Prominent real estate advisor Savills held a webinar in Hong Kong and Shanghai today with thousands of audiences from across the APAC region.
Under the theme “Giants Get Together – What Are Their Post-Pandemic Investment Plans”, the webinar gathered heavyweight speakers and professional audience to examine the current industry landscape, exchanging their views through on-site real-time Q&A.
Savills was delighted to have Mr. Kenneth Gaw, President & Managing Principal of GAW Capital Partners; Mr. George Hongchoy, Executive Director & CEO of Link REIT and Mr. Wang Qiang, Executive Deputy General Manager & CIO of Ping An Real Estate Co., Ltd. joining the panel discussion with Mr. Raymond Lee, Savills Greater China CEO to share insights on the industry outlook. Mr. Godfrey Cheng, Director, Investment CEO Office of Savills (Hong Kong) Limited moderated the event.
Mr. Kenneth Gaw, President & Managing Principal, GAW Capital Partners said: “In the short term, market volatility is inevitable. Retails and hotel are experiencing the difficult period, but office market is still holding up well. For example, Island East benefits by Central-Wanchai Bypass and short supply of Central CBD. In the long run, Hong Kong's low tax and its status as an international financial centre will remain attractive. Thus, GAW Capital continues to be optimistic about Hong Kong's real estate market.”
“As Mainland China is recovering from COVID-19, the government is focus at irritating domestic demand, GAW Capital will pay attention to related projects. Looking beyond Greater China, the group will see Vietnam, Japan and Singapore as next investment destination.”
Mr. George Hongchoy, Executive Director & CEO, Link REIT said: “Link REIT has extensive experience in retail property operations in Hong Kong, but it does not directly replicate Hong Kong's successful experience in Mainland China. While the concept of "1-km-to-home" community mall is very popular in Mainland China. Link REIT will be more interested in the medium-to-and-high-end shopping malls, which are directed connected to metro station, heavy footfall every day. Currently, Link REIT has five assets in the four Tier-1 cities, namely Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Shenzhen. In the future, these cities will continue to be the investment focus, while the surrounding areas would also be considered.”
“Based in Hong Kong, Link REIT has confidence in the Hong Kong market. In the future, it will continue to focus on retail, office and logistics sectors. Link REIT previously purchased an asset located in Sydney, Australia. This is only the first step in the overseas investment. In the future, Link will probably look at Japan, Australia, Singapore, UK and other markets.”
Mr. Wang Qiang, Executive Deputy General Manager & CIO, Ping An Real Estate Co., Ltd. said: “Ping An’s key advantages are 'finance + technology' and it always moves forward in line with the national policy guidance to support the real economy. While office buildings in prime locations will continue to be our investment focus in the future, we also pay attention to industrial parks, health care and car related industries. When the recently acquired West Kowloon commercial project is completed in 2027, it will serve as the Ping An’s Hong Kong headquarters.”
“China’s brick-and-mortar retail stores have been greatly challenged by e-commerce in the past few years. The epidemic has further accelerated the transformation, boosting the development of omni-channel retail. As far as we can see, the rebound footfall in retail stores reflects consumers’ desire for shopping experience and social integration. Therefore, experiential shopping will keep gaining popularity the in the next three to five years.” he added.
Mr. Raymond Lee, CEO, Savills Greater China noticed that GAW Capital Partners and Link REIT have been exchanging assets totalling billions of Hong Kong dollars in Hong Kong and Mainland China and asked the reasons behind. Mr. Kenneth Gaw, President & Managing Principal, GAW Capital Partners believes location, price and added value are the three key factors for buying assets; while Mr. George Hongchoy, Executive Director & CEO, Link REIT said there is cycle in the real estate industry. When Link REIT buys or sells assets, "how to optimize the portfolio" is top priority.
Savills aims to take advantage of its international platform, elite team and one-stop service to connect the real estate industry stakeholders, providing platform for focused dialogue on strategic topics related to real estate investment, leasing and property management sectors. Tens of influential experts, industry leaders, professional investors have joined Savills webinars since April, sharing their views from both global and local perspectives.