Risk appetite for global investment in focus at Cityscape

Risk appetite for global investment in focus at Cityscape

Mid East investors keen to examine risk versus reward of developed, emerging and frontier real estate markets

Global opportunities, investment security and regional growth provide the theme for this year’s three-day Cityscape Global Real Estate Investment Conference, which takes place at the Dubai International Convention and Exhibition Centre on 4-6 October 2010.

The keynote address will be given by Thomas J Barrack Jr, Founder, Chairman and CEO of Colony Capital a private equity real estate company headquartered in Los Angeles, California. During his time as chairman, Barrack has invested approximately $45 billion in assets. He will be speaking about ‘Driving international investment in challenging times’.

“Capitalism is soaring in Asia, the Middle East and Africa and populism is deteriorating the competitive advantage of the developed world. The financial world is in frenzy for yield as a result of zero per cent interest rates and a total abandonment of risk premiums. This is a good time to be patient and stick to what you know. Relationships and trust will return as key attributes of investment acumen,” he said.

Following Barrack, delivering the keynote presentation will be Sam Chandan, Global Chief Economist, Real Capital Analytics and Adjunct Professor of Real Estate from the US-based Wharton School, who will assess the prospects for sustainable global economic recovery and forecast economic trends for 2011 and beyond.

“In real estate markets, in particular, constraints on the availability of credit, certain government policies, and finite opportunities for liquid investors to acquire high quality, performing assets have delayed the process of price discovery that is a necessary condition for the global real estate market’s return to its full measure of health,” he said.

Day two of the conference will be dedicated to examining growth in the MENA (Middle East North Africa) regional markets, assessing economic outlook and how the region is faring compared to the rest of the world.

Specifically the sessions will focus on the potential regional economic powerhouses, such as Saudi Arabia, Abu Dhabi and Egypt. It will also cross reference the investment potential and returns from hospitality, infrastructure and residential property, as well as examining Islamic financing options.

“Investing overseas is often difficult when faced with fluid and complicated investment and tax regimes, rules and regulations. But this conference will guide delegates through the bureaucratic maze and offer practical updated and relevant information to institutional and private investment firms as well as high net-worth individuals,” said Chris Speller, Cityscape Group Director.

Other issues to be addressed on day three include a comparison of developed, emerging and frontier markets and the opportunities, risk-adjusted returns and exit strategies for international expansion. Three prominent global investors will also go head-to-head pitching for the securest location or strategy for investing US$100 million.

A number of world-class speakers will make the journey to Dubai for the conference, including; Ethan Penner, President and founder of CBRE Capital Partners; Naresh Naik, Executive Director, Morgan Stanley, India; Brian D. Chinappi, Managing Director, Global Head, Principal Finance Real Estate, Standard Chartered, Hong Kong; and Jean-Michel Six, MD & Chief European Economist, Standard & Poor’s, France.

The Real Estate Investment Conference will run in parallel with the World Architectural Conference and both conferences run alongside the Cityscape Global exhibition. This year, 2010, will be the ninth year that a Cityscape event has been held in Dubai and Cityscape Global will be an integral part of the largest business-to-business real estate investment and development brand in the world.

For more information about Cityscape Global; www.cityscapeglobal.com

Photo caption: “Capitalism is soaring in Asia, the Middle East and Africa and populism is deteriorating the competitive advantage of the developed world,” - Thomas J Barrack Jr, Founder, Chairman and CEO of Colony Capital.

About Cityscape

Cityscape, is the largest business-to-business real estate investment and development brand in the world, encompassing a series of major exhibitions and conferences that take place in Dubai and Abu Dhabi; Asia; Saudi Arabia; USA and Latin America; .