p>He adds that many of the properties have been bought by Asian investors with the aim of renting them out.</p> <p><img alt="Developing skyline of Phnom Penh, Cambodia. Tlapy007/Shutterstock" src="/documents/10204/0/shutterstock_784027639-compressor.jpg/ad2288cc-c985-4eba-88ff-aa4ff2c3f3b1?t=1527222273432" /></p> <p>Since Cambodia limped away from the financial crisis of 2008 and its economy strengthened, Phnom Penh has emerged as real estate hotspot among Chinese and other Asian investors looking to buy a property without the onerous regulations or instability affecting most neighbouring countries in the region.</p> <p>Consistent economic growth of about 7 percent and a growing middle class have drawn big international brands in retail, hospitality and real estate – from Japan’s Aeon Mall to Starbucks – providing fertile ground for developers looking to tap into a new wealthier class of urban professionals.</p> <p>Between 2009 and 2010, the first generation of low-to-mid-rise condominiums entered the market with a total of 732 condominium units for sale. By the end of 2015 there were 2,836 such units. A marked shift, however, came amid a wave of building launches in 2013 and 2014, with the likes of De Castle Royal adding 414 units and setting new market standards in design and quality.</p> <p><a href="http://property-report.com/detail/-/blogs/what-you-need-to-know-about-asia-s-final-frontie-4" target="_blank"><strong>More: What you need to know about Asia’s final frontiers</strong></a></p> <p>Yet the country’s high-end segment is still heavily reliant on foreign buyers, particularly from mainland China, Hong Kong, Singapore and Taiwan.</p> <p>China is Cambodia's single largest foreign investor. According to a Chinese official quoted by the state-owned news agency Xinhua, Chinese investment accounted for an estimated USD11.8 billion, or 34% of total foreign direct investment, in 2016, with that money going largely into land, property, infrastructure and manufacturing.</p> <p>Ross Wheble, Cambodia country director at real estate services firm Knight Frank, said there is an oversupply in the high-end segment of the market which</p> <p>Perhaps the biggest concern is that most Cambodians simply cannot afford units in the high-end segment of the market and there are not enough foreign buyers.</p> <p>“It has been mainly foreign investors buying luxury condos and obviously there is a finite number of them, hence sales have slowed significantly over the last year,” Ross Wheble, Cambodia country director at real estate services firm Knight Frank, says.</p> <p>“To be sustainable, the market needs to be driven by domestic demand. Developers have now shifted to more affordable projects, and we have seen increasing interest from Cambodians for units priced below USD50,000.”</p> <p><a href="http://property-report.com/detail/-/blogs/where-to-find-cambodia-s-most-exciting-mixed-use-developme-17" target="_blank"><strong>More: Where to find Cambodia’s most exciting mixed-use developments</strong></a></p> <p>In a survey of leading industry experts by local online property portal realestate.com.kh, the consensus was that the market needs to reinvent itself and focus not just on high-end developments if it is to cope with the upcoming challenges.</p> <p>Kim Heang, president of the Cambodian Valuers and Estate Agents Association, was quoted as saying that developers should focus on lower income and new family markets, with new developments priced at around USD30,000 to USD40,000 rather than USD100,000 for middle class families.</p> <p>“Boreys (purpose built communities) for the middle class and high-end clientele have reached their limit,” Kim Heang, president of the Cambodian Valuers and Estate Agents Association, said in the survey, adding that developers should focus on properties priced at around USD30,000 to USD40,000 rather than USD100,000.</p> <p>The oversupply is also pushing down rental prices of both old residential apartments and new condominium units, according to Mara Tep, manager of Phnom Penh-based agency Rooftop Real Estate. Another factor in the impending glut is the focus by developers on appealing to Asian clientele. </p> <p>“Many of the new condos have a Chinese style, which Westerners do not like,” she says. “Developers should certainly think more about adapting their style and catering to a wider variety of buyers.”</p> <p>Whether it’s a change of tack architecturally or a more realistic approach to addressing demand, it seems that a change of strategy is indeed required. How long it will take for the upcoming glut to be absorbed, though, is anyone’s guess.</p> <p><em>This article originally appeared in <a href="https://www.magzter.com/TH/PropertyGuru-International-(Thailand)-Co.,Ltd/Property-Report/Business/266502" target="_blank">Issue No. 146 of PropertyGuru Property Report Magazine</a></em></p>
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With more than 40 years experience spearheading some of the biggest real estate developers in Thailand and Hong Kong, Chris Delaney is better placed than most to ponder on the current state of Thailand’s property market. Now leading the line at Sunplay Bangsaray, a high-end lifestyle community on Thailand’s Eastern Seaboard, he spoke to us about the benefits of being ahead of the game and targeting one of the region’s fastest-growing consumer markets: the over 50s.
1. How have buyer expectations changed over the years for luxury real estate in Thailand?
Consumers nowadays are well-informed and discerning. Having more high-end choices raises the bar for everyone, and competition has definitely improved the way developers approach the market. Product standards are therefore far more cosmopolitan than they were 10 years ago, which reflects current market expectations for sophistication, elegance, innovative design and superlative service.
2. What impact have these heightened expectations had on how developers approach projects?
Detailed research is necessary prior to determining target market segment requirements. Attention to detail in software resources, such as concierge services and discreet billing systems, is now paramount and represent the norm rather than the exception. Simply selecting talented architects and delivering high-end finishes are no longer sufficient; the end product must be as seamless an experience as a stay in a five-star hotel, with continuity guaranteed. Buyers need to trust that the lifestyle and services they invest in will be delivered consistently over time.
3. How do you balance targeting both local and international buyers and what are the biggest obstacles?
We are no longer in the business of selling bricks and mortar, but rather creating a lifestyle targeting a mature client base that values not only quality but also consistency and continuity. The little touches that say “welcome home” such as having the staff greet you by name and preparing your favourite flowers and foods in your residence before you arrive, are appreciated by all clients, whether local or international. Ultimately we all want the same things from a lifestyle investment – peace of mind, the feeling of being in a home away from home and knowing that we have made a sound investment.
More: Could this be Thailand's next investment hotspot?
4. Why is senior living finally taking off in Thailand and Southeast Asia?
People are living longer and staying healthier thanks to general awareness and advances in medical sciences. In this respect, Thailand is fortunate to have a favourable cost of living and world-class medical facilities, as well as being an excellent transportation hub. Add to that the outdoor sports-friendly climate and hospitality-minded Thai nature, and it is clear that the Kingdom ticks all the boxes for a very pleasant retirement. The Thai government recognises this growth trend, and now offers retirement visas catering specifically to this growing market.
5. How can developers capitalise on this trend?
Developer awareness of changing trends within the very broad retirement category and government initiatives to support industry growth will benefit those who catch the wave and respond to the changes in a timely manner.
Investing well on Thailand’s Eastern Seaboard
From the paradisiacal islands in the Andaman Sea to the vibrant Eastern Seaboard, Thailand has long been regarded as Asia’s premier resort property destination. Nowadays, many affluent investors not only look for luxury real estate in a prime location, but also require amenities that support an action-packed lifestyle.
Whether for sport or fitness, personal development or health, relaxation or fun, Sunplay Bangsaray — an active lifestyle community for the over-50s located on Thailand’s Eastern Seaboard with stunning views of the coast — provides plenty of lifestyle options complemented by a full range of modern luxury facilities. The onsite Sunplay Club features a superbly equipped fitness centre, yoga studio, and large freeform swimming pool.
Bangsaray is an emerging destination that offers a variety of activities and attractions for residents fond of watersports and physical activities, with 10 golf courses in the area, as well as multiple options for sailing, biking, running and hiking.
For more information on one of the Eastern Seaboard’s most exclusive lifestyle communities, visit sunplay.asia
<p>With more than 40 years experience spearheading some of the biggest real estate developers in Thailand and Hong Kong, Chris Delaney is better placed than most to ponder on the current state of Thailand’s property market. Now leading the line at Sunplay Bangsaray, a high-end lifestyle community on Thailand’s Eastern Seaboard, he spoke to us about the benefits of being ahead of the game and targeting one of the region’s fastest-growing consumer markets: the over 50s. </p> <p><img alt="Chris Delaney, Managing Director of Sunplay Asia" src="/documents/10204/0/CVN_5994.jpg/d9e6fc3b-07d0-4aa9-8f6f-9906f0bc2912?t=1522053739534" /></p> <h3><strong>1. How have buyer expectations changed over the years for </strong><strong>luxury</strong><strong> real estate in Thailand? </strong></h3> <p>Consumers nowadays are well-informed and discerning. Having more high-end choices raises the bar for everyone, and competition has definitely improved the way developers approach the market. Product standards are therefore far more cosmopolitan than they were 10 years ago, which reflects current market expectations for sophistication, elegance, innovative design and superlative service.</p> <h3>2. What impact have these heightened expectations had on how developers approach projects? </h3> <p>Detailed research is necessary prior to determining target market segment requirements. Attention to detail in software resources, such as concierge services and discreet billing systems, is now paramount and represent the norm rather than the exception. Simply selecting talented architects and delivering high-end finishes are no longer sufficient; the end product must be as seamless an experience as a stay in a five-star hotel, with continuity guaranteed. Buyers need to trust that the lifestyle and services they invest in will be delivered consistently over time. </p> <h3>3. How do you balance targeting both local and international buyers and what are the biggest obstacles? </h3> <p>We are no longer in the business of selling bricks and mortar, but rather creating a lifestyle targeting a mature client base that values not only quality but also consistency and continuity. The little touches that say “welcome home” such as having the staff greet you by name and preparing your favourite flowers and foods in your residence before you arrive, are appreciated by all clients, whether local or international. Ultimately we all want the same things from a lifestyle investment – peace of mind, the feeling of being in a home away from home and knowing that we have made a sound investment. </p> <p><a href="http://property-report.com/detail/-/blogs/could-this-be-thailand-s-next-investment-hotsp-10"><strong>More: Could this be Thailand's next investment hotspot?</strong></a></p> <h3>4. Why is senior living finally taking off in Thailand and Southeast Asia?</h3> <p>People are living longer and staying healthier thanks to general awareness and advances in medical sciences. In this respect, Thailand is fortunate to have a favourable cost of living and world-class medical facilities, as well as being an excellent transportation hub. Add to that the outdoor sports-friendly climate and hospitality-minded Thai nature, and it is clear that the Kingdom ticks all the boxes for a very pleasant retirement. The Thai government recognises this growth trend, and now offers retirement visas catering specifically to this growing market.</p> <h3>5. How can developers capitalise on this trend? </h3> <p>Developer awareness of changing trends within the very broad retirement category and government initiatives to support industry growth will benefit those who catch the wave and respond to the changes in a timely manner.</p> <h3>Investing well on Thailand’s Eastern Seaboard</h3> <p>From the paradisiacal islands in the Andaman Sea to the vibrant Eastern Seaboard, Thailand has long been regarded as Asia’s premier resort property destination. Nowadays, many affluent investors not only look for luxury real estate in a prime location, but also require amenities that support an action-packed lifestyle.<br /> <br /> Whether for sport or fitness, personal development or health, relaxation or fun, Sunplay Bangsaray — an active lifestyle community for the over-50s located on Thailand’s Eastern Seaboard with stunning views of the coast — provides plenty of lifestyle options complemented by a full range of modern luxury facilities. The onsite Sunplay Club features a superbly equipped fitness centre, yoga studio, and large freeform swimming pool.<br /> <br /> Bangsaray is an emerging destination that offers a variety of activities and attractions for residents fond of watersports and physical activities, with 10 golf courses in the area, as well as multiple options for sailing, biking, running and hiking.<span style="font-family: "bentonsans cond"; font-size: 17px;"> </span></p> <p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 10px 0px 30px; line-height: 1.42857; font-family: "bentonsans cond"; font-size: 17px;"><strong style="box-sizing: border-box;"><em style="box-sizing: border-box;">For more information on one of the Eastern Seaboard’s most exclusive lifestyle communities, visit </em></strong><a href="http://sunplay.asia/" style="box-sizing: border-box; background-color: transparent; color: rgb(170, 33, 33); text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank"><strong style="box-sizing: border-box;"><em style="box-sizing: border-box;">sunplay</em></strong></a><a href="http://sunplay.asia/" style="box-sizing: border-box; background-color: transparent; color: rgb(170, 33, 33); text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank"><strong style="box-sizing: border-box;"><em style="box-sizing: border-box;">.asia</em></strong></a></p>
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Quick-fire insights into Thai real estate, retirement properties and savvier consumers
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<p><img alt="" src="/documents/10204/0/russia-dispatch-lead-compressor.jpg/027d627c-a87c-4aeb-8862-02721fa0f628?t=1528969081178" style="width: 1440px; height: 640px;" />In the Thai resort city of Pattaya, the streets have a very cosmopolitan flavour. Snap-happy Chinese tourists rub shoulders with Arabs and Indians. Meanwhile, long term residents from around the world observe the lively street life from the city’s famously rambunctious bars. Until recently, however, one nationality had been conspicuous by its absence. </p> <p>For the last decade at least Russians have helped buttress the city’s property market, which offers more bang for the rouble than in expensive Bangkok. Russians were purchasing about 20 to 30 percent of properties, making them the second-biggest pool of investors after Thais themselves, according to data from Pattaya-based real estate agency Premier Homes.</p> <p>Then came Russia’s incursions into Ukraine. That 2014 military campaign, and the annexation of Crimea that followed, earned Russia the opprobrium of NATO. The attendant economic blockade, along with the global oil price slump, resulted in the rapid depreciation of the rouble, which crashed 56 percent against the US dollar by December 2014 and hit a record low of RUB82 against the greenback in 2016. </p> <p>But the currency is bouncing back. It has been one of the best-performing emerging market currencies of 2017, rallying more than 10 percent against the dollar over a 52-week period. </p> <p>“The stabilisation of key macroeconomic indicators, gives us an optimistic view of the market,” says Mikhail Titov, associate director for research at CBRE Russia. “We expect the Russian economy to reach pre-crisis level with steady real estate market recovery.” </p> <p><a href="http://property-report.com/detail/-/blogs/this-russian-mansion-is-worth-your-every-bitco-1" target="_blank"><strong>More: This Russian mansion is worth every Bitcoin</strong></a></p> <p>The domestic property market was early to illustrate the rouble’s resurgence. Investment in all Russian real estate sectors stood at USD930 million in Q2 2017, up 102 percent from the same quarter in 2016, according to data from the National Statistics Office. </p> <p>“The appreciation of the rouble is improving investor confidence and perception of Russia,” says Olesya Dzuba, head of research at Jones Lang LaSalle (JLL) Russia & CIS.</p> <p>And the rouble rally is sparking a resurgence in interest in Asian favourites such as Thailand, where the currency has appreciated 20 percent against the Thai baht in 2017. </p> <p>“While Russian investment into property markets in other Asian countries is insignificant, that’s not the case in Thailand,” says Yulia Kozhevnikova, real estate researcher at international property brokerage Tranio.com. “They almost disappeared in 2014 and 2015, but have been gradually returning since 2016.”</p> <p>Take-up of condominiums in Phuket soared 22.6 percent in 2016, partly because the Russians are “back in business,” according to Risinee Sarikaputra, director for research and consultancy at Knight Frank Thailand. </p> <div class="pull-quotes-container">We all know that the Russian crisis will come to an end and a new and thriving property boom is ahead of us, it is just a matter of when</div> <p>In Banglamung, near Pattaya, Russians have recently purchased “some hundred or more” units in the luxury villa complex Baan Dusit, says Clayton Wade, managing director of Premier Homes. A Russian Orthodox church has been built at the entrance to one of the project’s seven villages. </p> <p>“I think it is too early to calculate the recovery, but the Russians are definitely coming back to Thailand,” he says. “We all know that the Russian crisis will come to an end and a new and thriving property boom is ahead of us, it is just a matter of when.” </p> <p>Most Russian buyers had before the crash been seeking residential property in Thailand for end use, but are now more are active in the buy to let market, Wade adds.</p> <p><a href="http://property-report.com/detail/-/blogs/new-thailand-lease-laws-are-ruffling-landlords-feathe-8" target="_blank"><strong>More: New Thailand lease laws are ruffling landlords’ feathers</strong></a></p> <p>Indeed, Thailand emerged as the top destination worldwide for Russian investors seeking relatively high yields, according to a 2016 survey of Russian investors by Tranio.com. Sixty-two percent of respondents sought yields north of 8 percent when purchasing residential properties in the kingdom.</p> <p>In Southeast Asia, it is not only Thailand that will welcome the reinvigoration of the Russian rouble. </p> <p>Russians are the second biggest tourism source market for Vietnam, next only to the Chinese. And with Vietnam easing restrictions on foreign ownership of residential property, Russian investors will clearly be a target.</p> <p><img alt="A miniature replica of St. Basil's cathedral in Moscow at a park in Pattaya, Thailand. ArliftAtoz2205/Shutterstock" src="/documents/10204/0/shutterstock_1061387966-compressor.jpg/12e61367-07cc-454e-a459-141589985c0a?t=1528969733298" /></p> <p>The Philippines is having its Russian moment as well. President Rodrigo Duterte returned home from a Moscow trip in 2017 with USD875 million in investment pledges from Russian firms, including property developers. </p> <p>The impetus for Russian property purchases abroad goes beyond mere economics though. Political and economic stability, potential for price growth, and the possibility of obtaining residency are among the chief factors driving Russians to scour for property overseas, the Tranio survey revealed. About 50 to 70 percent of respondents cited prospects for capital growth as their motivation for investing in Thailand, along with Portugal, the UK, and US. </p> <p>In any other market, a volatile currency would exhort investors to take on less risk. Overseas real estate, however, remains a great hedge against inflation — a viable store of wealth at a time of crisis. And with their purchasing power returning, Russian investors are once again making their presence felt in places such as Pattaya, Phuket and beyond. </p> <p><em>This article originally appeared in <a href="https://www.magzter.com/TH/PropertyGuru-International-(Thailand)-Co.,Ltd/Property-Report/Business/255811" target="_blank">Issue No. 145 of PropertyGuru Property Report Magazine</a></em></p>
<p><img alt="" src="/documents/10204/0/phnom+penh+dispatch+146+lead.jpg/23f4c9d7-1a8e-498a-a808-49f22a82dffa?t=1527158461036" style="width: 1400px; height: 640px;" />In Phnom Penh, the sight and sound of construction often seem inescapable. As investors and developers continue to pour money into retail, residential and commercial complexes, the din of drilling, clanging and sawing serves as a reminder of the city’s unrelenting building boom.</p> <p>Recent years have seen much of the money flow into high-end condominium towers, which have raised the city’s skyline and put thousands of units on the market.</p> <p>But many experts believe developers and speculators may have got ahead of themselves.</p> <p>There are currently 110 condo projects both finished and ongoing in Phnom Penh, with 37,570 units slated to come online by 2020, according to a 2017 report by real estate company Century 21. Since 2016, however, demand for new condos has slowed down significantly.</p> <p>The report notes that only 13 percent of 13,300 new units were sold in a presale launch during the first half of 2016, compared with year-on-year sales of 18 percent in 2015 and 31 percent in 2014.</p> <p>Adding to the anguish was the announcement in a CBRE Cambodia mid-year report that there was just one new launch in Q2 2017.</p> <p>“Whilst there has been little fluctuation in sales prices for condominiums, some developers have started to employ increasingly commercial marketing strategies, including discounts on quoting sales prices of between 2 percent and 10 percent,” CBRE states in its analysis.</p> <div class="pull-quotes-container">There’s going to be a lot of units coming online this year and that’s when the big glut will hit the market. There simply won’t be enough people to rent them</div> <p>There is widespread concern about the oversupply of condo units, with fears 2018 will be even worse.</p> <p>“A lot of [the properties] haven’t been finished yet so they won’t be sitting there empty, but there’s going to be a lot coming online this year and that’s when the big glut will hit the market,” Grant Fitzgerald, country manager for local realtor Independent Property Services, says. “There simply won’t be enough people to rent them.”</p> <p>He adds that many of the properties have been bought by Asian investors with the aim of renting them out.</p> <p><img alt="Developing skyline of Phnom Penh, Cambodia. Tlapy007/Shutterstock" src="/documents/10204/0/shutterstock_784027639-compressor.jpg/ad2288cc-c985-4eba-88ff-aa4ff2c3f3b1?t=1527222273432" /></p> <p>Since Cambodia limped away from the financial crisis of 2008 and its economy strengthened, Phnom Penh has emerged as real estate hotspot among Chinese and other Asian investors looking to buy a property without the onerous regulations or instability affecting most neighbouring countries in the region.</p> <p>Consistent economic growth of about 7 percent and a growing middle class have drawn big international brands in retail, hospitality and real estate – from Japan’s Aeon Mall to Starbucks – providing fertile ground for developers looking to tap into a new wealthier class of urban professionals.</p> <p>Between 2009 and 2010, the first generation of low-to-mid-rise condominiums entered the market with a total of 732 condominium units for sale. By the end of 2015 there were 2,836 such units. A marked shift, however, came amid a wave of building launches in 2013 and 2014, with the likes of De Castle Royal adding 414 units and setting new market standards in design and quality.</p> <p><a href="http://property-report.com/detail/-/blogs/what-you-need-to-know-about-asia-s-final-frontie-4" target="_blank"><strong>More: What you need to know about Asia’s final frontiers</strong></a></p> <p>Yet the country’s high-end segment is still heavily reliant on foreign buyers, particularly from mainland China, Hong Kong, Singapore and Taiwan.</p> <p>China is Cambodia's single largest foreign investor. According to a Chinese official quoted by the state-owned news agency Xinhua, Chinese investment accounted for an estimated USD11.8 billion, or 34% of total foreign direct investment, in 2016, with that money going largely into land, property, infrastructure and manufacturing.</p> <p>Ross Wheble, Cambodia country director at real estate services firm Knight Frank, said there is an oversupply in the high-end segment of the market which</p> <p>Perhaps the biggest concern is that most Cambodians simply cannot afford units in the high-end segment of the market and there are not enough foreign buyers.</p> <p>“It has been mainly foreign investors buying luxury condos and obviously there is a finite number of them, hence sales have slowed significantly over the last year,” Ross Wheble, Cambodia country director at real estate services firm Knight Frank, says.</p> <p>“To be sustainable, the market needs to be driven by domestic demand. Developers have now shifted to more affordable projects, and we have seen increasing interest from Cambodians for units priced below USD50,000.”</p> <p><a href="http://property-report.com/detail/-/blogs/where-to-find-cambodia-s-most-exciting-mixed-use-developme-17" target="_blank"><strong>More: Where to find Cambodia’s most exciting mixed-use developments</strong></a></p> <p>In a survey of leading industry experts by local online property portal realestate.com.kh, the consensus was that the market needs to reinvent itself and focus not just on high-end developments if it is to cope with the upcoming challenges.</p> <p>Kim Heang, president of the Cambodian Valuers and Estate Agents Association, was quoted as saying that developers should focus on lower income and new family markets, with new developments priced at around USD30,000 to USD40,000 rather than USD100,000 for middle class families.</p> <p>“Boreys (purpose built communities) for the middle class and high-end clientele have reached their limit,” Kim Heang, president of the Cambodian Valuers and Estate Agents Association, said in the survey, adding that developers should focus on properties priced at around USD30,000 to USD40,000 rather than USD100,000.</p> <p>The oversupply is also pushing down rental prices of both old residential apartments and new condominium units, according to Mara Tep, manager of Phnom Penh-based agency Rooftop Real Estate. Another factor in the impending glut is the focus by developers on appealing to Asian clientele. </p> <p>“Many of the new condos have a Chinese style, which Westerners do not like,” she says. “Developers should certainly think more about adapting their style and catering to a wider variety of buyers.”</p> <p>Whether it’s a change of tack architecturally or a more realistic approach to addressing demand, it seems that a change of strategy is indeed required. How long it will take for the upcoming glut to be absorbed, though, is anyone’s guess.</p> <p><em>This article originally appeared in <a href="https://www.magzter.com/TH/PropertyGuru-International-(Thailand)-Co.,Ltd/Property-Report/Business/266502" target="_blank">Issue No. 146 of PropertyGuru Property Report Magazine</a></em></p>
<p><img alt="" src="/documents/10204/0/new-zealand-dispatch-lead-compressor.jpg/9105084f-8d22-4f41-8c26-85aed39d9a32?t=1525863428696" style="width: 1395px; height: 641px;" />When New Zealand Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Winston Peters cracked a racist joke in a speech on the perils of Chinese investment in the farming sector in 2014, he was roundly chastised. Although Peters himself said he saw no harm in it, his assertion that “two Wongs don’t make a white,” was widely viewed as offensive and even incendiary. </p> <p>Such a crack might have meant political death for others, but Peters survived and has thrived. His nationalist NZ First party is the kingmaker in the new coalition government helmed by Labour Party Leader Prime Minister Jacinta Arden. And memories of his off-colour remarks have been stirred by a move to exclude international buyers from the Kiwi property scene.</p> <p>Minted in October, the government is pushing through a bill to ban foreign property purchases despite concerns that it will have little to no effect on one of the world’s least affordable housing markets.</p> <p>The bill will change the Overseas Investment Act so that only citizens and permanent residents will be able to purchase existing property without a lengthy screening process. Opponents believe the move was political grandstanding for administration partners Labour Party and NZ First.</p> <p>Labour and NZ First campaigned on making home ownership more affordable for New Zealanders despite low mortgage rates and stagnant wages. But the parties also sent out public missives on rampant and seemingly imaginary wholesale property speculation by Chinese and Indian citizens. The logic was simple: addition by subtraction -- of Chinese and Indian buyers.</p> <p><a href="http://property-report.com/detail/-/blogs/what-will-it-take-to-cool-down-australia-s-property-marke-8" target="_blank"><strong>More: What will it take to cool down Australia’s property market?</strong></a></p> <p>However, according to a recent survey of its 14,000 members by advocacy and advisory body Real Estate Institute of New Zealand only about 3.8 percent of buyers were foreign nationals.</p> <p>“There is little data or evidence that clearly links the role foreign buyers have in allegedly increasing house prices,” said Bindi Norwell, chief executive of REINZ in a November media note on the ban. “Additionally, many of the large banks here have already made restrictions to offshore buyers without a local income, yet we’ve still seen the national median house price increase.” </p> <p>REINZ says median prices across New Zealand rose 1.9 percent in November to NZD540,000 (USD378,500) – up from NZD530,000 in October. In Auckland, the country’s biggest city and home to a third of New Zealand’s 4.8 million people, price increased 3.8 percent to NZD$880,000 – up from NZD$848,149 in October and 0.6 percent year-on-year. Auckland’s median price has now increased by NZD50,000 over the last four months. While its average house price has soared 90 percent in the last decade to more than NZD1 million.</p> <p>In the capital of Wellington, where demand outstrips supply, values rose 10 percent during the year. In Christchurch, the third largest city, which is over-supplied, prices fell 1.6 percent.</p> <p>“We would just like some clarification on what the ban is trying to achieve. Our position has been that foreign investors are a small percentage of buyers. Is it the perception that the government is trying to moderate price growth?” asked Norwell. “Banks have tightened up. If this legislation is not going to have any real affect, it’s a big policy change and a strong message its sending.”</p> <p><img alt="Firework display atop the Auckland Sky Tower to celebrate the Chinese New Year. Shaun Jeffers/Shutterstock" src="/documents/10204/0/shutterstock_185821316-compressor.jpg/c1ccaf62-f0c5-4f74-a3ec-26e963c4b181?t=1525865380438" /></p> <p>There have been ongoing concerns about a potential massive correction in the market, which is widely viewed as overvalued. But local economists point to an ongoing housing crisis that they say will keep prices buoyant over the medium term with scant hope of the central bank raising rates any time soon.</p> <p>In December, the Treasury issued caveats about the new government’s rush to ban foreign ownership saying that there is “low” certainty that the move would ease price pressure or usher in a boom in new construction.</p> <p>Treasury also took exception to how quickly the analysis and implementation risks were cobbled together.</p> <p>“We are determined to make it easier for Kiwis to buy their first home, so we are stopping foreign speculators buying houses and driving up prices,” Arden said about the bill. </p> <div class="pull-quotes-container">Evidence in both Australia and here in New Zealand is that overseas buyers don’t have a significant impact on the housing market</div> <p>Many though are sceptical on just how effective the legislation will turn out to be.</p> <p>“Evidence in both Australia and here in New Zealand is that overseas buyers don’t have a significant impact on the housing market,” said opposition finance spokesman Steven Joyce.</p> <p>Even Arden’s own Trade Minister David Parker said he does not expect a huge impact on housing prices, but the “principle that buying New Zealand homes was a privilege” was an important factor in pushing the legislation through.</p> <p>There are also concerns that a glut would wipe out gains in household net worth, which is up 11 percent or NZD134 billion since 2007. About NZD84 billion of that was on the back of increased property value according to Statistics NZ. The bill adds enforcement measures that force agents to “certify, to the best of their knowledge”, that new buys stack up with the new regulations.</p> <p><a href="http://property-report.com/detail/-/blogs/where-is-the-world-s-best-place-for-expats-to-live-and-work-i-1" target="_blank"><strong>More: Where in the world is the best home for a working expat?</strong></a></p> <p>But for many, the ban on foreign purchases is a thinly veiled swipe at Asian investors in line with Peters’ and NZ First’s often-antagonistic stance on foreigners. During the 1996 general election he campaigned on beating back the “Asian Invasion.” The invasion did not exist, but Peters helped usher in more restrictive immigration policies as Deputy Prime Minister in the wake of the poll. </p> <p>Indeed, many in New Zealand are uncomfortable at the message its government is sending out to the world through the new bill.</p> <p>“I’m not a fan of anything that is going to limit foreign investment in the country,” says Duncan Ross, National country manager of Bayleys Realty Group, which rang up over NZD1.3 billion in rural sales in 2017. “I don’t think it really jibes with how we are as welcoming New Zealanders and how much of the market will be affected anyway. For rural purchases and trophy farms, there are more Australian and American buyers anyway. I think this perception that its Asian based is not true.”</p> <p><em>This article originally appeared in <a href="https://www.magzter.com/TH/PropertyGuru-International-(Thailand)-Co.,Ltd/Property-Report/Business/266502" target="_blank">Issue No. 146 of PropertyGuru Property Report Magazine</a></em></p>
<p><img alt="" src="/documents/10204/0/New-lease-of-life-lead-2-compressor.jpg/c8acdc66-9a7c-4e5a-965d-8130b486aee7?t=1525410215442" style="width: 1399px; height: 627px;" />Bangkok is lauded by thousands of foreign residents for its high quality of life and low cost of living. There are caveats to this relative affordability: one of them being rent, or more specifically deposits. It is common practice for landlords — not only in the Thai capital, but across the country — to request a two-month deposit in addition to one month’s rent in advance when a lease agreement is signed.</p> <p>And it is the frequency with which mercurial landlords fail to return deposits — especially to foreigners who are less equipped and inclined to challenge the decision — that really rubs renters up the wrong way.</p> <p>“I think you almost have to accept that you are not going to see the full deposit again once it has been handed over,” Rob Lawson, a recruitment specialist and Bangkok resident of nine years, says. “I’ve lived in four properties during my time here and only ever received the total amount back once.”</p> <p>The fortunes of tenants such as Lawson may be about to change with the recent addition of stricter, consumer-leaning leasing rules. On 1 May, the government introduced a raft of new regulations under the country’s Consumer Protection Act that could potentially usher in much-needed transparency to the residential rental market.</p> <p>The law states that from 1 May it is illegal for landlords who own more than five residential properties in the same building to request multiple months of rent in advance, charge more than the actual rate for utility bills, enter properties without notice, and lock tenants out of a unit.</p> <p>Tenants will now also have the right to terminate a contract with 30-days’ notice without losing the deposit. The new law is not retrospective in application, which means that it will only apply to contracts signed from May onwards.</p> <p><a href="http://property-report.com/detail/-/blogs/bangkok-vs-jakarta-where-should-you-inves-4" target="_blank"><strong>More: Comparing Bangkok and Jakarta, two of Southeast Asia's biggest property markets</strong></a></p> <p>The most significant change, according to analysts, is the introduction of a maximum one-month deposit clause, which will increase the risk factor for landlords.</p> <p>“Although lessors typically ask for a deposit equivalent to two months’ rent, a one-month deposit will now have to suffice to assure landlords that they will receive the final month’s rent when the lessee’s contract expires and they vacate the property,” says Bunthoon Damrongrak, head of residential sales and leasing at JLL Thailand. “There are however cases where lessees fail to pay rent for more than one month or, in fewer cases, fail to move out and pay rent after the leasing contract expires [leaving the landlord in debt].”</p> <p>The issue has inevitably caused uncertainty and unrest among landlords. No longer can they resort to such underhand tactics as pocketing deposits, changing the locks or seizing tenants’ possessions, all of which are now illegal under the Consumer Protection Act.</p> <p>“In practice, if the monies at stake are great enough, the landlord may still try to sue for illegal termination if they can identify a minor breach by a tenant and hold them to it,” says Desmond Hughes, senior partner at Thai law firm Hughes Krupica. “But disputes of this nature ought to be resolved in quick, inexpensive fashion.</p> <p>“The adoption of an online dispute resolution mechanism with a cyber court function would be ground-breaking as a step towards modernizing Thailand’s approach to these types of issues, yet there appear to be no plans at present to approach these issues in this way.”</p> <p>There are also other grey areas, such as how tenants can find out the total number of properties their landlord owns and thus whether the law applies to their rental property. As it stands there is no organization or entity responsible for collecting rental property information — apart from the Revenue Department, which will not make it public.</p> <p>“Citizens will not have access to such data unless they obtain a court order, which will require the filing of a case or special motion,” Hughes says.</p> <div class="pull-quotes-container">The flexibility and protection provided by the new law are likely to increase the level of rental confidence, regulating and adding long overdue standards to rental contracts</div> <p>With fierce competition in the leasing market, owners will be unable to raise rents to reflect the higher risks they face and the rental market will subsequently not be affected. The new law may even boost demand, according to Marciano Birjmohun, associate director, residential department at Knight Frank Thailand.</p> <p>“The flexibility and protection provided by the new law is likely to increase the level of rental confidence; regulating and adding long overdue standards to rental contracts,” he says.</p> <p>And as the law only applies only to landlords with more than five residential properties in one building, it is in fact the serviced apartment sector that will primarily be affected.</p> <p>“There are many serviced apartments in Thailand, especially Bangkok, but keep in mind that these operators conduct long-term leases and already screen their tenants,” Birjmohun adds. “But then there is the question of how many investors own more than five units arises—and this is difficult to measure.</p> <p><a href="http://property-report.com/detail/-/blogs/thailand-real-estate-relentless-expensive-and-highly-desira-13" target="_blank"><strong>More: Thailand real estate is relentless, expensive, and highly desirable</strong></a></p> <p>“How many landlords are willing to declare that they are renting out units? To enforce the new regulations, the real estate market must be turned upside down. Still, the new law certainly provides significant and arguably fairer protections to tenants.”</p> <p>But what good news for Rob Lawson and the thousands like him in Bangkok and beyond who either don’t live in a serviced apartment or are not covered by the new rules?</p> <p>“Speculatively, the five-unit rule was perhaps designed to soften the impact and test the effect of the regulations amongst landlords who can ‘afford’ to suffer a little on terms,” Hughes says. “There is however no evidence that this was at all the case.”</p> <p>Whether the new law is indeed a pilot scheme as Hughes speculates or simply a measure to target business operators, it does mean at least that fewer tenants will be left empty-handed when the removal trucks arrive.</p> <p><em>For more on the burning topics affecting Asia's luxury property markets, subscribe to the next issue of <a href="https://www.magzter.com/TH/PropertyGuru-International-(Thailand)-Co.,Ltd/Property-Report/Business/" target="_blank">PropertyGuru Property Report Magazine</a>, out in June</em></p>
<p><img alt="Warren Buffett, chair and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway, speaks during the 2014 Most Powerful Women Summit. Krista Kennell/Shutterstock" src="/documents/10204/0/shutterstock_444483772-compressor.jpg/6f93207e-2985-4fa5-9559-630b499f4f7e?t=1525406330633" style="width: 1000px; height: 667px;" />On 5 May 2018, legendary investor Warren Buffett will host the Berkshire Hathaway annual general meeting. If past AGMs are any guide, he will use the opportunity to share some of his choice investing tips.</p> <p>Buffet devised his investment philosophy for equities. In honor of the 2018 Berkshire Hathaway annual general meeting, I have reinterpreted his five most important principles in terms that can be applied by the performance-driven international property investor.</p> <p>By following his advice, you can look forward to many profitable years.</p> <h4>Buy and hold, and hold, and hold</h4> <p>Buffett has written that his key principle is to "stick with big easy decisions and eschew activity." He famously likes to buy an asset "for life." That makes him very different from investors who buy and sell, buy and sell, always seeking quick gains and a better opportunity.</p> <p>Buffett rightly points out that, of all the possible assets available for acquisition, only a relative handful are actually both high-quality and available at a low price. Finding this handful of true gems from among all the coloured glass can be hard work. If you find a great asset that is both gaining value and generating returns, why not hold onto it for life? After all, if you sell it, you will just have to find something else to put your money into.</p> <p>Another downside to activity is that every transaction has a cost. In real estate, the costs are often high and consist of taxes, commissions, and closing expenses. Buying and holding a great asset keeps your transaction costs to a minimum.</p> <h4>Time is your friend</h4> <p>Buffett rightly points out that time is the friend of the wonderful investment and the enemy of the mediocre. Your investment will generate both cash flow and capital gains over the years. You can reinvest this value to create still more gains. </p> <p>This is Buffett’s gold standard, an investment which generates cash that can be reinvested to generate more cash, which can in turn be reinvested to generate still more ... and on and on and on.</p> <p><img alt="Juwai.com CEO Carrie Law" src="/documents/10204/0/Carrie-Law-compressor.jpeg/b67b9234-24af-457a-a0f4-c09f1864ebd6?t=1525405537746" /></p> <h4>Prepare for the bad years</h4> <p>Buffett also believes investors should be prepared for what he calls “economic discontinuities.”</p> <p>Adapting this approach to real estate investment is easy as long as you are realistic and take a long-term view. In any market there will not only be good years but also bad years. Protecting yourself from disaster during a bad year is more important than earning a little bit more during the good years. If you do protect yourself, your long-term returns will be much higher.</p> <p><a href="http://property-report.com/detail/-/blogs/how-can-asean-developers-benefit-from-the-belt-road-initiativ-6" target="_blank"><strong>More: How can ASEAN developers benefit from the Belt & Road initiative?</strong></a></p> <p>This is why Buffett’s taste for debt is very low and that this "aversion to leverage has dampened our returns over the years" but that it helps him sleep well. Buffett believes it is "insane to risk what you have and need in order to obtain what you don’t need." </p> <p>For property investors, Buffett’s advice means keep your debt low enough to be manageable even during a stretch of bad luck. Just as Berkshire uses the float from its insurance companies to make further investments, you can use equity from your existing assets to fund additional acquisitions. But don’t risk being forced to sell an asset at a discount because your debt is too big to service.</p> <h4>Buy durable competitive strengths </h4> <p>Buffett says that he looks for companies with durable competitive strengths. For real estate investors, this translates into purchasing property with features that will make it valuable in any market, including a central location, access to transit, proximity to good schools, low operating costs, and water views. </p> <p>Many amateur investors are lured into buying properties in marginal neighborhoods where prices seem to be growing more quickly than in more established locations. When conditions turn, marginal locations are the first to lose value. Look for safe value rather than risky gains.</p> <h4>Pay a sensible price </h4> <p>A key tenet for Buffett is to only buy if you can obtain a sensible purchase price. He always measures price against value, not against the market average. By acquiring assets at a discount from its true value, you give yourself a "margin of safety," as he puts it, that protects you from possible losses.</p> <p>The desire for good assets at good prices is also behind his famous rule: "You want to be greedy when others are fearful. You want to be fearful when others are greedy. It's that simple."</p> <p>When others are fearful, they are willing to sell assets for less than their true long-term value. It’s an opportunity for smart, brave investors.</p> <p>Warren Buffett has beaten the stock market over the past 53 years. In fact, he has more than doubled the wider market’s compound annual gain. One-thousand dollars invested with him in 1964 would be worth almost USD16 million today. I encourage you to take his investment tips and use them wisely.</p> <p><em>Carrie Law is the CEO of <a href="http://www.juwai.com" target="_blank">Juwai.com</a>, the number one Chinese international real estate website and the exclusive international real estate partner of Chinese online giant Tencent</em></p>
<img alt="" src="/documents/10204/0/smart+and+green+lead.jpg/b05dbbe7-73ea-4a1b-be08-88b8bc7c68cf?t=1525258648334" style="width: 1399px; height: 641px;" /> <p>An investor returns to his luxury condo after a trying day at work. He eases his SUV into the building’s private car park, having activated the face-responsive barrier. </p> <p>After passing through an expansive lift lobby kitted out with plush sofas – a place where he often pauses to read the news on his tablet – he triggers the elevator and rides up the floors, passing lush indoor-outdoor public areas bedecked with carbon footprint reducing skyrise greenery. </p> <p>Home at last, he calls up the music on an Amazon Echo with his voice, browses through recipes on the screen of his smart fridge and peruses yoga classes on a mobile app that allows homeowners in his particular condo to access a range of curated services.</p> <p>The incredible strides in condo design, and its associated incorporation of sustainable practices and smart tech, mean that few of us are shocked by the Jetsons-esque way that the super-rich live their lives. </p> <p>Nevertheless, it is remarkable to note the advances that have been made in recent years – especially at the very highest end of the market. </p> <p>“Luxury projects have been evolving in terms of hardware for as long as there have been luxury projects,” says George Tan, head of residential projects at Savills Associates in Singapore. “Expensive fittings, designer kitchens, high-end appliances, using renowned architects etc. All these, however, can be easily replicated. What makes buyers tick today is the ‘software’ part of the property. A more emotional and experiential approach has surfaced.”</p> <p><a href="http://property-report.com/detail/-/blogs/get-ready-for-chinese-real-estate-robots" target="_blank"><strong>More: Get ready for Chinese real estate robots</strong></a></p> <p>There’s little doubt that the emergence and constant, almost frighteningly rapid evolution of smart technology has become one of the overriding considerations in the design of new luxury projects in Asia. Voice-activated lighting, sound and alarm systems, condo-cleaning robot maids and smart filters that monitor the quality of air in apartments are becoming the norm. It’s a far and distant cry from the era when a combined fridge-freezer and a ceiling-mounted aircon unit were regarded as the appliance of science.</p> <p>“Most new condos incorporate some form of smart technology,” adds Tan. “Even entry-level executive condominiums in Singapore have incorporated smart home concepts.”</p> <p>Few would bet against the use of even more technology in future condo design as developers vie to find new ways of enhancing convenience and lifestyle of residents. Nevertheless, the fascination with smart tech has not yet become an obsession with many developers in Asia. Most are more concerned with enhancing liveability and deploying sustainable ways of building as they are with stuffing their units full of space-age gadgets.</p> <p>Indeed, forward-thinking firms are increasingly looking towards the practice of green building when it comes to rolling out new projects. And with good reason. Globally, buildings account for 30 percent of Greenhouse Gases (GHG) emissions – the largest amount among all business sectors – and consume 40 percent of energy and resources.</p> <div class="pull-quotes-container">Few would bet against the use of even more technology in future condo design… but forward-thinking firms are increasingly also looking towards the practice of green building</div> <p>Through green buildings developers seek to address building design, development and operations in a systematic manner to reduce the overall environmental impact of the sector. This takes into consideration key elements such as efficient use of natural resources, minimisation of waste generation and synergy with the surrounding landscape.<br /> <br /> “Green homes, offices and spaces can support healthier, happier and more productive lives,” says Esther An, chief sustainability officer for Singapore-based developer CDL, which invests between two and five percent of a new building’s construction cost on green building design and features. “We employ the use of innovative building methods to improve productivity and resource efficiency. Another growing trend has been the integration of skyrise greenery into urban landscapes. </p> <p>“This not only increases the aesthetic appeal of the development and provides tranquil spaces for occupants, it also helps in reducing the development’s carbon footprint by filtering pollutants and carbon dioxide out of the air.”</p> <p>Other regional markets outside Singapore are also catching on to the green building (GB) gospel. In Vietnam, for instance, the number of GB projects has been doubling annually for the last few years, with more than 100 projects now applied for or completed GB certification.</p> <p><img alt="With smart and green design in vogue, developers are incorporating ecologically sound features and state-of-the-art technology in their projects" src="/documents/10204/0/smart+and+green+2.jpg/c7cac84d-5cb4-4f16-888e-152bcb3b6cfe?t=1525258737627" /></p> <p>“Canny, mid-range, smaller developers have realised GB is very attractive to well-educated clients and they are using their investment as market leverage to increase sales to choosy customers,” says Melissa Merryweather, chair of the Vietnam Green Building Council. </p> <p>Away from green building and smart tech, other design trends that have cropped up in recent times include a move towards smaller units with clean, efficient layouts. </p> <p>“In land-scarce cities like Singapore it is very important that unit layouts are efficient and maximise fully the limited space,” adds Tan of Savills.</p> <p>With tech advances as they are, it is difficult to envisage how the condo of the future will look like. There may be minor tweaks along the way, there may well be further revolutionary strides in smart design. Whatever happens, most agree that development in Asia is going through a smarter, greener phase that is set to last.</p> <p><em>This article originally appeared in <a href="https://www.magzter.com/TH/PropertyGuru-International-(Thailand)-Co.,Ltd/Property-Report/Business/255811" target="_blank">Issue No. 145 of PropertyGuru Property Report Magazine</a></em></p>
<p><img alt="" src="/documents/10204/0/bangkok-vs-jakarta-lead-compressor.jpg/6103788a-9691-46ca-87cf-8e44748329f2?t=1524649480807" style="width: 1400px; height: 669px;" />On Bangkok’s leafy Wireless Road, Sansiri group’s latest condominium block soars from among the trees as a bold symbol of the city’s explosive luxury property market. </p> <p>The 77-unit 98 Wireless building, featuring chandeliers, high ceilings and solid oak floors, boasts apartments priced between USD2 million and USD8.5 million. It may seem an astronomical range, perhaps, but the project has investors queuing up. Half of all units were sold ahead of the official launch in March 2017, with a reported maximum – and record-breaking – price of THB720,000 (USD21,765) per square metre. </p> <p>In Thailand foreigners are permitted to own a condominium outright – albeit with certain caveats. And the hype around the project was the result of a push a few years back to court overseas investors, particularly Chinese, lured by the prospect of owning a property in the country, according to Maysenee Ratnavijarn, assistant manager at Sansiri, as the mass condominium sector becomes saturated.</p> <p>“The luxury segment has always been good and demand has always been there, but in the case of 98 Wireless, none of competitors has developed a product like ours,” she says, adding that the property’s units fetched a price of THB 650,000 per square metre when sales began in 2015 but have since shot up to between THB680,000 to THB700,000.</p> <p>Meanwhile, on the other side Bangkok’s Chao Phraya River, The Mandarin Oriental Bangkok, a super luxury residential project by Magnolia Quality Development, is similarly enjoying the fruits of its expensive endeavours. The project has seen 70 percent of its units sold two years after launching in 2015, with the price of the project's penthouse units sitting at THB620,000 per square metre.</p> <p><a href="http://property-report.com/detail/-/blogs/thailand-real-estate-relentless-expensive-and-highly-desira-13" target="_blank"><strong>More: Thailand real estate is relentless, expensive, and highly desirable</strong></a></p> <p>The excitement over luxury condominiums is however still relatively confined, according to real estate company CBRE’s second quarter update report.</p> <p>“Record prices are being achieved in the downtown area but not in all locations. We think that price growth rate has slowed down particularly for projects which are not in the most prime downtown locations.”</p> <p>In contrast with Bangkok, Jakarta – a city that was once viewed as one of the region’s most dynamic markets for high-end investment – has entered a consolidation phase. However, experts do say that the outlook is cautiously optimistic.</p> <p>The Indonesian capital’s luxury residential segment enjoyed double-digit growth from 2010-2014 and topped the Knight Frank Wealth Report’s list of fastest-growing luxury residential markets by price in 2013. The market has since slowed due to a weaker economy, rising interest rates and measures by Bank Indonesia to curb excessive market speculation. </p> <div class="pull-quotes-container">In contrast with Bangkok, Jakarta – a city that was once viewed as one of the region’s most dynamic markets for high-end investment – has entered a consolidation phase</div> <p>The government imposed a revised luxury and super luxury tax in 2015 and a tax amnesty program to improve compliance in July 2016, all of which have “negatively affected luxury buyers, causing them to stop buying and investing,” says Hasan Pamudji, associate director of consultancy and research at Knight Frank Indonesia. </p> <p>“In general, luxury demand is weak, except for certain luxury projects where those still can manage to sell with good sales rates because those projects offer a strategic location, a good rental market, a suitable concept and design as well as marketable unit sizes for investments.”</p> <p><img alt="Once one of Southeast Asia's most dynamic options for upscale investment, Jakarta has slowed significantly since the introduction by the Indonesian government of a punitive luxury tax" src="/documents/10204/0/bangkok-vs-jakarta-2-compressor.jpg/59cba0e6-6384-4e63-8524-8ce827a59139?t=1524649723854" /></p> <p>No higher-end condominiums or serviced apartments were physically completed in the second quarter in 2017, global real estate services firm JLL observed in a recent market report, adding that luxury buyers did not return to the market in Q2 2017.</p> <p>“This is in part due to luxury and super luxury taxes. Strongest demand is expected for smaller units at affordable prices,” adds Pamudji.</p> <p><a href="http://property-report.com/detail/-/blogs/buyer-blues-in-indone-23" target="_blank"><strong>More: Buyer blues in Indonesia</strong></a></p> <p>While the Indonesian government tends to evaluate and help boost the property market for the middle to lower segment rather than the luxury market – such as by relaxing the mortgage loan interest rates and revising the ratio of loan-to-value to boost property demand – these offer little relief for luxury buyers. </p> <p>“Luxury buyers are more sensitive to economic growth, political and tax issues,” he says. </p> <p>It may be a couple more years, after the local election campaigns in 2018, the presidential election in 2019, and when new key infrastructures such as toll roads, and a world-class mass transit system for Jakarta are completed before demand for luxury property recovers.</p> <p>Yet while improvements in transport infrastructure are certain to make everything move more smoothly and faster in Indonesia’s notoriously congested capital city, it seems that Jakarta’s luxury sector will be playing catch up with Bangkok’s for a good while longer. </p> <p><em>This article originally appeared in <a href="https://www.magzter.com/TH/PropertyGuru-International-(Thailand)-Co.,Ltd/Property-Report/Business/255811" target="_blank">Issue No. 145 of PropertyGuru Property Report Magazine</a></em></p>
<p><img alt="Hong Kong's obvious appeal has made it one of the hottest and highest-priced real estate markets on the planet" src="/documents/10204/0/cool-run-ins-lead-2-compressor.jpg/51af3b06-8f41-4aa7-a817-fd681f0e1520?t=1524115986650" style="width: 1439px; height: 677px;" />It would be fair to say that Singapore’s famously stringent cooling measures haven’t always made those inside the country’s real estate sector feel warm and fuzzy. </p> <p>But as the market in the Lion City displays signs of improving vitality while showing demonstrable value, fairness and sustainability – especially in comparison to regional rivals such as Hong Kong – there have been converts to the cooling measures cause. </p> <p>When the country’s government first started using a firmer hand to stabilise the market, property prices were escalating at a dramatic rate, rising by up to 60 percent between 2009 and 2013.</p> <p>The government’s application of icy water on the overheating market through measures such as raising the rates for Additional Buyer’s Stamp Duty (ABSD) was strong and decisive – and resulted in home prices dropping for a record 15th quarter in June 2017. </p> <p>Despite pressure from developers and others who accuse the government of presiding over a sector that shows only very timid signs of life, cooling measures are likely to be in place for some time to come. </p> <p>In March this year, the Singapore government reduced stamp duty imposed on sellers and some mortgage restrictions. That helped stoke optimism that the country’s property market is rebounding, with home sales jumping and developers showing more aggression at land auctions. </p> <p><a href="http://property-report.com/detail/-/blogs/inside-one-of-singapore-s-strangest-hom-8" target="_blank"><strong>More: Inside one of Singapore's strangest homes</strong></a></p> <p>Ravi Menon, managing director of the Monetary Authority of Singapore, however, quashed any notion that cooling measures were on their way out. “Mortgage rates are very low,” he says at the release of the bank’s annual report in June. “And the risk of a renewed unsustainable surge in property prices is not trivial.”</p> <p>Indeed, few would argue that the government has not achieved what it set out to when it stepped in to apply some correction to the market.</p> <p>“Despite the rolling out of tax-based and other restrictive policies by various governments in other countries to cool their housing markets, Singapore seems to be the only major market where prices are effectively contained,” says Christine Li, director and head of research at Cushman & Wakefield Singapore.</p> <p>“As of 2016, Singapore’s housing price to income ratio of 4.8 is the lowest among the global “superstar” cities such as New York, London and Hong Kong – the latter has a ratio of 18.1 – thus making Singapore an attractive market in terms of value.”</p> <p>“The cooling measures have been very successful,” adds Alex Shlaen, managing director at Panache Management, a luxury brands and investment advisor. “Probably even over-successful. The government dealt with a shortage of supply by adding significantly to the HDB (Housing Development Board) government-subsidised public housing. It was the luxury market which was the main target and the main victim. But the prices of luxury properties are now among the lowest in the world relative to similar top locations.”</p> <p><img alt="The Singapore government's attempts to cool the country's property sector are widely viewed as being successful" src="/documents/10204/0/cool-run-ins-singapore-compressor.jpg/bccc90f0-8edf-4118-85ac-93e073b2f90e?t=1524115427281" /></p> <p>Yet while even the strongest critics of Singapore’s cooling measures at least acknowledge their efficacy, it’s a hugely different story in Hong Kong where attempts to restore sanity to an overheated market have largely failed. In the view of many experts, in fact, the demand suppression measures enacted by the Hong Kong Monetary Authority have only succeeded in making matters more problematic.</p> <p>“They have failed to rein in property prices,” says Denis Ma, head of research for JLL Hong Kong. “And, in our opinion have made the situation worse by shutting down the secondary market.”</p> <p>Housing prices in Hong Kong have increased by as much as 80 percent since the government started introducing cooling measures in late 2009. These include an array of stamp duty levies and reduced borrowing capacity in the form of lower LTV ratios and stress-tests of debt-servicing ratios. </p> <div class="pull-quotes-container">While even the strongest critics of Singapore’s cooling measures at least acknowledge their efficacy, it’s a hugely different story in Hong Kong</div> <p>However, these measures have disproportionately affected buyers in the secondary market, notes Christopher Dillon, author of the real estate guide Landed Hong Kong.</p> <p>"Developers now offer financing packages that are outside the Hong Kong Monetary Authority's regulations,” he says. “These packages make new homes far more attractive than pre-owned ones. That's crushed volumes in the secondary market.”</p> <p>“Housing prices and volumes use to correlate well,” agrees Ma. “However, since the government introduced these measures, this relationship has been distorted; volumes down but prices up! </p> <p>“The biggest problems with the government’s measures is clearly that they’ve been ineffective and have locked out a lot of people from getting on the housing ladder. And for a lot of these people, it’s not necessarily that they don’t have the ability to service a mortgage. Rather it’s the significant increase in upfront transaction costs that sends them to the sidelines.”</p> <p>Hong Kong’s cooling measures have also missed a key target. “Tighter mortgage regulations have little effect on cash buyers,” observes Dillon.</p> <p>Cooling measures, by their very nature, are not intended to excite. They are specifically designed as a way of placing barriers in front of speculators and developers: hardly a sexy recipe. Nevertheless, if applied correctly and consistently, they can provide a necessary pressure valve. In Singapore, this valve seems to be having its intended impact. In Hong Kong, the apparatus appears too flimsy to handle the heat.</p> <p><em>This article originally appeared in <a href="https://www.magzter.com/TH/PropertyGuru-International-(Thailand)-Co.,Ltd/Property-Report/Business/255811" target="_blank">Issue No. 145 of PropertyGuru Property Report Magazine</a></em></p>
<p><img alt="" src="/documents/10204/0/vietbeach.jpg/7964e1f6-99db-428c-8360-7abcd80a2330?t=1523508628636" style="width: 1440px; height: 665px;" /></p> <p>From Myanmar to Vietnam, Southeast Asia’s emerging markets are increasingly opening to foreign investment. Brisk economic growth, improving infrastructure and quality of life are all contributing to growing interest from property buyers looking for a relative bargain.</p> <p>An abundance of new flights to China and thriving tourism sectors have opened up destinations such as Cambodia’s coastal city <a href="http://property-report.com/detail/-/blogs/6-award-winning-beachfront-properties-in-southeast-a-21">Sihanoukville</a> and Danang in central Vietnam, both of whose property industries are thriving.</p> <p>Yet the lure of being at the forefront of the next property craze is not without risk. Red tape, corruption and onerous regulations continue to represent significant hurdles to smooth investment.</p> <p>In Vietnam, there has been a marked shift in the supply of mid and high end residential property. In the first nine months of 2017, the mid-end residential segment grew to occupy 40 percent of total supply from about 30 percent in 2012, according to Dung Duong, CBRE’s country head of research and consulting services.</p> <p>Conversely, since 2015 there has been a slowdown in high-end properties launched after an intense few years that saw a flurry of premium units hit the market.</p> <p>“Entering 2017, developers have been very cautious and have tended to delay launching high-end products, focusing instead on mid-range properties,” says Duong. “We see there are more and more [purchases] from end users rather than investors.”</p> <p>While Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi are still Vietnam’s most attractive and active property markets, buyers are being drawn to the coastal destinations of Da Nang, Nha Trang and Phu Quoc where the government is on a drive to boost investment and tourism.</p> <p>Danang has grown significantly this year, says Duong, where a string of new condominium and villa launches has fed into “impressive” growth and a robust tourism industry that saw 1.7 million visits in the first nine months this year, up 49 percent on the prior year period.</p> <p><a href="http://property-report.com/detail/-/blogs/why-southeast-asia-is-still-prime-quarry-for-chinese-investors"><strong>More: Southeast Asia is still a prime target for Chinese investors </strong></a></p> <p>Likewise, in Cambodia, the property market in Sihanoukville, the southwestern coastal province, has exploded in the last couple of years as Chinese investors pump money into hotels and casinos.</p> <p>“Land prices within Sihanoukville have rapidly appreciated during the past 12 months… and in recent years, accumulated investment value has reached USD310 million,” according to mid-year review of the province by CBRE Cambodia.</p> <p>Although the Sihanoukville condominium market may still be in its infancy – the first high-rise project was launched there in 2015 – two residential-led projects comprising a total of 1,324 condominium units were announced and both are set to commence construction before the end of 2017. </p> <p>But as Sihanoukville heats up, Phnom Penh’s real estate market is cooling down.</p> <p>The capital’s condominiums have been rising at a remarkable pace in the last few years, etching new shapes in the skyline almost weekly and drawing warnings that the market was overheating – which seem to be now ringing true.</p> <p>“There is an oversupply in the high-end segment of the market, which most Cambodians just simply cannot afford – thus it has been mainly foreign investors buying. Obviously there is a finite number of foreign investors and hence sales have slowed significantly over the last year,” says Ross Wheble, Knight Frank country director for Cambodia.</p> <p>“To be sustainable, the market needs to be driven by domestic demand and developers have now shifted to more affordable projects,” he adds. “We have seen increasing interest from Cambodians for units priced below USD50,000.”</p> <p><img alt="Once a predominantly low-rise city, Phnom Penh is now studded with ambitious skyscrapers" src="/documents/10204/0/phnom+penhytdydt.jpg/9e0e75f1-acda-4462-af25-e62f9f416fec?t=1523507830358" /></p> <p>In Myanmar, where investment poured into Yangon after the country opened and the prices of land and apartments rocketed, the government’s adjusting of the market has made the situation less worrisome, Serge Pun, executive chairman of multinational real estate firm SPA Group, told local media early this year.</p> <p>The country’s 2,000-odd kilometre stretch of coastline, remote and untouched by developers, offers huge potential for tourism and business – if people can get there. Currently, flights and transport to areas such as Dawei, which boasts more than 20 spectacular beaches, is limited. </p> <p>Naturally, developers have a keen interest in land along the almost untouched coast but the area’s ports, roads, power supply and other infrastructure need to be upgraded first.</p> <p>“People are eyeing up the islands in the archipelago,” Hugo Slade, managing director of Slade Property Services, says. “The coastline here is one of Myanmar’s most prized assets, not just for resort development but for the potential in shipping [to China, India, and Bangladesh].”</p> <p>Still, nobody expects Dawei and its coastal counterparts to become an overnight Phuket – or at all for that matter.</p> <p>“Myanmar is such a conservative place,” Slade adds. “So, with any development we don’t believe we will witness the same tourist traits you see in the rest of Southeast Asia.”</p> <p><em>This article originally appeared in <a href="https://www.magzter.com/TH/PropertyGuru-International-(Thailand)-Co.,Ltd/Property-Report/Business/255811" target="_blank">Issue No. 145 of PropertyGuru Property Report Magazine</a></em></p>
<p><img alt="" src="/documents/10204/0/Precious-China-lead-2-compressor.jpg/2e22a5e6-c9a5-4c1a-9848-0f98d3e07499?t=1522906993622" style="width: 1439px; height: 661px;" />The flag-waving Chinese tour guides that flood Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi and Don Mueang airports typically follow a tightly marshalled route around Thailand. </p> <p>Nearly all are herded onto buses and out of the capital to Hua Hin or Pattaya, just a few hours away. Many then catch a flight to Chiang Mai or Phuket. Some 9.5 million Chinese were expected to visit Thailand in 2017, according to the Ministry of Tourism – a staggering increase on the less than three million than visited only five years ago. </p> <p>“Much of the sales in Thailand are riding on the back of tourism,” says Cobby Leathers, head of international business at Sansiri, a leading Thai developer, which opened three new China offices this year. “One thing that stands out with our Chinese buyers is that we see them purchasing across all of our key local markets, namely Chiang Mai, Bangkok, Hua Hin, Pattaya and Phuket.”</p> <p>Although Chinese property portal Juwai.com reported that growth in Chinese inquiries across all markets slowed this year after Beijing began strictly enforcing controls on cash flows out of the country, Southeast Asia – and particularly Thailand and Vietnam – are still prime quarry for investors from the Middle Kingdom.</p> <p>Thailand jumped three places to third on the list of top destinations for Chinese buyers in the second quarter – only the US and Australia rank higher – while Vietnam has made a surprising leap in popularity as a property investment destination among mainlanders. </p> <p>Enquiries for Vietnam by Chinese grew a staggering 442 percent between January and May in 2017, Juwai.com data shows. Although geographically close, Vietnam was the subject of a flurry of negative headlines in China the year before after anti-Chinese riots over a territorial dispute in the South China Sea left more than 20 people dead and over 100 injured. </p> <p><a href="http://property-report.com/detail/-/blogs/what-you-need-to-know-about-asia-s-final-frontie-4" target="_blank"><strong>More: What you need to know about Asia’s final frontiers</strong></a></p> <p>Although many Chinese cancelled their holidays to Vietnam in the immediate aftermath, three years on and the negative sentiment appears to have somewhat subsided, according to Juwai.com’s CEO Carrie Law.</p> <p>“There is always some impact, because angry headlines tend to make some buyers cautious. However, buyer demand has nonetheless continued to grow strongly,” she says. “Vietnam has catapulted from the thirty-third most popular country for Chinese international property buyers to the tenth over the past two years.”</p> <div class="pull-quotes-container">Aside from Thailand, only Malaysia ranks higher than Vietnam in terms of Chinese interest</div> <p>Newly relaxed property laws have proven a major market incentive. In 2015, the central government passed a law that means anyone with a valid visa can now buy property with a lease of up to 50 years. Previously, foreign buyers were required to hold a work visa and had to have already lived in the country for one year. </p> <p>Aside from Thailand, only Malaysia ranks higher than Vietnam in terms of Chinese interest, but it’s been a mixed year for property sales on the Malay Peninsula. </p> <p>Although analysts report robust Chinese demand, particularly in Kuala Lumpur, the huge Chinese developments in Johor at Iskandar facing Singapore – dubbed the ‘next Shenzhen’ – have reportedly faced sluggish demand as buyers have struggled to get their yuan out of the country amid tighter controls by Beijing. </p> <p>Forest City by Country Garden – the biggest of them all with 700,000 new inhabitants targeted by 2050 – has faced the bulk of negative headlines as many Chinese buyers desperately try to recoup their deposits after struggling and failing to make payment instalments.</p> <p><img alt="Areas such as Johor in Malaysia have gone the extra mile to attract Chinese investment by easing the way for joint venture developments" src="/documents/10204/0/Precious-China-2-compressor.jpg/61d2427d-fa53-434e-b1dd-09c1cd04ddb4?t=1522907048624" /></p> <p>Country Garden has advertised the project based on the key selling point that it lies just a few kilometres from Singapore, a market which retains appeal for Chinese due to its wealth, stability and Mandarin-speaking population. </p> <p>“I think it is important to note that Forest City represents a long-term vision for the region with an expected build-out of 20 to 30 years,” said Michael Grove, director of the Shanghai office of Sasaki which designed the project, which includes four man-made islands.</p> <p>Singapore, despite its tiny size, itself ranks as the fourth-most popular investment destination in Southeast Asia among Chinese buyers. After that, the archipelago nations of Indonesia and the Philippines come in as the next most popular among Chinese buyers, and then emerging markets Cambodia and Laos.</p> <p>Chinese have traditionally been heavy investors in Cambodia’s main export industry – garments – building and running dozens of factories on the outskirts of Phnom Penh, but until recently housing development was dominated by South Korean firms, not Chinese. That’s changing quickly, says Ross Wheble, director of Knight Frank’s Phnom Penh office.</p> <p>“It’s only over the last 18 months or so that we’ve seen an increasing number of Chinese developers entering the market and thus there has been an increase in the number of Chinese investors buying condominiums,” he adds.</p> <p>While Chinese visitors may not flock other regional airports in quite the same way they do in Thailand, there’s little doubt that the country’s investors remain intent on planting their flags in property markets around Southeast Asia. </p> <p><em>This article originally appeared in <a href="https://www.magzter.com/TH/PropertyGuru-International-(Thailand)-Co.,Ltd/Property-Report/Business/255811" target="_blank">Issue No. 145 of PropertyGuru Property Report Magazine</a></em></p>
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<p><img alt="" src="/documents/10204/0/Yahaya+bw+lead.jpg/3a5c20b5-0dcb-404e-b516-8e5f093f4f45?t=1527828291885" style="width: 1400px; height: 640px;" />In architecture, like in any other profession, it pays to know your heritage. As such, students in the Faculty of Built Environment at the University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, couldn’t ask for a better mentor than Professor Yahaya Ahmad.</p> <p>The dean at the faculty — one of the most respected in Southeast Asia — Dr Ahmad is perhaps Malaysia’s foremost proponent of built heritage. His accolades and titles are myriad. He was the first Malaysian to be appointed council member of the International Centre for the Study of Preservation and Restoration of Cultural Property (ICCROM), played a leading role in helping earn UNESCO World Heritage status for Melaka and Georgetown, and served successfully as Malaysia’s Deputy Commissioner of Heritage.</p> <p>Dr Ahmad is proof that the next generation of top Malaysian architects are being guided by a man with real passion and sensitivity for his calling — not a bad guy to have in your corner when learning your trade.</p> <h4>How and why did you move towards academia?</h4> <p>My father was a carpenter. He built beautiful Malay houses in the kampongs (rural vilages), some with intricate wood carvings, and a few basic homes. I remember piles of timber of different sizes and species scattered around our house. I suppose this memory had a direct impact on my interest in architecture and heritage.</p> <p>Between school terms, I learned about building Malay houses: spaces, structure, dimensions, and form, as well as rituals and practices. </p> <p>After returning home from studying in the United States, I was immediately taken in as a lecturer at the Institute Technology Mara and served there for several years until I was invited to join the University of Malaya. </p> <p><a href="http://property-report.com/detail/-/blogs/here-s-why-dan-lichauco-is-currently-one-of-the-philippines-most-innovative-archite-13" target="_blank"><strong>More: Here's why Dan Lichauco is currently one of the Philippines' most innovative architects</strong></a></p> <h4>Why was it necessary to establish the Department of Architecture at the University of Malaya?</h4> <p>No university in the central region offered any architecture programme back then. I thought that the University of Malaya, being the only public university in Kuala Lumpur, should meet that challenge, given that former Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamed called for Malaysia to become a self-sufficient, industrialised nation by 2020. </p> <p><img alt="" src="/documents/10204/0/Yahaya-bw-2-resized-compressor.jpg/8ceec060-9b08-42a7-beb9-e0af276af87a?t=1527828540187" /></p> <p>We had clear visions from the very beginning. First: not one student would walk out the university without having accreditation from a professional body. Second: the school should provide the best quality education nationwide and have substantial global impact.</p> <h4>How has the architecture school evolved through the years? </h4> <p>We have evolved considerably. The three-plus-two-years architecture curriculum remains the same but the last two years now lead to a master’s in architecture, instead of a bachelor’s. We started the master’s programme in 2012, requiring students to explore real design issues and work with a real community for their final year design thesis. The programme focuses on energy efficiency in buildings more than ever. </p> <div class="pull-quotes-container">The way forward for Malaysia in conserving its built heritage is to no longer dismiss it as an ‘in-house matter’</div> <p>The learning environment itself has evolved. A 10-storey, 220,000-square-foot complex was completed in 2013 with state-of-the-art facilities, including a built environment library and resource centre. Upper-year studios are set up like real-life offices, where each student is allocated a design station while still allowing for group discussion.</p> <h4>Do you consciously try to instill respect for architectural traditions in your curriculum, and how does this square with trends in modern architecture?</h4> <p>Yes, several subjects in the curriculum focus on local contact and traditions. During the first year, students are exposed to the history of local architecture before they are taught about western projects. In the second year, students take Measured Drawing, capturing the historical, cultural and architectural significance of specific heritage buildings. More than 120 heritage buildings have been measured, drawn and archived under this course.</p> <p><img alt="" src="/documents/10204/0/Yahaya-bw-3-resized-compressor.jpg/eda1465d-43be-4c14-9a90-273c9aa48674?t=1527828574437" /></p> <p>Two years ago, we introduced an elective course, Culture and Context, providing students the opportunity to carry out international studies on related history, culture and architecture. It challenges students to integrate modern and innovative design within a historical context.</p> <h4>What’s your view of the changes to the built environment in major Malaysian destinations, and what are the successes and failures?</h4> <p>Local architects have been struggling with the image and identity of Malaysian architecture for some years. Should the focus be on the image, principles, or a combination of both?</p> <p>For the last decade or so, we have seen changes in the built form, especially in the design and construction of office buildings and housing. Not only are they going higher due to new technology; these buildings are more responsive to tropical contexts in terms of building orientation, façade treatments, materials, form, site contours, and vertical greening. </p> <p>Concepts like green building, smart building, intelligent building and zero carbon are gaining currency. Public spaces and pedestrian walkways are given more emphasis than before. Green pockets, public parks, and spaces between buildings are being designed with users in mind. </p> <p><img alt="" src="/documents/10204/0/Yahaya-bw-resized-compressor.jpg/ee31842a-cdad-4163-8177-e9591c89c4c9?t=1527828606179" /></p> <h4>How well do you think Malaysia is doing in preserving its built heritage? </h4> <p>The UNESCO inscription of George Town and Melaka truly opened new paradigms in managing Malaysia’s heritage. Legal documents are now consolidated both at local and national levels, while management structure at all levels are strengthened. Management plans are drawn, tightening the approval process for new buildings and restoration projects. Funding is easily made available, and there is stronger involvement of stakeholders in heritage programmes. </p> <p>It is clear to me that the way forward for Malaysia in conserving its built heritage is to no longer dismiss it as an “in-house matter.” They must be shared with the world at large. Being inscribed on the World Heritage List means a property should be managed professionally and held to international standards. </p> <p><em>This article originally appeared in <a href="https://www.magzter.com/TH/PropertyGuru-International-(Thailand)-Co.,Ltd/Property-Report/Business/255811" target="_blank">Issue No. 145 of PropertyGuru Property Report Magazine</a></em></p>
<p><img alt="" src="/documents/10204/0/rewriting-the-rulebook-lead-1-compressor.jpg/68ca7214-8894-4e9f-bc73-a04a9a608108?t=1526542212629" style="width: 1399px; height: 667px;" />In 2009, Dan Lichauco, founding partner and principal architect of Manila-based Archion Architects, stood in front of an audience in a darkened cineplex. </p> <p>It was an instalment of the local PechaKucha Night, the popular design-oriented gathering devised by Tokyo-based architects Astrid Klein and Mark Dytham, and organisers had assembled a stellar line-up of speakers for the evening.</p> <p>The event’s signature format, a fast-paced style of presenting ideas (20 slides, 20 seconds each), required Lichauco to be brisk. He rushed through a quick succession of diagrams flashing on the theatre screen that dwarfed him: how the rainwater-harvesting feature of a current school-building project collects water into a 120,000-gallon cistern, to be used for toilet flushing; how a large-scale installation in collaboration with artist-couple Mona and Soler Santos doubles as sun-shading to cool the corridors, minimise heat gain, lower energy consumption. </p> <p>“By the time whole project is finished, the Far Eastern University campus in Cavite [a city just south of Metro Manila] will be the first completely green, totally environment-friendly campus in the whole of the Philippines,” Lichauco says.</p> <p><a href="http://property-report.com/detail/-/blogs/a-conversation-with-interior-designer-to-the-stars-simon-rawlin-8" target="_blank"><strong>More: A conversation with interior designer to the stars, Simon Rawlings</strong></a></p> <p>Since then his seemingly boundless energy for community engagement on the subject has made Lichauco a poster boy for environmentally sensitive design in the country.</p> <p>Across Archion’s diverse portfolio — ranging from educational institutions, commercial buildings, medical facilities and private houses — individual projects share a common green-by-design DNA, taking functional cues from its immediate environment. “The site,” he says, “dictates form, materials that work best, how a building might function.”</p> <p>Indeed, his insatiable appetite for architecture has seen him criss-cross the archipelago and spread the design gospel through teaching work and social media engagement. </p> <p><img alt="Although sketching is, by his admission, not his strongest point, Lichauco is forever mapping out new and exciting projects for his practice Archion Architects" src="/documents/10204/0/rewriting-the-rulebook-2-compressor.jpg/85bde0d2-0a6e-492e-b39e-3851c395cbb4?t=1526542614508" style="display:block;margin:0px auto;" /></p> <p>In the aftermath of 2013’s devastating typhoon Haiyan, Lichauco signed up for the rehabilitation of Tacloban City on the devastated island of Leyte, volunteering the company’s services to building the government-owned Eastern Visayas Hospital, designing it for disaster resiliency. </p> <p>He teaches at his alma mater, the University of Santo Tomas (UST), and at the National University; he tweets his excitement over developments in the industry and the progress of specific projects; he engages with young designers through events like PechaKucha; he runs a Facebook page called Built Environment Banter where he lobbies for citywide improvements.</p> <p>Lichauco’s energetic approach expands much farther than his active online presence, however.</p> <p>“One night [in 2016], in traffic, I got out of the car and walked all the way home from Ortigas to Quezon City,” he says. “Remarkably, or maybe not, I made it home before my driver did. I started thinking about what could be done to improve infrastructure.” </p> <p><a href="http://property-report.com/detail/-/blogs/a-chat-with-top-vietnam-architect-thien-duo-1" target="_blank"><strong>More: A chat with top Vietnam architect Thien Duong</strong></a></p> <p>As such he has found the time to propose and champion an elevated walkway and bike path to run from the Mall of Asia, right next to Manila Bay, all the way inland to Quezon City — along all 23.8 kilometres of the Epifanio delos Santos Avenue (EDSA). The proposal includes a network of crosswalks and gardens not unlike the High Line in New York, or Seoullo 7017 in the South Korean capital. </p> <p>Lichauco moves as quickly as he talks and is now planning the first phase of the project, a stretch from Makati all the way to Bonifacio Global City on the other side of EDSA. If the dogged focus and imagination that have marked his career so far are any indication, the elevated walkway in its entirety could well become a reality in the next few years.</p> <p>Lichauco says that from an early age he always wanted to be an architect. “I consider myself lucky in that regard.” </p> <p><img alt="According to his many admirers Lichauco has managed to incorporate traditional Filipino elements while forging a contemporary path" src="/documents/10204/0/rewriting-the-rulebook-3-compressor.jpg/40f98322-2a05-4999-ae87-10194916b442?t=1526542965847" /></p> <p>Towards the end of his university years he enlisted for an internship at the prestigious Leandro V. Locsin and Associates architecture practice.</p> <p>Lichauco recalls Locsin himself asking him whether he really wanted to pursue the profession. “The slightest hesitation and I would have been shown the door, but my answer was a firm enough ‘yes’ that I was taken in!”</p> <p>After graduating from UST in 1986 the budding architect relocated to Rome seeking “a more immersive experience of classical architecture.” Returning to Manila some years later, he joined Francisco Mañosa and Partners. </p> <p>Like Locsin, Mañosa, who championed a distinctively contemporary Filipino tropical aesthetic and the use of local materials, proved to be a significant influence.</p> <p>Yet, in the words of his admirers, Lichauco’s style remains very much his own.</p> <p>“Dan is one of the few architects who manages to incorporate Filipino design into his projects, and not in a clichéd way,” says Rachelle Medina, editor of decorating magazine Real Living. “The Filipino elements come out subtly — in the slope of a roof, the massing of a house, or in the interior and exterior details.” </p> <p>Lichauco and his partners established Archion Architects in 2000, and among their earlier projects were the John Gokongwei School of Management and the PLDT Convergent Technologies Center, both at the Ateneo de Manila University.</p> <div class="pull-quotes-container">The reason Archion is not called Dan Lichauco and Associates is because we wanted the firm to be known for a working philosophy, rather than a personality</div> <p>Lichauco’s ambitions however extend beyond the built environment and into the practice of architecture itself in the Philippines. One of his personal goals is to effect a change of values industry-wide. </p> <p>“When I started out, architecture in the Philippines was very much about the person; about who was behind a project,” he explains. “But the reason Archion is not called Dan Lichauco and Associates is because we wanted the firm to be known for a working philosophy, rather than a personality.” </p> <p>One of the most recent nods to Lichauco’s brand of modern Filipino design came from the National Commission for Culture and the Arts. The body last year listed him as an honouree for the Haligi ng Dangal Award, a prized architectural accolade for individuals – not bad for someone who says he could barely draw he when he started out. </p> <p>“My sketches are ugly,” Lichauco confesses, chuckling as he points out a few of his recent drawings. “I had to teach myself how to draw when I was in the University of Michigan. I looked at what my classmates were doing and I thought, ‘I have to level up’. </p> <p><img alt="Archion's project list ranges from showpiece municipal buildings to environmentally sympathetic infrastructure for crowded cities in the Philippines and elsewhere" src="/documents/10204/0/rewriting-the-rulebook-4-compressor.jpg/c76fd94c-7bed-444e-a6a5-4f976fabbf6c?t=1526543245786" /></p> <p>“Even my handwriting is ugly – I write like a doctor! There’s a guy at my office who deciphers my handwriting and even he gets stumped sometimes!”</p> <p>Seventeen years from its founding, Archion is now a mid-sized firm of 55 employees, 48 of whom are architects with multiple specialties. “A team of 11 can produce initial schematics for seven 200,000sqm buildings in four weeks,” he says with pride.</p> <p>The company has also earned a reputation as a rigorous training ground that inspires a kind of versatility and sense of innovation, even if Lichauco’s self-test for design is a simple one: “If we’ve done it before, I’ll say let’s do something else.” </p> <p>That’s evident in Archion’s portfolio of projects across the Philippines and abroad — from the UAE, the US, Hong Kong, Papua New Guinea and East Timor. Asked which one, if he had to pick, is his favourite, he says, “The next one. Always the next one.”</p> <p><em>This article originally appeared in <a href="https://www.magzter.com/TH/PropertyGuru-International-(Thailand)-Co.,Ltd/Property-Report/Business/255811" target="_blank">Issue No. 145 of PropertyGuru Property Report Magazine</a></em></p>
<p><img alt="Robert Cheng, founder of Singapore-based practice Brewin Design Office" src="/documents/10204/0/Robert-Cheng-lead-compressor.jpg/96f75966-4d9f-4229-9656-3cc5ff70551c?t=1524716346479" style="width: 740px; height: 475px;" />The Morgan, the luxury residences from Phoenix Property Investors in Hong Kong’s Upper Middle Levels, may have opened its doors last year but it has only now unveiled its crowning jewel – the penthouse.</p> <p>Robert Cheng, the eminent creative force and founder of Brewin Design Office, was appointed the task of designing the interiors for the 3,962-square-foot property. The result is an amalgamation of Cheng’s love of both traditional craftsmanship and smart home features for 21st-century luxury living.</p> <p>Property Report caught up with Cheng to find out a bit more about his vision for the project:</p> <h4>Why is this penthouse different from others on the market?</h4> <p>In Hong Kong it’s such a luxury and rarity to own a whole floor in an amazing building like this one.</p> <p>Our design balances moments of privacy and intimacy, while offering a special connection with the serene landscape. The penthouse is in close proximity to the mountain, and the juxtaposition of such a close-up view of the intense steepness of the rocks, to the large and flat open space of the terrace encouraged us to keep the space relatively undecorated and unfurnished.</p> <p><img alt="" src="/documents/10204/0/The+Morgan+Penthouse_Tatami+Room_1+%28Credit_Lit+Ma+Common+Studio+Limited%29.jpg/c6bf4c9e-9c67-41e7-81db-b4a1aae72996?t=1524716626558" /></p> <h4>The penthouse includes several smart home elements. Are they becoming standard for high-end homes you work on?</h4> <p>I think home automation has become an important feature that can add value to a luxury home. My clients are increasingly including these elements into their design briefs, but we will always approach each residential project holistically, carefully considering how these automated systems can integrate with and add to our overarching concept.</p> <p><a href="http://property-report.com/detail/-/blogs/a-conversation-with-interior-designer-to-the-stars-simon-rawlin-8" target="_blank"><strong>More: A conversation with interior designer to the stars, Simon Rawlings</strong></a></p> <h4>How have you done this in the penthouse?</h4> <p>A notable design feature in the living area through to the dining and family room is the necklace of vertical, solid white oak fins that line the entire perimeter. Aesthetically, the design delivers a strong statement, but also addresses the functional requirement of ensuring privacy, while not reducing the space. The fins are operable and remote-controlled, closing out views when in function, or acting as struts that add a sense of crafted luxury and warmth to the long and wide living space. Drapery and lighting are operated by the home automation system to offer a range of mood settings for different occasions.</p> <p>In the outdoor terrace, we incorporated a self-sustaining, app-controlled green wall to echo the lush greenery of The Peak. The green wall adds another layer of depth to the design of the outdoor space while complementing the additional landscaping.</p> <p><img alt="" src="/documents/10204/0/The+Morgan+Penthouse_Terrace_3+%28Credit_Lit+Ma+Common+Studio+Limited%29.jpg/e39cdec7-f680-4552-af05-e3e4ef54ddc1?t=1524716666411" /></p> <h4>As a designer, do you ever feel you have to compromise your aesthetic ideas to include high-tech features?</h4> <p>If we look at a detailed staircase by Carlo Scarpa, we see the beauty in its hand-made qualities, where each balustrade might be slightly different, depending on the piece of timber used, its grain, its coloration. The staircase detail is a reflection of the master who created it, and remains alive even after a century. In fact, it has bloomed with age.</p> <p>I try to incorporate these traditional principles in my work, but I also admire advanced ways of fabrication and construction. Take for instance a staircase in an Apple Store – a triple-height volume of carved solid stone where every step is embedded into what looks like a solid continuous curved stone wall with a groove-indentation tailored to a user’s hand. This form of detailing is only beautiful when technology is advanced enough to produce it quickly, consistently, economically, and deliver it conveniently, from where the stone is three-dimensionally laser-cut in Italy, to the store on Orchard Road in Singapore.</p> <p><a href="http://property-report.com/detail/-/blogs/meet-hong-kong-s-smartest-archite-9" target="_blank"><strong>More: Meet Hong Kong's smartest architect</strong></a></p> <p>My role as a designer is to learn about new methods of fabrication and allow technology to transform my work to be appreciated and admired differently from how one might look at traditional design work, and yet not lose the important principles and qualities that are timeless which come from the past.</p> <p><em>More photos of The Morgan penthouse:</em></p> <p><img alt="" src="/documents/10204/0/The+Morgan+Penthouse_Living_Room_2+%28Credit_Lit+Ma+Common+Studio+Limited%29.jpg/4678547a-38f0-4a95-b16d-33bdb859e981?t=1524716710718" /></p> <p><img alt="" src="/documents/10204/0/The+Morgan+Penthouse_Master_Bathroom+%28Credit_Lit+Ma+Common+Studio+Limited%29.jpg/162063ae-d6cd-4a4b-afdf-494c399153df?t=1524716759367" /></p> <p><img alt="" src="/documents/10204/0/The+Morgan+Penthouse_Living_Room_3+%28Credit_Lit+Ma+Common+Studio+Limited%29.jpg/ba0ab031-b83b-4acd-8c23-446ee9e44b4f?t=1524716984008" /></p> <p><img alt="" src="/documents/10204/0/The+Morgan+Penthouse_Terrace_Night+%28Credit_Lit+Ma+Common+Studio+Limited%29.jpg/9a595e04-2e64-4694-8e42-7fa4d39c8b87?t=1524716782943" /></p>
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When One Bangkok opens in downtown Bangkok in 2021, it will be the most expensive real estate project in Thai history. Spread out across 18 hectares of land adjacent to Lumphini Park, the USD3.5 billion development covers an area one third the size of the park itself, yet encompasses living and work space for 60,000 people.
Crowned by a soaring, gold-hued skyscraper of some 90 storeys, One Bangkok’s components feature five office towers, five hotels, three residential buildings, four retail zones and space for arts and cultural performances, in addition to publicly accessible parks and green spaces.
It represents mixed-use development at its most ambitious: vertical, horizontal, and unrestrained by city zoning concepts that governed urban planning for most of the 20th century.
In Singapore, the soon-to-open Marina One residential and office development adds a tropical, green heart to the CBD in the form of a 65,000-square-foot garden designed in collaboration between Ingenhoven Architects and landscape specialists ICN Design.
Meanwhile in Manila, One Bonificio provides the new headquarters for the Philippine Stock Exchange and also a luxury condominium with 289 units and a Shangri-La hotel, all connected to the existing Bonificio High Street – itself a retail-focused mixed-use development.
In Xi’an, China, the 320-metre-tall OCT XI'AN International Center (OXIC) presents a vertical design solution that sees parks, piazza-style common areas and even terrace streets positioned over multiple stories of two skyscrapers.
“Vertical communities often deal with the high density mandated for many Asian city centres,” says the architect behind OXIC, Ping Jiang. The Shanghai-based design principal at EID architecture firm won an international competition to design OXIC in September 2017.
It’s not only in urban areas where ambitious mixed-use projects are breaking the mould
“In contrast to sprawling development, vertical communities create synergy between different uses and foster dynamic neighbourhoods. By integrating business, leisure, retail and residential space, the design of a vertical community is strategically organised to create a vibrant, permeable urban destination to live, work and visit.”
It’s not only in urban areas, however, where ambitious mixed-use projects are breaking the mould. Back in Thailand on the tree-lined shores of Phuket’s Kamala Beach, the THB2.2 billion luxury MontAzure development in beginning to take shape.
More: What awaits Thailand's residential market in 2018
The 454-rai mixed-use project is set to comprise a comprehensive roster of upscale amenities, including hotel-managed condos, a lifestyle mall, a 200-room InterContinental Hotel, and Cafe del Mar, which is already part of the development's unique beachfront attractions. It also recently announced the addition of Kamala Senior Living, a luxury retirement community geared towards leisure-oriented, high-net-worth homeowners.
"Developers are realising that if they build a core concept it adds value to the project, rather than simply selling parcels of land," says Martin Palleros, founder and director of Tierra Design and the architect behind The Residences at MontAzure.
"It's all about what you can offer the community, and not just in terms of the property components," he adds. "It could be lagoon-style water features, hiking trails or direct beachfront access, in the case of MontAzure."
More: Thailand real estate is relentless, expensive, and highly desirable
While mixed-use communities across the region have emerged as the new development paradigm, the trend has its roots in ancient history.
Tightly packed, walled medieval villages pioneered living conditions that can be witnessed in modern mixed-use, with residents, shops, churches and public amenities all crammed into a compact space. Today the same concept applied vertically challenges traditional urban zoning restrictions that see cities segregated into residential, retail and business quarters.
Real estate analyst JLL has long been predicting the proliferation of mixed-use projects throughout the region, as developers look to maximise land use while diversifying assets.
“As cities become more developed and densities become higher, it makes sense to build more mixed-use developments,” says Regina Lim, head of capital markets research, Southeast Asia, whose recently released report, New Urban Models in a Youthful Southeast Asia, details the value developers are placing on mixed-use schemes that are designed to attract public foot traffic.
“Mixed-use developments bring together complementary uses,” she continues. “Retail shops benefit from the natural catchment of offices or hotels or apartments while the residents and workers enjoy the convenience. As maintenance management schemes become more sophisticated, they allow effective property management of these integrated projects. Apartments with these amenities sell well.”
The future of mixed-use development will increasingly be dictated by the demands of the wider public. Ping Jiang points to the role that public interaction with multiple-use development plays in bringing life to central city locations outside of business hours.
More: 3 real estate leaders share secrets to successful mixed-use development
“The future of mixed-use development is about the spatial and experiential quality of space,” he says. “Not only will we increasingly see mixed-use take over from dedicated office or retail blocks, but also more innovative uses, maybe a new type of hybrid project varied in scale and its mix of functions.”
Youth consumer behaviour will also dictate the multi-functionality of urban space, a trend that will increasingly enter the mixed-use urban space.
“Young consumers with strong spending power and a taste for the eclectic are inspiring unconventional shopping malls across Southeast Asia,” Lim of JCC says. “Some incorporate cycling tracks and a ‘tree of life’ within the building, while others exhibit a FIFA-qualified soccer field and Olympic-size skating rink.”
Successful mixed-use schemes have the capacity to create diverse, vibrant communities in which people can live, work and socialise. They can bring round-the-clock life to central business districts and provide private land parcels with pedestrian-friendly solutions to previously abandoned or underused areas. Whether such projects succeed however depends as much on unit sales as it does on the lifestyle opportunities they introduce.
Reimagining mixed-use communities on Phuket
Located alongside Phuket’s prestigious Kamala Beach on the West Coast, MontAzure is one of the famed island’s most highly-anticipated real estate projects. With the Twinpalms-branded residences already proving very popular with investors, the community will soon welcome its anchor hotel, InterContinental Phuket Resort in 2019, in addition to a range of high-end restaurant and retail options. Plans were also announced last year to develop a THB3.5bn upmarket senior living village with dedicated facilities and amenities.
For more information on MontAzure, visit MontAzure.com
<p><img alt="The Twinpalms Residences MontAzure will be one of the many components of the 454-rai masterplanned community on Phuket’s west coast" src="/documents/10204/0/twinpalms-residences-montazure-beachfront-compressor.jpg/be5eeb71-1b41-4476-8328-0360d56b5e52?t=1516269339762" style="width: 740px; height: 533px;" /></p> <p>When One Bangkok opens in downtown Bangkok in 2021, it will be the most expensive real estate project in Thai history. Spread out across 18 hectares of land adjacent to Lumphini Park, the USD3.5 billion development covers an area one third the size of the park itself, yet encompasses living and work space for 60,000 people. </p> <p>Crowned by a soaring, gold-hued skyscraper of some 90 storeys, One Bangkok’s components feature five office towers, five hotels, three residential buildings, four retail zones and space for arts and cultural performances, in addition to publicly accessible parks and green spaces. </p> <p>It represents mixed-use development at its most ambitious: vertical, horizontal, and unrestrained by city zoning concepts that governed urban planning for most of the 20th century. </p> <p>In Singapore, the soon-to-open Marina One residential and office development adds a tropical, green heart to the CBD in the form of a 65,000-square-foot garden designed in collaboration between Ingenhoven Architects and landscape specialists ICN Design. </p> <p>Meanwhile in Manila, One Bonificio provides the new headquarters for the Philippine Stock Exchange and also a luxury condominium with 289 units and a Shangri-La hotel, all connected to the existing Bonificio High Street – itself a retail-focused mixed-use development.</p> <p><img alt="Vertical communities such as OXIC in China’s Xi’an 'create synergy between different uses and foster dynamic neighbourhoods'" src="/documents/10204/0/OXIC02+resized.jpg/5cea92bf-25c0-44a0-b023-66db0367328f?t=1516269199311" style="width: 740px; height: 433px;" /></p> <p>In Xi’an, China, the 320-metre-tall OCT XI'AN International Center (OXIC) presents a vertical design solution that sees parks, piazza-style common areas and even terrace streets positioned over multiple stories of two skyscrapers. </p> <p>“Vertical communities often deal with the high density mandated for many Asian city centres,” says the architect behind OXIC, Ping Jiang. The Shanghai-based design principal at EID architecture firm won an international competition to design OXIC in September 2017.</p> <div class="pull-quotes-container">It’s not only in urban areas where ambitious mixed-use projects are breaking the mould</div> <p>“In contrast to sprawling development, vertical communities create synergy between different uses and foster dynamic neighbourhoods. By integrating business, leisure, retail and residential space, the design of a vertical community is strategically organised to create a vibrant, permeable urban destination to live, work and visit.” </p> <p>It’s not only in urban areas, however, where ambitious mixed-use projects are breaking the mould. Back in Thailand on the tree-lined shores of Phuket’s Kamala Beach, the THB2.2 billion luxury MontAzure development in beginning to take shape. </p> <p><a href="http://property-report.com/detail/-/blogs/what-awaits-thailand-s-residential-market-in-20-5" target="_blank"><strong>More: What awaits Thailand's residential market in 2018</strong></a></p> <p>The 454-rai mixed-use project is set to comprise a comprehensive roster of upscale amenities, including hotel-managed condos, a lifestyle mall, a 200-room InterContinental Hotel, and Cafe del Mar, which is already part of the development's unique beachfront attractions. It also recently announced the addition of Kamala Senior Living, a luxury retirement community geared towards leisure-oriented, high-net-worth homeowners.</p> <p>"Developers are realising that if they build a core concept it adds value to the project, rather than simply selling parcels of land," says Martin Palleros, founder and director of Tierra Design and the architect behind The Residences at MontAzure.</p> <p>"It's all about what you can offer the community, and not just in terms of the property components," he adds. "It could be lagoon-style water features, hiking trails or direct beachfront access, in the case of MontAzure."</p> <p><a href="http://property-report.com/detail/-/blogs/thailand-real-estate-relentless-expensive-and-highly-desira-13" target="_blank"><strong>More: Thailand real estate is relentless, expensive, and highly desirable</strong></a></p> <p>While mixed-use communities across the region have emerged as the new development paradigm, the trend has its roots in ancient history. </p> <p>Tightly packed, walled medieval villages pioneered living conditions that can be witnessed in modern mixed-use, with residents, shops, churches and public amenities all crammed into a compact space. Today the same concept applied vertically challenges traditional urban zoning restrictions that see cities segregated into residential, retail and business quarters. </p> <p>Real estate analyst JLL has long been predicting the proliferation of mixed-use projects throughout the region, as developers look to maximise land use while diversifying assets. </p> <p><img alt="One Bangkok is set to rejuvenate an area of Bangkok that has been lying dormant since the 2011 closure of Suan Lum night market" src="/documents/10204/0/One-Bangkok-compressor.jpg/1432baeb-568d-476d-88eb-e6f8dfc3370f?t=1516269449051" style="width: 740px; height: 528px;" /></p> <p>“As cities become more developed and densities become higher, it makes sense to build more mixed-use developments,” says Regina Lim, head of capital markets research, Southeast Asia, whose recently released report, New Urban Models in a Youthful Southeast Asia, details the value developers are placing on mixed-use schemes that are designed to attract public foot traffic. </p> <p>“Mixed-use developments bring together complementary uses,” she continues. “Retail shops benefit from the natural catchment of offices or hotels or apartments while the residents and workers enjoy the convenience. As maintenance management schemes become more sophisticated, they allow effective property management of these integrated projects. Apartments with these amenities sell well.”</p> <p>The future of mixed-use development will increasingly be dictated by the demands of the wider public. Ping Jiang points to the role that public interaction with multiple-use development plays in bringing life to central city locations outside of business hours. </p> <p><a href="http://property-report.com/detail/-/blogs/how-to-succeed-in-mixed-use-developments-real-estate-leaders-share-secre-4" target="_blank"><strong>More: 3 real estate leaders share secrets to successful mixed-use development</strong></a></p> <p>“The future of mixed-use development is about the spatial and experiential quality of space,” he says. “Not only will we increasingly see mixed-use take over from dedicated office or retail blocks, but also more innovative uses, maybe a new type of hybrid project varied in scale and its mix of functions.”</p> <p>Youth consumer behaviour will also dictate the multi-functionality of urban space, a trend that will increasingly enter the mixed-use urban space. </p> <p>“Young consumers with strong spending power and a taste for the eclectic are inspiring unconventional shopping malls across Southeast Asia,” Lim of JCC says. “Some incorporate cycling tracks and a ‘tree of life’ within the building, while others exhibit a FIFA-qualified soccer field and Olympic-size skating rink.”</p> <p>Successful mixed-use schemes have the capacity to create diverse, vibrant communities in which people can live, work and socialise. They can bring round-the-clock life to central business districts and provide private land parcels with pedestrian-friendly solutions to previously abandoned or underused areas. Whether such projects succeed however depends as much on unit sales as it does on the lifestyle opportunities they introduce.</p> <h3>Reimagining mixed-use communities on Phuket</h3> <p>Located alongside Phuket’s prestigious Kamala Beach on the West Coast, MontAzure is one of the famed island’s most highly-anticipated real estate projects. With the Twinpalms-branded residences already proving very popular with investors, the community will soon welcome its anchor hotel, InterContinental Phuket Resort in 2019, in addition to a range of high-end restaurant and retail options. Plans were also announced last year to develop a THB3.5bn upmarket senior living village with dedicated facilities and amenities.</p> <p><em><strong>For more information on MontAzure, visit <a href="http://www.montazure.com/page/">MontAzure.com</a></strong></em></p>
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How mixed-use projects across Asia are proposing new solutions to the centuries-old idea of self-contained communities
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<p><img alt="From left: Paul Ashburn, Co-Managing Partner, BDO Thailand; Suphin Mechuchep, Managing Director, Jones Lang LaSalle (Thailand) Limited; and Kamolpat Swaengkit, Thailand country manager, DDproperty.com" src="/documents/10204/0/DSC02769_Fotor-compressor+lead.jpg/16b273a5-4dd2-45c9-ae1f-b95067155496?t=1529398766724" style="width: 1000px; height: 668px;" />The PropertyGuru Thailand Property Awards will be celebrated in Bangkok on 31 August 2018 when judges announce the country’s best real estate developers, designers and top projects of the year. </p> <p>More than 40 awards will be presented this year, recognising the best developers and developments in the country with special awards also given for Best Green Development, Best Universal Design Development, Best Smart Home Development and a Special Recognition for Public Facility.</p> <p>Locations where developments will be judged and selected to receive awards include Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Eastern Seaboard, Hua Hin, Khao Yai, Koh Samui, Phuket & Phang Nga, Songkla and the Northeast.</p> <p>“Thailand’s property market is increasingly diverse and complex for investors to navigate so they appreciate expert the endorsements that come with a prestigious awards programme," said Suphin Mechuchep, Managing Director, Jones Lang LaSalle (Thailand) Limited, and Chairwoman of the Thailand judging panel.</p> <p>“The awards are now part of the wider Asia Property Awards series and therefore considered to be a very special recognition by developers here in Thailand and also across the region," she added.</p> <p>Over the last decade, the property awards have expanded across the region to become a benchmark for quality real estate in Asia. The annual Grand Final celebrates the achievements of developers and designers from Singapore to Myanmar, the Philippines to Mongolia, and this year Mainland China and Japan will also participate to receive accolades on a regional stage.</p> <p>The entire judging process is overseen by BDO, the world’s fifth largest network of accounting, tax and advisory firms, to ensure fairness and transparency.</p> <p><a href="http://property-report.com/detail/-/blogs/phuket-readies-itself-for-another-triumphant-year-at-propertyguru-thailand-property-awards-20-1" target="_blank"><strong>More: Phuket readies itself for another triumphant year at PropertyGuru Thailand Property Awards 2018</strong></a></p> <p>“The Thailand Property Awards established a system of recognition to promote the region’s real estate industry using a professionally run, independently monitored judging process,” said Paul Ashburn, Co-Managing Partner, BDO Thailand.</p> <p>“BDO has been working with the organisers of the PropertyGuru Asia Property Awards for over a decade now to ensure that the judging is conducted fairly and with integrity,” he added.</p> <p>The winners in all the main categories at the PropertyGuru Thailand Property Awards will advance to the PropertyGuru Asia Property Awards Grand Final. The awards ceremony and gala dinner will be integrated with the two-day PropertyGuru Asia Real Estate Summit at The Athenee Hotel, Bangkok on 8-9 November 2018.</p> <p>“The Property Awards were first launched in Bangkok thirteen years ago and it’s a fitting tribute to the Thai market’s resilience that the Grand Final will be held in the Thai capital for the first time this year too,” said Terry Blackburn, the awards’ Founder and Managing Director.</p> <p>Nominations from the general public in Thailand are open until 29 June and eligible entries from Thailand based developers in key regions across the country will be accepted until 6 July 2018. </p> <p><em>To submit entries online, visit: <a href="http://asiapropertyawards.com/nomination/thailand" target="_blank">AsiaPropertyAwards.com/nomination/thailand</a> </em></p> <p><em>For more information email awards@propertyguru.com or visit <a href="http://asiapropertyawards.com/" target="_blank">AsiaPropertyAwards.com</a></em></p>
<p><img alt="Sule Pagoda in Yangon. Nguyen Quoc Ai/Shutterstock" src="/documents/10204/0/shutterstock_760995088-1-compressor.jpg/9030f944-8848-491a-9d77-09c2ab6fe2fe?t=1529293606417" style="width: 1000px; height: 666px;" />Myanmar’s Yangon Regional Government readies a raft of real estate policy changes, including the setting of a benchmark price for properties, set to take effect in the 2018-19 fiscal year.</p> <p>Leading market observers and other industry stakeholders have expressed mixed reactions to the new measure.</p> <p>“With the exception of the affordable housing segment, real estate markets should be allowed to operate freely in order to be sustainable,” said top analyst Richard Emerson, managing director of Emerson Real Estate.</p> <p>Emerson, who chairs the judging panel of the <a href="http://www.asiapropertyawards.com/myanmar-property-awards/" target="_blank">PropertyGuru Myanmar Property Awards</a>, described the sector as “still in its infancy” and that “the concept of set standard pricing here is misunderstood.”</p> <p>Government officials contend that standard property prices will ease the payment of stamp duties and other levies.</p> <p>U Myint Thaung, the country’s Regional Minister for Planning and Finance, is leading the property valuations review that was set to begin in later May 2018, <a href="https://www.mmtimes.com/news/yangon-government-set-benchmark-property-price-2018-19.html">according to the Myanmar Times</a>.</p> <p>The planned policy changes come as China pushes through its Belt and Road initiative, incentivising Chinese foreign direct investment in Myanmar realty. AP reported that <a href="http://property-report.com/detail/-/blogs/is-anti-chinese-resentment-growing-in-mandala-1" target="_blank">seven out of the top 10 entrepreneurs in Mandalay</a> alone, Myanmar’s second-largest city, are now Chinese, citing data from the Mandalay Region Chamber of Commerce and Industry.</p> <p><a href="http://property-report.com/detail/-/blogs/fourth-installment-of-propertyguru-myanmar-property-awards-opens-2018-competiti-7" target="_blank"><strong>More: PropertyGuru Myanmar Property Awards opens 2018 competition</strong></a></p> <p>Some developers have welcomed efforts to create a more transparent sector. The Condominium Law, enacted in 2016, is expected to herald more positive sentiment from foreign property seekers in Myanmar when clearer bylaws are introduced this year.</p> <p>“With the aim of increasing tax revenues and transparency in the market, these initiatives will boost consumer confidence and lead to better practices,” said James Smith, senior manager at Marga Landmark, winner of Best Developer at the 2017 PropertyGuru Myanmar Property Awards.</p> <p> Marga Landmark is the developer of the mixed-use complex The Central, which comprises retail and condominium components. The award-winning project is intended to attract foreign businesses and investors to Yangon.</p> <p>“We hope that the changes to the legal and regulatory environment will enable this and provide the necessary protections for foreigners to invest as they may in other more developed regional markets,” Emerson said.</p> <p>He added that developers must feel “encouraged to continue to provide high quality products to meet this new market.”</p> <p><em>Myanmar’s real estate industry leaders will gather once again at the upcoming 4th PropertyGuru Myanmar Property Awards gala dinner on 10 August 2018 at the Sedona Hotel Yangon. </em></p> <p><em>Entries closing date is on 29 June. Visit the official website: <a href="http://www.asiapropertyawards.com/myanmar-property-awards/" target="_blank">http://www.asiapropertyawards.com/myanmar-property-awards/</a></em></p>
<p><img alt="From left: Preaw Rungruengrayupkul, Awards Entries Manager, Asia Property Awards; Terry Blackburn, Founder and Managing Director, Asia Property Awards; Robert Krupica, Senior Partner, Hughes Krupica and Head of Phuket judging team; Kamolpat Swaengkit, Country Manager (Thailand) DD Property, Emma Gray, Head of Events Marketing, Asia Property Awards & Asia Real Estate Summit" src="/documents/10204/0/Phuket-event-story-6-15-lead-compressor+%281%29.jpg/4b32b9e9-3693-428f-9cee-82f77f0da1dc?t=1529058344316" style="width: 1000px; height: 666px;" />Key members of the Phuket press gathered last night at the Angsara Laguna Phuket for an exclusive media briefing in advance of the 13th annual PropertyGuru Thailand Property Awards 2018.</p> <p>Addressing the room was Terry Blackburn, founder of the Asia Property Awards, regional awards judge Robert Krupica of Hughes Krupica law firm and Kamolpat Swaengkit, country manager of DD Property.</p> <p>“In a fast expanding property market like Phuket, developers and investors understand the benefits of quality endorsement by a prestigious awards programme," said Terry Blackburn, "The PropertyGuru Thailand Property Awards encourage excellence across all aspects of the real estate industry, which is why the number and quality of entries from Phuket and around the country increases every year,” he added.</p> <p>Robert Krupica described the Phuket market as “vibrant as ever” and gave some insights into how the market has evolved in his nine-year tenure as a Thailand Property Awards judge. “One of the more interesting developments that I’ve seen in the last few years has been the increase from domestic Thai buyers, showing a strong interest in investing in a second home or rental income property in Phuket. This is something we didn’t see 10 years ago as much,” he said.</p> <p>The Thailand Property Awards, founded in 2006 has grown exponentially in the last 13 years. The first gala dinner hosted 200 guests, while 2018’s event, which will be held in Bangkok on 31 August, is expected to attract upwards of 600 of Thailand’s leading property developers, VIP’s and leading industry figures.</p> <p><a href="http://property-report.com/detail/-/blogs/phuket-is-transforming-from-a-beach-getaway-to-urbanised-holiday-s-20" target="_blank"><strong>More: Phuket is transforming from a beach getaway to urbanised holiday spot</strong></a></p> <p>As ever, Phuket projects will feature prominently. In Greater Phuket, hotly contested categories this year include Best Housing Development (Phuket), Best Condo Development (Phuket) and Best Residential Development (Phang Nga and Krabi).</p> <p>Phuket’s developers and designers will be hoping not only to come out top among local competitors, but also to garner national acclaim in categories such as Best Boutique Developer, Best Hotel Architectural Design as well as hoping for special recognition in awards such as Best Green Development.</p> <p>Nominations from the general public are open until 29 June and eligible entries from developers in key regions across the country, including Phuket, will be accepted until 6 July 2018.</p> <p>The winners in the main categories at the PropertyGuru Thailand Property Awards will advance to the PropertyGuru Asia Property Awards Grand Final, which will be hosted by Thailand for the first-time ever this year, having previously been held in Singapore. The awards ceremony and gala dinner will be integrated with the two-day PropertyGuru Asia Real Estate Summit at The Athenee Hotel, Bangkok on 8-9 November 2018.</p>
<p><img alt="" src="/documents/10204/0/VAP+2018_REP_Dr.+Huynh+Ba+Lan_Kien+A_Thumbnail.JPG/f1c40a9e-ad67-4eef-8161-7603f239665d?t=1528716965351" style="width: 1000px; height: 670px;" />The annual PropertyGuru Vietnam Property Awards 2018, presented by Kohler and co-organised by Oriental Media, will present the prestigious Vietnam Real Estate Personality of the Year award to Dr Huynh Ba Lan, founder and chairman of KIEN A Corporation.</p> <p>It is the sole award not chosen by the judging panel, but by editors of PropertyGuru Property Report magazine, and is given to an individual that has had significant contributions to the local real estate sector. </p> <p>Dr Huynh has been selected for leading an organisation that prioritises producing quality projects for lower-income consumers, as well as building schools in Vietnam that follow international standards.</p> <p>“I am a family man and a company man. This achievement is so great and special, so I wish to dedicate it to my wife and my children, my small family, and the whole KIEN A family,” said Dr Huynh of the honour.</p> <h3><strong>Building blocks for Vietnam</strong></h3> <p>“This is indeed a great source of motivation, encouraging me and KIEN A to strive even more to bring about quality real estate projects, as well as uniquely beautiful architecture with the most affordable payment for the buyers. </p> <p>“Along with this, it is also our passion and desire to invest in the development of the school system from primary to university level, contributing to the cause of education and building our country.”</p> <p>In 2018, KIEN A celebrates eight nominations at the PropertyGuru Vietnam Property Awards, including nods for Best Affordable Condo Development (Ho Chi Minh City) for Citiesto, a contemporary apartment project in District 2 designed to cater to ambitious, younger investors.</p> <p><a href="http://www.property-report.com/detail/-/blogs/4th-propertyguru-vietnam-property-awards-2018-the-contende-7" target="_blank"><strong>More: Contenders revealed for the 4th PropertyGuru Vietnam Property Awarrds 2018</strong></a></p> <p>Whist the company has earned a reputation over the last two decades for building affordable residential properties, Dr Huynh has since led the group to diversify its offerings with upscale projects such as Lavila De Rio, which earned multiple nominations for Best Luxury Housing Development (Ho Chi Minh City), Best Housing Architectural Design (Ho Chi Minh City), and Best Housing Landscape Architectural Design.</p> <p>“KIEN A's long-term vision is to become a world-class company, not only specialising in project management and development, but also welcomes new development trends in the world to serve the people better,” Dr Huynh said, adding that the company also plans to set up a Research Institute of Applied Technology “to develop intelligent cities in the near future."</p> <h3><strong>Becoming a role model</strong></h3> <p>A self-admitted perfectionist, Dr Huynh takes pride in promoting the company’s core values – Professional, Creative, Harmonious, and Humanistic – and instilling those traits in every employee, using himself as role model.</p> <p>“I was born and grew up in hardship, constantly trying to study as well as learning from prior leading figures to gradually improve myself, from which to choose a separate path and create my own identity,” the leader said.</p> <p>“Up until now, I only have respect for very special people like my former teacher, Professor Dang Dinh Ang, who, although a Western-educated person, still carries an intact Vietnamese soul with all its best identities. </p> <p><a href="http://www.property-report.com/detail/-/blogs/top-brands-behind-the-annual-propertyguru-vietnam-property-awards-2018-gala-dinner-unveil-1" target="_blank"><strong>More: Top brands behind the annual PropertyGuru Vietnam Property Awards</strong></a></p> <p>“Then there are the billionaires that I look up to, like Bill Gates and Warren Buffett, who possess beautiful souls and good hearts for the world to admire and respect. I believe that no matter how successful we become, we should not forget to allocate a part of our fortune to volunteer work, community interest, and the less fortunate.”</p> <p>A little over two years ago, Dr Huynh inaugurated a new elementary school building that KIEN A constructed for Duy Tan School, the only educational institution in Phú Yên province to conduct bilingual teaching methods. Dr Huynh serves as the school’s chairman.</p> <p>“Having a business was not actually the biggest dream of my life. I embarked on this path simply because of the circumstances in which it was economically necessary to care for my family better, and partly to nurture my dream of opening a school,” he admits.</p> <h3><strong>Social responsibilities</strong></h3> <p>With some of his lifelong goals accomplished, the KIEN A executive still finds inspiration in other people to continue what he’s doing.</p> <p>He also ultimately aims to inspire a younger generation to find their dreams, to promote their abilities, and to teach them to achieve their personal best, whilst preserving their traditional human values and social responsibilities.</p> <p>“My hope is that the young generation would help in preserving our national cultural identity, and contribute to making our country strong and prosperous.”</p> <p>Dr Huynh will be honoured at the exclusive gala dinner on Friday, 22 June 2018 at the InterContinental Saigon Hotel ballroom, where nearly 500 guests and members of the press will be in attendance.</p> <p>For more information email <a>awards@propertyguru.com </a>or visit <a href="http://www.asiapropertyawards.com/vietnam-property-awards/">AsiaPropertyAwards.com/vietnam-property-awards/</a></p>
<p><img alt="PropertyGuru Group's Jeremy Williams, COO, and Terry Blackburn, managing director of Asia Property Awards, with Jeff Ye, COO of Anjuke, and Anna Zhao, general manager of Primary Property, in Shanghai" src="/documents/10204/0/Jeremy+Williams%2C+COO%2C+Terry+Blackburn%2C+MD%2C+Jeff+Ye%2C+COO+Anjuke%2C+Anna+Zhao%2C+GM%2C+Primary+Property_No+watermark_.jpg/14f1a5f4-449e-487e-a99c-28d2233176e6?t=1528283033067" style="width: 1000px; height: 667px;" /></p> <p>PropertyGuru Asia Property Awards, a part of Asia’s leading online property company, PropertyGuru Group, announced that it has signed an exclusive partnership agreement with Anjuke, a part of China’s leading online marketplace, <a href="http://58.com" target="_blank">58.com</a>.</p> <p><a href="http://Anjuke.com" target="_blank">Anjuke.com</a> now becomes a partner of the region’s biggest and most prestigious real estate award series and has been named the “Associate Partner of the 2018 PropertyGuru Asia Property Awards”. </p> <p>The exclusive agreement, which aims to connect Chinese buyers and investors to the fast-growing Southeast Asian property markets, was signed in Shanghai on Wednesday (6 June) with executives from both companies present: PropertyGuru Group's Jeremy Williams, COO, and Terry Blackburn, managing director of the Asia Property Awards, with Jeff Ye, COO of Anjuke, and Anna Zhao, general manager of Primary Property.</p> <p><strong>Hari V. Krishnan, CEO of PropertyGuru Group</strong>, said: “We are delighted to partner with Anjuke and 58.com. China is a large property market, and Chinese developers have built many exciting projects in Southeast Asia as well. Being Asia’s most reputed and trusted property awards, it is only befitting that we expand this platform to China. As Southeast Asia’s largest online property company, it was a natural choice for us to partner with China’s leading online marketplace 58.com and their leading property business, Anjuke.”</p> <p><strong>Jeff Ye, COO of Anjuke</strong>, said: “Partnering with PropertyGuru allows us to promote the best of what mainland Chinese real estate developers have to offer at pan-Asia’s leading property awards platform.”</p> <p><img alt="Jeff Ye, COO of Anjuke, which has been named "Associate Partner of the 2018 PropertyGuru Asia Property Awards"" src="/documents/10204/0/Anjuke_Jeff+Ye+in+Shanghai_No+watermark_.jpg/187e7ab9-1285-4761-8ab6-04d93b039a2f?t=1528283075740" /></p> <p><strong>Terry Blackburn, founder and managing director of PropertyGuru Asia Property Awards</strong>, said: “We are pleased to welcome Anjuke as our associate partner in 2018 as we maintain the benchmark for quality real estate in China. This represents the next stage of the Asia Property Awards programme, as it continues to give residents of Asian countries more choice of quality homes than they have ever had before, including Mainland China, which has seen lot of innovation in building technology and construction in the past decade, and truly deserves to be recognised as the best of the best in the Asia-Pacific region.”</p> <p>Property developers from Greater China, including the Mainland, Hong Kong, and Macau, were first recognised at the Asia Property Awards in 2014, which assembled some of the industry’s leading names and firms.</p> <p>Following the expanded new configuration of the Asia Property Awards programme in 2017 with strengthened partnerships and categories in Mongolia and Sri Lanka joining the renowned awards series for the first-time, categories for Mainland China, Hong Kong and Macau were incorporated into the Grand Final ceremony, providing a much larger regional reach for the winning and highly commended companies in China.</p> <p><img alt="PropertyGuru Asia Property Awards founder and managing director Terry Blackburn welcomes Anjuke to the 2018 edition of the prestigious industry awards programme" src="/documents/10204/0/PropertyGuru_Terry+Blackburn+in+Shanghai_No+watermark_.jpg/70896b3c-a4f5-49dc-9549-3ae587ecf117?t=1528283172367" /></p> <p>Now celebrating its thirteenth year in 2018, PropertyGuru’s premier awards series has further expanded its coverage in the region, holding its inaugural gala dinner in Colombo to honour Sri Lanka and Maldives developers, in addition to the domestic gala events held in Cambodia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Vietnam, Myanmar, Thailand, Indonesia and Singapore. </p> <p>The 2018 awards series is open to 17 established and emerging markets around the Asia-Pacific, including South Korea, Japan and Australia, which will have their respective domestic categories at the Grand Final event that takes place for the first time in Thailand, the birthplace of PropertyGuru’s prestigious awards programme.</p> <p>Eligible entries from Mainland China, Hong Kong and Macau markets will be accepted until 17 August and can be submitted online via <a href="http://awardentrysystem.com/">AwardEntrySystem.com</a>.</p> <p>The 2018 PropertyGuru Asia Property Awards Grand Final is also supported by platinum sponsor <a href="http://www.property-report.com/detail/-/blogs/kohler-proudly-named-as-platinum-sponsor-of-the-2018-propertyguru-asia-property-awar-1" target="_blank">Kohler</a>; co-sponsors Hitachi Elevators, AA Corp, and Recruit; official portal partner PropertyGuru, Asia’s leading online property group; media partner PropertyGuru Property Report, Asia’s leading luxury real estate, architecture and design publication; and official supervisor BDO, the world’s fifth largest auditing and accounting firm.</p> <p>For more information email <a>awards@propertyguru.com </a>or visit <a href="http://asiapropertyawards.com/">AsiaPropertyAwards.com</a></p>
<p><img alt="" src="/documents/10204/0/VPA+2018_Shortlist_Artworkbig.jpg/4ad9d247-6471-4eb3-9995-bd0afe1efa6f?t=1528183788850" style="width: 1000px; height: 667px;" />Here are the 25 companies that have been shortlisted for Vietnam's most prestigious real estate awards!</p> <p>Vietnam’s finest and most active real estate developers will face each other at the fourth annual PropertyGuru Vietnam Property Awards 2018, presented by Kohler and co-organised by Oriental Media.</p> <p>Leading the list is CapitaLand Vietnam with 16 nominations, more than any company. <a href="http://www.property-report.com/detail/-/blogs/capitaland-s-inspiring-success-story-in-the-vietnamese-real-estate-sect-5" target="_blank">Following its Best Developer win in 2017</a>, CapitaLand returns with the most citations that include two nods for Best Green Development, as well as for outstanding Condo, Housing, and Retail.</p> <p>Majority of CapitaLand’s nods hail from the company’s projects located in Ho Chi Minh City, where it is directly competing in many categories with Alpha King, this year’s second-most nominated developer with 13 citations. Alpha King’s luxury condo project Alpha City receives six shortlists across the Development and Design categories.</p> <p><a href="http://www.property-report.com/detail/-/blogs/capitaland-s-inspiring-success-story-in-the-vietnamese-real-estate-sect-5" target="_blank"><strong>More: One company's inspiring success story in the Vietnamese property sector</strong></a></p> <p>Tied in third place are Gamuda Land and KIEN A Corporation with eight appearances on the list, including nominations for Best Mid-End Condo Development (Ho Chi Minh City) and Best Affordable Condo Development (Ho Chi Minh City), respectively.</p> <h3>Building communities</h3> <p>KIEN A Corporation's founding chairman Dr Huynh Ba Lan has also been named recipient of the Vietnam Real Estate Personality of the Year – the sole award not selected by the judging panel, but by editors of PropertyGuru Property Report magazine.</p> <p>Dr Huynh was chosen for leading an organisation that prioritises producing quality projects for lower-income consumers, as well as building schools in Vietnam that follow international standards.</p> <p>Surpassing the number of awards presented at last year’s ceremony, the 2018 programme has 43 categories, including new awards such as Special Recognition for Building Communities, for Design and Construction, for Customer Care, and for Public Facility.</p> <p>A total of 25 companies have been shortlisted in the competition categories. The prestigious annual competition welcomed returning and new entrants as more world-class projects are launched across the country. </p> <p>Thien Duong, managing director of Transform Architecture, who serves as third-term chairman of the independent judging panel, commented: “I think there has never been another time in our history where the country is developing at such an accelerated pace,” he said. </p> <h3>Biggest edition yet</h3> <p>“Our local property market has continued to grow in every price range from affordable to luxury. The market has matured considerably within a very short period of time due to more competition from more experienced foreign developers as well as local developers maturing and learning industry best practices from their overseas partners.”</p> <p><a href="http://www.property-report.com/detail/-/blogs/a-chat-with-top-vietnam-architect-thien-duo-1" target="_blank"><strong>More: A chat with top Vietnam architect Thien Duong</strong></a></p> <p>He added that the PropertyGuru Vietnam Property Awards has become a symbol of a revitalised property sector that encourages high quality construction and development, world-class design and amenities that today’s consumers expect.</p> <p>“Thanks to the profound experience and the influence of foreign developers, who have raised the overall standards of the market, Vietnamese real estate projects have continually been improved in every single offered project,” said the head judge.</p> <p>The exclusive gala dinner on Friday, 22 June 2018 at the InterContinental Saigon Hotel ballroom, is touted as the programme’s biggest edition yet. Organisers expect that the black-tie ceremony will be attended by nearly 500 guests and members of the press to honour the achievements of the property sector.</p> <h3>Main engines of the industry</h3> <p>Terry Blackburn, founder and managing director of the PropertyGuru Asia Property Awards, said: “Vietnam real estate is fast becoming a major draw for investors in Asia-Pacific because of its acclaimed offerings in the condominium, hotel, resort and mixed-use segments.</p> <p>“Whilst Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi continue to be the main engines of the industry, it is encouraging that a provincial location such as Khanh Hoa now has a strong domestic market that developers there can be recognised on an internationally-known platform like the PropertyGuru Vietnam Property Awards.”</p> <p>The 2018 PropertyGuru Vietnam Property Awards is supported by platinum sponsor Kohler; co-sponsors Malloca, An Cuong, Dulux Professional, and Electrolux; official portal partner Batdongsan.com.vn; official charity CARE Vietnam; media partners DELUXE magazine, and PropertyGuru Property Report; supporting associations European Chamber of Commerce in Vietnam, and British Business Group Vietnam; official supervisor BDO Vietnam; and local representative Oriental Media Vietnam.</p> <h3><strong>OFFICIAL SHORTLIST OF NOMINEES</strong></h3> <h3>4th PropertyGuru Vietnam Property Awards 2018</h3> <p><strong><u>DEVELOPER AWARDS</u></strong></p> <p><strong>Best Developer</strong></p> <ul> <li>Winner to be revealed on 22 June 2018 at the gala dinner</li> </ul> <p><strong>Best Boutique Developer</strong></p> <ul> <li>ANGIA</li> </ul> <ul> <li>Anpha Holdings</li> <li>Hung Thinh Real Estate Business Investment Corporation (Hung Thinh Corp)</li> <li>SonKim Land Corporation</li> </ul> <p><strong>Special Recognition in CSR</strong></p> <ul> <li>CapitaLand Vietnam</li> </ul> <ul> <li>Gamuda Land</li> <li>Hung Thinh Real Estate Business Investment Corporation (Hung Thinh Corp)</li> <li>Novaland Group</li> <li>Phu Long Developer</li> <li>TTC Land</li> </ul> <p><strong>Special Recognition in Sustainable Development</strong></p> <ul> <li>CapitaLand Vietnam</li> <li>Gamuda Land</li> </ul> <p><strong>Special Recognition for Design and Construction</strong></p> <ul> <li>Anpha Holdings</li> </ul> <ul> <li>CapitaLand Vietnam</li> <li>Phu Long Developer</li> </ul> <p><strong>Special Recognition for Building Communities</strong></p> <ul> <li>CapitaLand Vietnam</li> </ul> <ul> <li>Gamuda Land</li> <li>Phu Long Developer</li> </ul> <p><strong>Special Recognition for Customer Care</strong></p> <ul> <li>CapitaLand Vietnam</li> </ul> <ul> <li>Phu Long Developer</li> <li>TTC Land</li> </ul> <p> </p> <p><strong><u>DEVELOPMENT AWARDS</u></strong></p> <p><strong>Best Luxury Condo Development (Ho Chi Minh City)</strong></p> <ul> <li>Alpha City by Alpha King</li> </ul> <ul> <li>D’Edge by CapitaLand Vietnam</li> <li>One Alpha Riverside District One by Alpha King</li> <li>Serenity Sky Villas by SonKim Land Corporation</li> </ul> <p><strong>Best High End Condo Development (Ho Chi Minh City)</strong></p> <ul> <li>De La Sol by CapitaLand Vietnam</li> <li>RichLane Residences by Mapletree</li> </ul> <p><strong>Best Mid End Condo Development (Ho Chi Minh City)</strong></p> <ul> <li>Celadon City – Emerald Precinct by Gamuda Land</li> <li>Skyline by ANGIA</li> </ul> <p><strong>Best Affordable Condo Development (Ho Chi Minh City)</strong></p> <ul> <li>Citiesto by KIEN A Corporation</li> </ul> <p><strong>Best Mid End Condo Development (Hanoi)</strong></p> <ul> <li>Green Pearl by Phong Phu – Daewon – Thu Duc Housing Development Corporation</li> </ul> <ul> <li>Imperia Sky Garden by MIK Group (Vietnam) JSC </li> <li>TNR Goldmark City by TNR Holdings Vietnam </li> </ul> <p><strong>Best Affordable Condo Development (Hanoi)</strong></p> <ul> <li>The K-Park by Century Real Estate Investment and Development Joint Stock Company – CenInvest</li> </ul> <p><strong>Best Condo Development (Khanh Hoa)</strong></p> <ul> <li>Scenia Bay by Nam Tien Lao Cai Jsc. Co.</li> <li>The Arena by Nha Trang Bay Investment & Construction Joint Stock Company</li> </ul> <p><strong>Best Luxury Housing Development (Ho Chi Minh City)</strong></p> <ul> <li>D2eight by CapitaLand Vietnam</li> </ul> <ul> <li>Lavila De Rio by KIEN A Corporation</li> <li>The Venica by Khang Dien House Trading and Investment Joint Stock Company</li> </ul> <p><strong>Best Housing Development (Ho Chi Minh City)</strong></p> <ul> <li>Park Riverside Premium by MIK Group (Vietnam) JSC</li> </ul> <ul> <li>SIMCity by Anpha Holdings</li> <li>Victoria Village by Novaland Group</li> </ul> <p><strong>Best Housing Development (Halong Bay)</strong></p> <ul> <li>Dragon Hill City by National Housing Organization</li> </ul> <p><strong>Best Office Development</strong></p> <ul> <li>Alpha Town by Alpha King</li> </ul> <p><strong>Best Hotel Development</strong></p> <ul> <li>Le Méridien Cam Ranh Bay Resort & Spa by KIEN A Corporation</li> <li>Movenpick Resort Waverly Phu Quoc by MIK Group (Vietnam) JSC</li> </ul> <p><strong>Best Mixed Use Development</strong></p> <ul> <li>Alpha City by Alpha King</li> </ul> <ul> <li>Celadon City by Gamuda Land</li> <li>Dragon Riverside City by Phu Long Developer</li> <li>Saigon South Place by Mapletree</li> </ul> <p><strong>Best Retail Development</strong></p> <ul> <li>Alpha City by Alpha King</li> <li>Faifo Lane by CapitaLand Vietnam</li> </ul> <p> </p> <p><strong><u>DESIGN AWARDS</u></strong></p> <p><strong>Best Luxury Condo Architectural Design</strong></p> <ul> <li>Alpha City by Alpha King</li> <li>Serenity Sky Villas by SonKim Land Corporation</li> </ul> <p><strong>Best High End Condo Architectural Design</strong></p> <ul> <li>De La Sol by CapitaLand Vietnam</li> <li>One Verandah by Mapletree</li> </ul> <p><strong>Best Condo Architectural Design</strong></p> <ul> <li>Celadon City – Emerald Precinct by Gamuda Land</li> </ul> <ul> <li>Scenia Bay by Nam Tien Lao Cai Jsc. Co.</li> <li>The Arena by Nha Trang Bay Investment & Construction Joint Stock Company</li> </ul> <p><strong>Best Condo Interior Design</strong></p> <ul> <li>Alpha City by Alpha King</li> </ul> <ul> <li>De La Sol by CapitaLand Vietnam</li> <li>One Alpha Riverside District One by Alpha King</li> <li>Serenity Sky Villas by SonKim Land Corporation</li> </ul> <p><strong>Best Office Architectural Design</strong></p> <ul> <li>Alpha Town by Alpha King</li> </ul> <p><strong>Best Retail Architectural Design</strong></p> <ul> <li>Alpha City by Alpha King</li> <li>Faifo Lane by CapitaLand Vietnam</li> </ul> <p><strong>Best Hotel Interior Design</strong></p> <ul> <li>Le Méridien Cam Ranh Bay Resort & Spa by KIEN A Corporation</li> <li>Vinpeal Ha Tinh Hotel by KAZE Vietnam Co., Ltd</li> </ul> <p><strong>Best Resort Architectural Design</strong></p> <ul> <li>Le Méridien Cam Ranh Bay Resort & Spa by KIEN A Corporation</li> <li>Movenpick Resort Waverly Phu Quoc by MIK Group (Vietnam) JSC</li> </ul> <p><strong>Best Resort Interior Design</strong></p> <ul> <li>Premier Village Phu Quoc Resort by Darkhorse Architecture Company</li> </ul> <p><strong>Best Housing Architectural Design</strong></p> <ul> <li>Ecopark Grand – The Island by Darkhorse Architecture Company Limited</li> </ul> <p><strong>Best Housing Architectural Design (Ho Chi Minh City)</strong></p> <ul> <li>D2eight by CapitaLand Vietnam</li> </ul> <ul> <li>Dragon Village by Phu Long Developer</li> <li>Lavila De Rio by KIEN A Corporation</li> <li>Valencia Riverside by Anpha Holdings</li> </ul> <p><strong>Best Condo Landscape Architectural Design</strong></p> <ul> <li>Gem Riverside by Dat Xanh Group (DXG)</li> </ul> <ul> <li>Green Pearl by Phong Phu – Daewon – Thu Duc Housing Development Corporation</li> <li>Imperia Sky Garden by MIK Group (Vietnam) JSC</li> </ul> <p><strong>Best High End Condo Landscape Architectural Design</strong></p> <ul> <li>De La Sol by CapitaLand Vietnam</li> </ul> <ul> <li>Jamona Golden Silk by TTC Land</li> <li>One Verandah by Mapletree</li> </ul> <p><strong>Best Housing Landscape Architectural Design</strong></p> <ul> <li>Lavila De Rio by KIEN A Corporation</li> </ul> <ul> <li>Senturia An Phu by Tien Phuoc Real Estate Joint Stock Company</li> <li>Victoria Village by Novaland Group</li> </ul> <p><strong>Best Mixed Use Landscape Architectural Design</strong></p> <ul> <li>Celadon City by Gamuda Land</li> </ul> <ul> <li>Gamuda Gardens by Gamuda Land Vietnam LLC</li> <li>Dragon Riverside City by Phu Long Developer</li> </ul> <p> </p> <p><strong><u>SPECIAL AWARDS</u></strong></p> <p><strong>Best Universal Design Development</strong></p> <ul> <li>Le Méridien Cam Ranh Bay Resort & Spa by KIEN A Corporation</li> <li>Movenpick Resort Waverly Phu Quoc by MIK Group (Vietnam) JSC</li> </ul> <p><strong>Best Green Development</strong></p> <ul> <li>Alpha City by Alpha King</li> </ul> <ul> <li>Alpha Town by Alpha King</li> <li>D’Edge by CapitaLand Vietnam</li> <li>De La Sol by CapitaLand Vietnam</li> <li>One Alpha Riverside District One by Alpha King</li> </ul> <p><strong>CARE Special Recognition for Positive Construction Practices</strong></p> <ul> <li>Winner to be revealed on 22 June 2018 at the gala dinner</li> </ul> <p><strong>Special Recognition for Public Facility</strong></p> <ul> <li>Nguyen Hue Walking Street by Planning Information Center of Ho Chi Minh City</li> </ul> <p> </p> <p><strong><u>BEST OF VIETNAM AWARDS</u></strong></p> <p><strong>Best Condo Development (Vietnam)</strong></p> <ul> <li>Winner to be revealed on 22 June 2018 at the gala dinner</li> </ul> <p><strong>Best Housing Development (Vietnam)</strong></p> <ul> <li>Winner to be revealed on 22 June 2018 at the gala dinner</li> </ul> <p> </p> <p><strong><u>PUBLISHER’S CHOICE</u></strong></p> <p><strong>Vietnam Real Estate Personality of the Year</strong></p> <ul> <li>Dr. Huynh Ba Lan, Founding Chairman, KIEN A Corporation</li> </ul> <p> </p> <p>Thien Duong’s colleagues on the central judging panel are: David McDonald (General Director, WT Partnership (Vietnam) LLC); Duc Truong (CEO, OJS Investment & Consulting Ltd; Chairman, Edison Academy Vietnam Ltd.); Edward Haysom (General Director, HAYSOM Architects Vietnam); Haig Conolly (Director, Lloyds Property Ltd); Hang Dang (Managing Director, CBRE (Vietnam) Co., Ltd.); John Reeves (Creative Director/Senior Designer/Founder, REEVESdesign); and Mauro Gasparotti (Director, South East Asia, Savills). Supervisors from BDO Vietnam are: Jeffrey Ong Peng (Audit Partner); Nguyen Thuy Hoa (Audit Manager); and Vu Thu Huong.</p> <p>For more information email <a>awards@propertyguru.com </a>or visit <a href="http://www.asiapropertyawards.com/vietnam-property-awards/">AsiaPropertyAwards.com/vietnam-property-awards/</a></p>
<p><img alt="Delegation from CapitaLand Vietnam at the 2017 PropertyGuru Vietnam Property Awards gala dinner in HCMC" src="/documents/10204/0/VPA+2017_CapitaLand+team.jpg/911383ce-5442-4e58-b42c-f43077915738?t=1527224514726" style="width: 740px; height: 493px;" /></p> <p>One year after winning the coveted title of Best Developer (Vietnam) at the PropertyGuru Vietnam Property Awards, including 10 golden trophies and commendations, CapitaLand Vietnam has witnessed a significant transformation in their business.</p> <p>Since then, the company has gained remarkable recognition from the local market as well as foreign investors. </p> <p>In 2017, CapitaLand Vietnam achieved its highest ever home sales record, which accounted for 1,409 residential units, hitting the record sales of SGD459.6 million (USD343 million). The number was 63 percent higher than last year’s record of SGD282.1 million (USD210.4 million). </p> <p>Vietnam is the third largest market of CapitaLand in Southeast Asia, after Singapore and Malaysia. At the end of December 2017, it was reported that the firm owned SGD948 million (USD707.1 million) worth of gross assets in Vietnam. Their latest asset acquisition extends CapitaLand’s portfolio to 12 residential development projects, one integrated development, 21 serviced residences, including 4,700 units across six cities in the country. </p> <p>Speaking of the company’s winning qualities, <a href="http://www.property-report.com/detail/-/blogs/chen-lian-pang-stretch-your-dollar-and-buy-in-a-good-location-" target="_blank">Chen Lian Pang</a>, CEO at CapitaLand Vietnam proudly said: “The PropertyGuru Vietnam Property Awards 2017 is a strong affirmation of our ongoing commitment to deliver high quality, international-standard developments to the Vietnamese population. </p> <p><a href="http://www.property-report.com/detail/-/blogs/chen-lian-pang-stretch-your-dollar-and-buy-in-a-good-location-" target="_blank"><strong>More: CapitaLand Vietnam's CEO gives sound advice for property investors in Southeast Asia</strong></a></p> <p>"Given Vietnam’s strong growth outlook and positive market sentiments, we are committed to be a long-term developer in this country. We’re deeply grateful for this recognition."</p> <p>The executive, who was previously recognised as <a href="http://www.property-report.com/detail/-/blogs/capitaland-vietnam-ceo-chosen-as-vietnam-s-2016-real-estate-personality" target="_blank">Vietnam’s 2016 Real Estate Personality of the Year</a> for championing the Vietnamese property sector, added: “The quality of the judging is evident. The participants all feel that they have been fairly judged for what they had done. We feel good that the efforts we had put in over the years have been recognised."</p> <p>The PropertyGuru Vietnam Property Awards – one of the fastest-growing local editions of the regional PropertyGuru Asia Property Awards – is the biggest and most prestigious, professionally-run real estate awards system in the country. It is a symbol of a revitalised property sector that encourages quality construction and development, and world-class design and amenities. </p> <p>Since 2015, the competition has been recognised for its influence and prestige, earning tremendous support from local businesses and associations such as VNREA (Vietnam National Real Estate Association), the country’s largest property organisation.</p> <p><a href="http://www.property-report.com/detail/-/blogs/a-chat-with-top-vietnam-architect-thien-duo-1" target="_blank"><strong>More: A chat with top Vietnam architect Thien Duong</strong></a></p> <p>This year, Thien Duong, managing director of Transform Architecture, returns as chairman of the independent central panel who will judge the 2018 competition. This lauds the continued significance of the Awards and the changes in Vietnam real estate, which are “for the better” and serve as a reminder of the domestic property sector’s growth and evolution. </p> <p>The new shortlist will be revealed on Monday, 28 May, and the Winners and Highly Commended companies announced during the fourth annual black-tie gala dinner and awards ceremony on Friday, 22 June, taking place once again at the InterContinental Saigon Hotel. At least 500 guests and VIPs are expected to attend to network with peers during the four-hour gala. </p> <p>For more information about the 2018 PropertyGuru Vietnam Property Awards, presented by Kohler, email <a href="mailto:awards@propertyguru.com">awards@propertyguru.com</a> or visit the <a href="http://AsiaPropertyAwards.com/Vietnam-Property-Awards" target="_blank">official website</a>. </p>
<p><img alt="Malaysia aims to meet the UN Sustainable Development Goals. Jacob_09/Shutterstock" src="/documents/10204/0/shutterstock_323393219-compressor.jpg/befb65a6-bd1d-4150-8c17-79b233ba41b1?t=1526635251011" style="width: 1000px; height: 707px;" />Doing good is nothing new in Malaysia, where government and private companies alike take it upon themselves to lead philanthropic and socially conscious initiatives by example. True to form, the Malaysia leg of the <a href="http://property-report.com/detail/-/blogs/2018-propertyguru-asia-property-awards-malaysia-the-winners-lis-1" target="_blank">PropertyGuru Asia Property Awards</a> circuit this year featured categories for corporate social responsibility (CSR) and sustainable development. </p> <p>A certain degree of righteous profiteering suffuses this drive to give back. Activism among consumers, as demonstrated in the patronage of goods and services which they believe are ethical and compassionate, is at an all-time high in Malaysia. A staggering 92 percent of Malaysians feel that businesses have a responsibility to do social good, according to a new YouGov Omnibus research. </p> <p>Malaysia was one of the first countries in Asia to make corporate social responsibility (CSR) reporting mandatory for all publicly listed companies. Putrajaya memorably introduced a Silver Book framework guiding companies toward making sustainable contributions to society as part of long-term business competitiveness. </p> <p>As Malaysia barrels toward attaining self-sufficient industrialised status, the country’s economic gatekeepers are ensuring it is doing so with the proper speed bumps in place. In the 1970s, Malaysia launched the New Economic Policy (NEP), a blueprint for all national development plans that followed. An updated version, the New Economic Model (NEM), aligns Malaysia with the United Nations’ global Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). </p> <p>One of the stated goals is for the 193 signatory countries to build resilient infrastructure; promote inclusive and sustainable industrialisation; and foster innovation. Malaysia experienced 58 percent growth in road networks with improved connectivity between 2010 and 2015.</p> <p>In line with the SDGs, builders are comporting themselves in socially aware ways, establishing world-class CSR and sustainable development initiatives that endear themselves further to consumers. Those efforts did not go by unnoticed at this year’s <a href="http://www.asiapropertyawards.com/malaysia-property-awards/" target="_blank">PropertyGuru Asia Property Awards (Malaysia)</a>. </p> <p><a href="http://property-report.com/detail/-/blogs/2018-propertyguru-asia-property-awards-malaysia-the-winners-lis-1" target="_blank"><strong>More: Who won at the 2018 PropertyGuru Asia Property Awards (Malaysia)?</strong></a></p> <p>LBS Bina Group Berhad took home both Special Recognition awards for CSR and Sustainable Development. The property development giant sponsored and contributed almost MYR700,000 (USD177,500) to the Kiwanis Down Syndrome Foundation over the last 10 years. </p> <p>The judges also gave Special Recognition to the Lion Group Property for CSR overtures to charities over the years: ranging from the HOPE Children Centre in Melaka and Persatuan Insan Istimewa Cheras to Rumah Bakti Al-Kausar at Bandar Baru Bangi. </p> <p>Mah Sing Group Berhad meanwhile earned the Special Recognition prize for CSR. Its 13-year-old philanthropic arm Mah Sing Foundation has donated MYR1 million to the Baiti Jannati@Wilayah Persekutuan programme. </p> <p>The only other winner of the Sustainable Development award, OCR Group, got plaudits for outstanding “campaigns to reduce carbon dioxide emissions,” the judges noted. </p> <p>Social good and sustainability truly are thriving currencies in Malaysia. For its most successful companies, they present something of a karmic paradox. To profit from people, one must do good to them. As the great parliamentarian Edmund Burke would say: “The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.”</p>
<p><img alt="Winners and Highly Commended companies of the 2018 PropertyGuru Philippines Property Awards held in Metro Manila" src="/documents/10204/0/PPA+2018_Winners+and+Highly+Commended.jpg/e29ef32b-12dd-4bb7-bc10-7243dc11f70e?t=1526368029181" style="width: 740px; height: 416px;" /></p> <p>It was another successful year for the 2018 PropertyGuru Philippines Property Awards, presented by Kohler, after the exclusive unveiling of Winners and Highly Commended companies during its gala dinner celebration on Friday (11 May 2018) at the Fairmont Makati ballroom.</p> <p>Megaworld Corporation, two-time winner of the coveted Best Developer award, defends its title for a third year in a row, becoming the first company in the Philippines to achieve this feat in the prestigious Asia Property Awards series.</p> <p>Overall the Dr Andrew Tan-led conglomerate won six golden trophies and three commendations for Megaworld, and subsidiaries Suntrust Properties, Global-Estates Resorts Inc. (GERI), and Empire East, the last collecting the Special Recognition in Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR).</p> <h3>Quality and smart townships</h3> <p> “Megaworld Corporation continues its winning streak as the country’s best developer for a third consecutive year by launching and developing more quality and smart townships than its peers,” said the independent judging panel.</p> <p>“To date, the company boasts more than 700 residential, commercial and mixed-use projects, including 22 townships and integrated lifestyle communities throughout the archipelago, which help distribute the wealth not only in the capital, but especially in the provinces, where its pioneering ‘iTownships’ are expected to provide growth and sustainability well into the future.”</p> <p>Among the company’s haul include two new awards for Township Development and Township Architectural Design, which went to Iloilo Business Park and Uptown Bonifacio, respectively.</p> <p><img alt="Independent judging panel chairman Dr Jaime A. Cura, PhD presents the Best Developer gong to Megaworld Corporation's SVP Kevin Tan and COO Lourdes T. Gutierrez-Alfonso" src="/documents/10204/0/PPA+2018_Head+judge+Dr+Jaime+A.+Cura+PhD+presents+Megaworld+Corporation+the+Best+Developer+award.jpg/de21b687-d824-4584-beda-b6ce5d9356cd?t=1526368132656" style="width: 740px; height: 493px;" /></p> <p>Meanwhile, The Podium Complex by SM Keppel Land Inc. swept all the eight categories it was nominated for, including Best Retail Development, Best Office Development (Manila) and Best Mixed Use Development.</p> <p>In addition, the recently revamped The Podium complex took home the prizes for Best Green and Best Universal Design Development for making the entire development accessible to visitors regardless of age, size, ability or disability.</p> <p>Regional developers also ended the evening with several awards. ArthaLand Corporation won the second highest award for Best Boutique Developer and the Special Recognition in Sustainable Development, whilst its Cebu Lavana Land Corporation subsidiary earned the Best Office Development (Cebu) crown. </p> <h3>Expanding the scope</h3> <p>Other notable provincial winners include three-time awardees AppleOne Mactan and Grand Land, whilst new entrants such as Grand Taipan and the tandem of Canyon Estates Incorporated/G2 Global Incorporated each won an award.</p> <p>An array of special awards was presented as well, such as the Special Recognition for Public Facility for Terminal 2 of the Mactan Cebu International Airport (MCIA) by GMR-Megawide Cebu Airport Corporation (GMCAC) consortium. The new special award expands the scope of the programme to recognise the role of the government and public entities in the built environment.</p> <p>Meanwhile, Robbie Antonio, founder and CEO of Revolution Precrafted – the fastest company to reach first unicorn startup status in Southeast Asia – was honoured as the <a href="http://www.property-report.com/detail/-/blogs/robbie-antonio-bags-2018-philippines-real-estate-personality-of-the-year-awa-3" target="_blank">2018 Philippines Real Estate Personality of the Year</a> for changing the concept of prefabricated, luxury homebuilding not only in the Philippines, but also in the biggest markets around the world.</p> <p>Antonio aims to "democratise design" by creating design-forward, limited edition precrafted homes, pavilions and other related structures, and making them more accessible to the masses through more competitive costs.</p> <p><img alt="2018 Philippines Real Estate Personality of the Year, Robbie Antonio of Revolution Precrafted, was introduced by PropertyGuru COO Jeremy Williams" src="/documents/10204/0/PPA+2018_Robbie+Antonio+with+PropertyGuru+COO+Jeremy+Williams.jpg/97e6b02f-e5a9-4460-87fc-7d5abcd84eee?t=1526368143941" style="width: 740px; height: 493px;" /></p> <p>Hari V. Krishnan, CEO, PropertyGuru Group, said: “Congratulations to the Winners and Highly Commended companies in the Philippines. PropertyGuru applauds their contributions that help transform the fast-growing local property sector and increase the profile of underserved regional destinations. We are proud of their achievements and innovations, especially in green, sustainable and township development. We are happy to be able to do our bit in educating more Filipinos about the best real estate projects available that will meet or surpass their needs and expectations.”</p> <p>Terry Blackburn, founder and managing director of the PropertyGuru Asia Property Awards, said at the gala dinner: “The Philippines continues to be a very special market for us. It is a diverse, exciting, fast-growing real estate market that is welcoming to foreign investors, and market conditions are the same today as they were in 2013 when we started the local awards programme. Although driven by local giants, it is the open and welcoming business environment that allows new entrants, large and small, to thrive.”</p> <h3>Increased responsibility</h3> <p>Blackburn added that business opportunities “must go hand in hand with increased responsibility to the environment, to the community and to your employees” as the Awards continue to celebrate companies with outstanding CSR and sustainable development initiatives.</p> <p>The 2018 PropertyGuru Philippines Property Awards was supported by platinum sponsor Kohler; official media broadcaster ANC, the ABS-CBN News Channel; official newspaper The Philippine STAR; official supplier TITANIA Wine Cellar Inc.; media partners Hoppler and PropertyGuru Property Report; supporting association British Chamber of Commerce in the Philippines; and official supervisor BDO Roxas Cruz Tagle and Co. led by chairman and managing partner Michael Roxas.</p> <p>The independent judging panel was led by chairman Dr Jaime A. Cura, vice-chairman of The RGV Group of Companies. Cura was joined on the judging panel by: Abelardo M. Tolentino Jr (President & CEO, Aidea Philippines); Carlo Cordaro (President & CEO, Atelier A); Christophe Vicic (Country Head, Jones Lang LaSalle Philippines); Cyndy Tan Jarabata (President, TAJARA Leisure & Hospitality Group Inc.); Jean Jacquelyn Nathania A. de Castro (CEO, Esca Incorporated); Luis Enrique T. Mangosing (CEO, Metro Development Managers Inc.); Monique Cornelio Pronove (CEO, Pronove Tai International Property Consultants; and Ramon Fernando D. Rufino (Co-President, The Net Group, and chairman, Urban Land Institute Philippines).</p> <p><a href="http://www.property-report.com/detail/-/blogs/winners-list-2018-propertyguru-philippines-property-award-9" target="_blank"><strong>More: The Winners list of the 2018 PropertyGuru Philippines Property Awards</strong></a></p>
<p align="center"><img alt="" src="/documents/10204/0/PPA-2018_Winners_Artwork-compressor.jpg/3f5fd8b5-e616-47ab-b2f2-f51e3eee2bb7?t=1526057778000" style="width: 1000px; height: 704px;" /></p> <p>Megaworld Corporation won the Best Developer title – its third in succession – at the <span style="text-align: -webkit-center;">2018 gala dinner of the 6th PropertyGuru Philippines Property Awards, presented by Kohler, held</span><span style="text-align: -webkit-center;"> on Friday (11 May 2018) at the Fairmont Makati ballroom.</span> </p> <p>The Dr Andrew Tan-led becomes the first company in the Philippines to win the coveted honour for three consecutive years. It earned a total of six golden trophies, including two new township honours, as well as the Special Recognition in Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) for affiliate Empire East.</p> <p> “This award is for all the hardworking men and women of Megaworld Corporation and our subsidiaries," said Kevin Tan, senior vice president at Megaworld.</p> <p>SM Keppel Land Inc. made a grand slam by winning in eight categories – the most wins for any developer this year – including Best Retail Development, Best Office Development (Manila), Best Mixed Use Development and Best Green Development for the revamped The Podium complex in Ortigas Centre.</p> <p>Notable winners include best boutique developer ArthaLand Corporation, and multiple awardees AppleOne Mactan and Grand Land, and the tandem of Canyon Estates Incorporated/G2 Global Incorporated each won an award.</p> <p>Robbie Antonio, founder and CEO of Revolution Precrafted – the Philippines' first unicorn startup – was honoured by PropertyGuru as the Philippines Real Estate Personality of the Year. Antonio's firm has recently signed up with Megaworld Corporation to supply prefabricated designer construction materials for a township project.</p> <h3><strong>THE COMPLETE WINNERS AND HIGHLY COMMENDED LIST</strong></h3> <h3>6th PropertyGuru Philippines Property Awards 2018</h3> <p> </p> <p><strong><u>DEVELOPER AWARDS</u></strong></p> <p><strong>Best Developer</strong></p> <p>WINNER: Megaworld Corporation</p> <p><strong>Best Boutique Developer</strong></p> <p>WINNER: ArthaLand Corporation</p> <p>HIGHLY COMMENDED: Grand Land Inc.</p> <p><strong>Special Recognition in CSR</strong></p> <p>WINNER: Empire East</p> <p><strong>Special Recognition in Sustainable Development</strong></p> <p>WINNER: ArthaLand Corporation</p> <p> </p> <p><strong><u>DEVELOPMENT AWARDS</u></strong></p> <p><strong>Best Luxury Condo Development (Metro Manila)</strong></p> <p>WINNER: Trump Tower at Century City by Century Properties Group Inc.</p> <p>HIGHLY COMMENDED: The Albany by Megaworld Corporation</p> <p>HIGHLY COMMENDED: The Imperium at Capitol Commons by Ortigas & Company</p> <p><strong>Best High End Condo Development (Metro Manila)</strong></p> <p>WINNER: Portico by Alveo Land</p> <p><strong>Best Mid End Condo Development (Metro Manila)</strong></p> <p>WINNER: The Residences at Commonwealth by Century by Century Properties Group Inc.</p> <p>HIGHLY COMMENDED: The Rochester by Empire East</p> <p><strong>Best Affordable Condo Development (Metro Manila)</strong></p> <p>WINNER: Suntrust Shanata by Suntrust Properties, Inc. of Megaworld Corporation</p> <p><strong>Best Luxury Condo Development (Cebu)</strong></p> <p>WINNER: The Residences at the Sheraton Cebu Mactan Resort by AppleOne Mactan, Inc. (AMI)</p> <p>HIGHLY COMMENDED: 38 Park Avenue by Cebu Landmasters</p> <p><strong>Best High End Condo Development (Cebu)</strong></p> <p>WINNER: Grand Residences Cebu by Grand Land Inc.</p> <p><strong>Best Affordable Condo Development (Cebu)</strong></p> <p>WINNER: Amani Grand Mactan, Cebu by Grand Land Inc.</p> <p><strong>Best Housing Development (Cebu)</strong></p> <p>WINNER: Casa Mira South by Cebu Landmasters</p> <p><strong>Best Condo Development (Resort)</strong></p> <p>WINNER: Canyon de Boracay Premiere by Canyon Estates Incorporated / G2 Global Incorporated</p> <p>HIGHLY COMMENDED: Canyon Woods Residences by Canyon Estates Incorporated / G2 Global Incorporated</p> <p><strong>Best Township Development</strong></p> <p>WINNER: Iloilo Business Park by Megaworld Corporation</p> <p><strong>Best Office Development (Manila)</strong></p> <p>WINNER: The Podium West Tower by SM Keppel Land Inc.</p> <p>HIGHLY COMMENDED: Aseana Three by D.M. Wenceslao & Associates, Inc</p> <p>HIGHLY COMMENDED: The Sites Entreprise Plaza by Alveo Land</p> <p>HIGHLY COMMENDED: Unioil Tower by Exquadra, Inc.</p> <p><strong>Best Office Development (Cebu)</strong></p> <p>WINNER: Cebu Exchange by Cebu Lavana Land Corporation (a subsidiary of ArthaLand Corporation)</p> <p>HIGHLY COMMENDED: Latitude Corporate Center by Cebu Landmasters</p> <p><strong>Best BPO Office Development </strong></p> <p>WINNER: Unioil Tower by Exquadra, Inc.</p> <p>HIGHLY COMMENDED: Cebu Exchange by Cebu Lavana Land Corporation (a subsidiary of ArthaLand Corporation)</p> <p><strong>Best Retail Development </strong></p> <p>WINNER: The Podium by SM Keppel Land Inc.</p> <p><strong>Best Hotel Development </strong></p> <p>WINNER: Twin Lakes Hotel by Global-Estates Resorts Inc. by Megaworld Corporation</p> <p>HIGHLY COMMENDED: Canyon de Boracay Premiere by Canyon Estates Incorporated / G2 Global Incorporated</p> <p><strong>Best Hotel Development (Cebu)</strong></p> <p>WINNER: Dusit Princess – Grand Tower Cebu by Grand Land Inc.</p> <p>HIGHLY COMMENDED: Citadines Cebu City by Cebu Landmasters</p> <p><strong>Best Mixed Use Development</strong></p> <p>WINNER: The Podium Complex by SM Keppel Land Inc.</p> <p> </p> <p><strong><u>DESIGN AWARDS</u></strong></p> <p><strong>Best Luxury Condo Architectural Design</strong></p> <p>WINNER: The Imperium at Capitol Commons by Ortigas & Company</p> <p>HIGHLY COMMENDED: The Residences at the Sheraton Cebu Mactan Resort by AppleOne Mactan, Inc. (AMI)</p> <p>HIGHLY COMMENDED: The Sharp Clark Hills by Posco</p> <p><strong>Best Condo Architectural Design </strong></p> <p>WINNER: Verano Greenhills by Grand Taipan</p> <p><strong>Best Condo Interior Design</strong></p> <p>WINNER: The Residences at the Sheraton Cebu Mactan Resort by AppleOne Mactan, Inc. (AMI)</p> <p>HIGHLY COMMENDED: Verano Greenhills by Grand Taipan</p> <p><strong>Best Township Architectural Design</strong></p> <p>WINNER: Uptown Bonifacio by Megaworld Corporation</p> <p><strong>Best Office Architectural Design</strong></p> <p>WINNER: The Podium West Tower by SM Keppel Land Inc.</p> <p>HIGHLY COMMENDED: Cebu Exchange by Cebu Lavana Land Corporation (a subsidiary of ArthaLand Corporation)</p> <p><strong>Best Retail Architectural Design</strong></p> <p>WINNER: The Podium by SM Keppel Land Inc.</p> <p>HIGHLY COMMENDED: Festive Walk Mall by Megaworld Corporation</p> <p><strong>Best Landscape Architectural Design</strong></p> <p>WINNER: The Podium Complex by SM Keppel Land Inc.</p> <p> </p> <p><strong><u>SPECIAL AWARDS</u></strong></p> <p><strong>Best Universal Design Development</strong></p> <p>WINNER: The Podium Complex by SM Keppel Land Inc.</p> <p><strong>Best Green Development</strong></p> <p>WINNER: The Podium Complex by SM Keppel Land Inc.</p> <p><strong>Special Recognition for Public Facility</strong></p> <p>WINNER: Terminal 2 of the Mactan Cebu International Airport (MCIA) by GMR-Megawide Cebu Airport Corporation (GMCAC)</p> <p> </p> <p><strong><u>BEST OF THE PHILIPPINES AWARDS</u></strong></p> <p><strong>Best Condo Development (Philippines)</strong></p> <p>WINNER: The Residences at the Sheraton Cebu Mactan Resort by AppleOne Mactan, Inc. (AMI)</p> <p> </p> <p><strong><u>PUBLISHER’S CHOICE</u></strong></p> <p><strong>Philippines Real Estate Personality of the Year</strong></p> <p>WINNER: Robbie Antonio, Founder & CEO, Revolution Precrafted</p> <p> </p> <p>For more information email <a href="mailto:awards@propertyguru.com">awards@propertyguru.com</a> or visit <a href="http://www.asiapropertyawards.com/philippines-property-awards/">AsiaPropertyAwards.com/philippines-property-awards/</a></p>