Mingtiandi Forum Draws 166 Execs to Sydney for Australia
The inaugural Mingtiandi Australia Forum in Sydney gathered 166 senior executives to discuss cross-border investment strategies.
Some 166 senior executives gathered at the Four Seasons Sydney on Tuesday for the inaugural Mingtiandi Australia Forum. Investors, developers, and operators from across Asia Pacific spent a full day discussing strategies for capturing Australia's cross-border real estate opportunities, according to the event organizer.
The forum was sponsored by Yardi. It featured 31 speakers across three spotlight interviews and six panel discussions. Delegates travelled from Singapore, Hong Kong, London, and the UAE to join the Sydney-heavy crowd.
Spotlight on Fund Strategies
The day opened with an interview featuring Brad Collier, head of diversified funds at Dexus. Collier manages the Dexus Wholesale Fund, which holds A$13 billion in assets and invests across office, retail, and industrial sectors.
Later, Charter Hall's direct property chief executive Steve Bennett discussed opportunities in life science real estate. This followed his company's recent raising of a fund to invest in a medical diagnostics facility in Queensland.
In the final spotlight session, Peter Menegazzo, chief executive of Sydney-based fund manager Investa, spoke on market opportunities. His firm has completed deals with international investors including BGO, Oxford Properties, Macquarie Infrastructure and Real Assets, Manulife Investment Management, and a Southeast Asian sovereign wealth fund.
Panels Cover Key Sectors
Attendees and online viewers on MTD TV watched panel discussions covering several property sectors. The sessions focused on hospitality investment, industrial assets, build-to-rent residential, student housing, senior living strategies, commercial markets, and cross-border capital flows from Asia into Australia.
Global investment firms were well represented in the room. Blackstone, Brookfield, Warburg Pincus, Oxford Properties Group, Macquarie Asset Management, and Canadian pension manager La Caisse were among those present. More than 700 viewers tuned in for the livestream.
Next Stop: Tokyo
With the Sydney event complete, Mingtiandi will next head to Japan. The third annual Mingtiandi Tokyo Forum is set for 10 November at the Mandarin Oriental Tokyo. The organizer expects to host more than 250 guests.
Confirmed speakers for the Tokyo event include representatives from several major firms.
Executives from global hotel chains Hilton, IHG, and Marriott are also scheduled to take the stage in Tokyo. All nine sessions from the Sydney forum are being covered in dedicated stories on Mingtiandi this week, complete with full recordings available for viewing.
