2021 Asia Pacific REITs and Infrastructure Trusts Conference

Sigrid is the Chief Executive Officer of Asia Pacific Real Estate Association (APREA). Based in Singapore, she is responsible for overseeing the strategic direction, initiatives and operations of the association across Asia Pacific.

Sigrid joined APREA’s executive team in January 2019. A recognized expert in global economic, public policy and real estate issues, Sigrid is a frequent speaker at industry events. Her commentary on commercial and residential real estate markets is also regularly featured in a wide array of global publications, including the Wall Street Journal, Financial Times, Bloomberg, New York Times and Reuters. Additionally, she has made several television appearances on financial networks and radio such as CNBC, Bloomberg, CNN, National Public Radio and Channel News Asia.

Sigrid brings to APREA more than 20 years of experience in economic and real estate research, consulting and business strategy. From 2010 through 2018, she served as Managing Director of Asia Pacific Research and Advisory Services of Cushman & Wakefield (C&W), where she was responsible for research, thought leadership, strategy formulation and client management. Before relocating to Singapore, she was based in Washington, D.C. and led C&W’s U.S. research group in the Mid- Atlantic region, overseeing all aspects of market research activities in the Washington, DC; Virginia; Suburban Maryland, Baltimore; and Philadelphia areas. Prior to joining C&W, Sigrid served as a Senior Economist for the National Association of Realtors (NAR). In that position, she developed NAR’s office, warehouse, retail, multi-family housing, and international research programs.

Sigrid holds a Master of Business Administration from Cornell University’s Johnson Graduate School of Management and a Master’s degree in Economics from Pennsylvania State University. She is a member of several civic groups including the Rotary Club of Raffles City in Singapore, where she has served in various leadership positions.

Kim leads the Listed Real Estate team at CPPIB.

Prior to joining CPP Investments in 2018, she was Global Head of Real Estate Equities Research at UBS. Based in Hong Kong, where she was responsible for formulating and presenting the UBS global real estate view. Kim covered listed real estate for UBS for more than 22 years, leading top-rated real estate equities research teams in Australia, Europe and Asia. Before that, Kim worked in fund management at Armstrong Jones Management Ltd., where she was responsible for managing the company’s Property Securities Fund.

Kim holds a Bachelor of Commerce from the University of Western Sydney, Australia. She is a CFA charterholder.

Bhairav Dalal has varied experience in advising Indian and multinational groups in the area of Real Estate, Infrastructure and Private Equity. He has over 18 years of post qualification experience in transaction and tax advisory services. Over the last 15 years his focus has been Real Estate.

Bhairav has also advised Real Estate companies on complex projects involving investment structuring and group restructuring. Given his experience, he has been extensively involved in the REIT / InvIT discussions in the industry and regulators as well. He has handled diverse assignments in the transaction and corporate restructuring space, involving:
Developing real estate fund structures and consummating their investments
Redevelopment Projects (including SRA’s & Society re-development projects)
Infra space such as bid structuring, private equity funding, re-structuring for Singapore BT listing
M & A and Inbound advisory

Bhairav is a graduate in Commerce from the University of Mumbai and is a member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India since 2002. He regularly speaks on Real Estate related topics at various forums, and contributes articles, interviews to several newspapers, magazines and business news channels.

Professional and Industry Experience

Tracey is the China Head of Financial Service Tax of KPMG China.  Her client portfolio covers large banks, insurance companies, asset managers, trusts, funds, Fintech, and security companies.  

She has vast experience in advising FS institutions on various complicated projects, including group reorganization, IPO structuring, tax technology and total tax solution.

Education and Qualifications

• Australia CPA
• Bachelor in Economics (Taxation)
• Master in Finance

专业及行业经验

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教育及专业资格

• 澳洲注册会计师
• 经济学学士 (税收专业)
• 工商管理硕士（金融）
• 中国银行间市场交易商协会（NAFMII）资产证券化暨结构化融资专业委员会委员

With 30+ years’ experience dedicated to real estate and technology, Bernie is a leader in digital transformation in real estate and using data to create a more competitive and collaborative environment. Currently responsible for the growth of Yardi Systems in Asia Pacific, Bernie lives in Hong Kong and is a qualified accountant and economist.

He supports real estate clients with Retail, Commercial, Industrial, Residential and Mixed-Use assets, helping them to grow their operations, create efficiencies, and gain better insight into their business. His expertise includes asset and investment management, private equity, operations improvement, program and project management, finance, technology implementation and compliance.

Bernie has led large-scale technology projects, as well as led and supported Proptech start-ups, across Australia, the USA, Middle East, Asia and Europe. He has over 60 publications to his name, and extensive public speaking experience. He is actively working with several charities focused on the marine environment and child education in Hong Kong and China.

Extensively advise on Private Equity, Public Equity, Buy-outs, M&A, Structured Credit and Fund Formation related matters from an Indian legal, regulatory and cross border tax perspective. Representing a clientele, largely leading financial sponsors and SWFs, I have a fair understanding regulatory, legal and tax regimes of other jurisdictions like Mauritius, Singapore, Netherlands, US etc which commonly invest into India.

While I have advised across sectors, my core specialism remains in infrastructure and real estate, financial services (BFSI) and technology. Over 15+ years of practice, I have developed a deep understanding of the written (and sometimes unwritten) regulatory and tax framework concerning these sectors and have contributed quite significantly to policy changes.

I have advised clients on structuring and executing some of the most complex, innovative and influential public equity, private equity, private debt, portfolio buy-out, management buy-out, leveraged acquisition transactions. These transactions range from developing tax optimised vehicles in appropriate jurisdictions and invest in a range of asset classes. My background in fund formation has helped me develop a close understanding of LP - GP governance issues, matters of portofolio governance, institutional risk perception and conflict resolution. Advised on infra deals aggregating to USD 5 billion+ in 2019 alone.

Devote substantial time to research, academics and policy advocacy. I have been closely involved in the development of the REIT and InvIT Regulations, and extensively worked with global investor bodies to ensure a policy framework conducive to growth of investment vehicles. Co-chair the InvIT and Infrastructure committee of Asia Pacific Real Estate Association. Setup India’s first unlisted InvIT.

- Nominated as one of the top 3 corporate lawyers in the country under 35 by IDEX
- Nominated ‘Dealmaker of the Year’ by Thomson Reuters Asian Legal Business (Indian Law Awards)
- Recognised as one of the 15 ‘Distinguished Lawyers’ for M&A and Private Equity by Asia Law for 2021.
- Recognised for transactions rated as ‘most innovative’ by Financial Times, London.
- Elected member of the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors, London.
- Founding member of the Association of Indian InvITs.
- Co-chair Asia Pacific Real Estate Association Infrastructure Committee

Gautam joined PwC as a Partner in September 2003, and since then has held various roles in the firm. He was the India Tax and Regulatory Leader between July 2015 and December 2020, prior to which he was leading PwC’s Tax and Regulatory practice in Western India and the Financial Services’ Tax and Regulatory group. He was also the Asset Management Sector leader for PwC in India.  

Over the years, Gautam has been working with multinational and domestic clients across a wide spectrum of tax and regulatory services and has varied experience of over 30 years spanning multiple sectors.  

Prior to joining PwC, he had stints with two leading accounting and tax consultancy firms, which was followed by a long association over 12 years with an independent practice founded by him.

Gautam is presently a member of the India Chapter of the Asia Pacific Real Estate Association. He has been a member of SEBI’s Alternative Investment Policy Advisory Committee (AIPAC) as well as of the National Direct Tax Committee of the Confederation of Indian Industry. He was a member of the American Chamber of Commerce as well as of the Expert Advisory Committee of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India. 

Gautam holds a postgraduate degree in law and financial management and is also a member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India.

In his role as the Managing Director, Infrastructure, Saurabh is leading CDPQ’s infrastructure investment efforts in South Asia and is responsible for strategy development, sourcing, evaluating, executing and managing high-quality infrastructure investments, as well as developing long-term partner relationships in the region. A seasoned business leader with 19+ years of experience across investments and technology sectors with a track record of delivering results through proactive leadership, work ethic and creativity. Extensive experience and expertise in Business Strategy, Deal Origination, Evaluation, Diligence, Transacton Execution, Asset Management and managing board level interactions.

Simon was a partner with Herbert Smith Freehills and KPMG. His time with KPMG included 5 years in Singapore ending in December 2018. Most of his career involved dealing with real estate transactions. He has worked with listed entities, fund managers, private equity investors, family offices and developers. In the Australian context, he was involved in the initial development of the MIT rules as an industry advocate and remained involved in their ongoing development.

He has now retired from partnership but remains a strategic consultant to KPMG, a global SWF and several proposed real estate platforms across the industrial, education, medical and debt sectors.

Alex Lau is a Managing Director at Blackstone and he oversees the Asian tax affairs for Blackstone’s Real Estate Group. Before joining Blackstone, Mr. Lau worked at KPMG Hong Kong as a tax director and was responsible for advising various funds and real estate clients in Asia. Mr. Lau received a Masters of Taxation Studies from University of Auckland and is a Chartered Accountant with the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Australia and New Zealand. Mr. Lau is fluent in English, Mandarin and Cantonese.

Mr. Alex Sun is Executive Director of Investment Banking Department of China International Capital Corporation (CICC) overseeing the bank’s cross-border strategies for REITs origination and execution. Prior to joining CICC, Mr. Sun was the Director of Ascendas Asia Fund Management in CapitaLand Group where he was involved in evaluating real estate investments in Asia markets including China, India, Korea and Australia. Before joining CapitaLand, Alex was the Vice President and Director of Singapore at Vanke Group, where he led the acquisition and asset management functions for Pan‐Asia portfolios. Alex received Master of Real Estate and Master of Architecture at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). He serves as a fellow in Business School of National University of Singapore, visiting lecturer in INSEAD and Adjunct Assistant Professor at SUTD. He is Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) and certified Financial Risk Manager (FRM).

Sigrid is the Chief Executive Officer of Asia Pacific Real Estate Association (APREA). Based in Singapore, she is responsible for overseeing the strategic direction, initiatives and operations of the association across Asia Pacific.

Sigrid joined APREA’s executive team in January 2019. A recognized expert in global economic, public policy and real estate issues, Sigrid is a frequent speaker at industry events. Her commentary on commercial and residential real estate markets is also regularly featured in a wide array of global publications, including the Wall Street Journal, Financial Times, Bloomberg, New York Times and Reuters. Additionally, she has made several television appearances on financial networks and radio such as CNBC, Bloomberg, CNN, National Public Radio and Channel News Asia.

Sigrid brings to APREA more than 20 years of experience in economic and real estate research, consulting and business strategy. From 2010 through 2018, she served as Managing Director of Asia Pacific Research and Advisory Services of Cushman & Wakefield (C&W), where she was responsible for research, thought leadership, strategy formulation and client management. Before relocating to Singapore, she was based in Washington, D.C. and led C&W’s U.S. research group in the Mid- Atlantic region, overseeing all aspects of market research activities in the Washington, DC; Virginia; Suburban Maryland, Baltimore; and Philadelphia areas. Prior to joining C&W, Sigrid served as a Senior Economist for the National Association of Realtors (NAR). In that position, she developed NAR’s office, warehouse, retail, multi-family housing, and international research programs.

Sigrid holds a Master of Business Administration from Cornell University’s Johnson Graduate School of Management and a Master’s degree in Economics from Pennsylvania State University. She is a member of several civic groups including the Rotary Club of Raffles City in Singapore, where she has served in various leadership positions.

Sigrid is the Chief Executive Officer of Asia Pacific Real Estate Association (APREA). Based in Singapore, she is responsible for overseeing the strategic direction, initiatives and operations of the association across Asia Pacific.

Sigrid joined APREA’s executive team in January 2019. A recognized expert in global economic, public policy and real estate issues, Sigrid is a frequent speaker at industry events. Her commentary on commercial and residential real estate markets is also regularly featured in a wide array of global publications, including the Wall Street Journal, Financial Times, Bloomberg, New York Times and Reuters. Additionally, she has made several television appearances on financial networks and radio such as CNBC, Bloomberg, CNN, National Public Radio and Channel News Asia.

Sigrid brings to APREA more than 20 years of experience in economic and real estate research, consulting and business strategy. From 2010 through 2018, she served as Managing Director of Asia Pacific Research and Advisory Services of Cushman & Wakefield (C&W), where she was responsible for research, thought leadership, strategy formulation and client management. Before relocating to Singapore, she was based in Washington, D.C. and led C&W’s U.S. research group in the Mid- Atlantic region, overseeing all aspects of market research activities in the Washington, DC; Virginia; Suburban Maryland, Baltimore; and Philadelphia areas. Prior to joining C&W, Sigrid served as a Senior Economist for the National Association of Realtors (NAR). In that position, she developed NAR’s office, warehouse, retail, multi-family housing, and international research programs.

Sigrid holds a Master of Business Administration from Cornell University’s Johnson Graduate School of Management and a Master’s degree in Economics from Pennsylvania State University. She is a member of several civic groups including the Rotary Club of Raffles City in Singapore, where she has served in various leadership positions.

Stuart Gibson is Co-founder, Co-CEO and an executive Director of ESR. He co-founded the Redwood group in 2006 and had been the CEO until its merger with e-Shang in 2016. Mr. Gibson has over 24 years of real estate development and investment experience in Asia. His profound expertise and insights on the region, in particular in Japan, are instrumental in driving the development of ESR into the largest APAC focused logistics real estate platform. Previously, he was country head of Prologis Japan. Before that, he was co-founder and co-CEO of AMB BlackPine, which was subsequently incorporated into Prologis.

Ms. Wong is the Chief Executive Officer of Champion Real Estate Investment Trust, overseeing its strategic development as well as asset management and enhancement. She also spearheads the team to seek for growth opportunities, formulate acquisition and investment strategies and monitor the capital structure of the Trust, including the planning and overseeing of capital raising activities from the market. 

Ms. Wong has over 15 years’ experience in local and overseas financial industry. Prior to joining the Trust, she worked at Citigroup and J.P. Morgan's investment banking division to offer strategic advices to a number of blue chip corporates and Hong Kong real estate companies. She has also executed numerous landmark IPOs, capital markets fund-raisings and strategic M&A transactions.

Ms. Wong graduated from University of Michigan (Ann Arbor) - Ross School of Business with a Bachelor of Business Administration degree. She was honoured with the titles of Best CEO by FinanceAsia in 2020; Best IR by CEO by the Hong Kong Investor Relations Association in 2017, 2018 and 2019; Directors Of the Year Awards 2018 – Listed Companies Executive Director by the Hong Kong Institute of Directors in 2018; and Asia’s Best CEO by Corporate Governance Asia in 2017, 2018 and 2019. She is the Chairperson of Asia Pacific Real Estate Association Hong Kong chapter and a Fellow member of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors.

William Leung, Senior Vice President, is Head of Asia Pacific Real Estate and a portfolio manager for global real estate securities portfolios. He has 25years of investment experience. Prior to joining the firm in 2012, Mr. Leung was with RREEF Real Estate/Deutsche Bank for 12 years, where he was lead portfolio manager of the Asia real estate securities team. Previously, he was a research analyst with Merrill Lynch Asia Pacific. Mr. Leung has an MBA from the Hong Kong University of Science & Technology and a BA from Hong Kong Polytechnic University. He is based in Hong Kong.

Mr. Harsh Shah is the Chief Executive Officer and Whole-time Director on Board for IndiGrid, the largest listed yield platform for operational energy assets in India with majority interest held by KKR. He has an extensive track record of building large infrastructure platforms and raising private and public capital across infrastructure sector in India and global markets. He has been instrumental in building India's first power sector investment trust - India Grid Trust (IndiGrid), from concept to US $ 2 Bn listed platform working with regulators, investors and developers. He is also a member of the SEBI Advisory Committee for InvITs and REITs and chairs working group on InvITs and REITs at financial markets committee at CII.

Previously, Mr. Shah served as the Chief Financial Officer at Sterlite Power Transmission Limited. Prior to joining Sterlite, he has worked with Larsen & Toubro Limited, L&T Infrastructure Finance Company Limited and Procter & Gamble International Operations Pte. Limited.

Mr. Shah holds a Master's degree in Business Administration from the National University of Singapore and a Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering from the Nirma Institute of Technology, Gujarat University.

Peter joined Alter Domus from the Macquarie Group where he was Associate Director, MIRA Australia Agriculture & Real Estate.

During his time at Macquarie which began in 2008, Peter was Head of Agriculture Funds Finance with over $1b Funds under management in addition to being Head of Finance for Real Estate Banking.Possessing over 15 years of experience in the financial sector, Peter began his career with KPMG as a senior auditor before progressing to numerous financial management positions with Custom Fleet Australia and Westfield Limited.

Peter has a Bachelor of Commerce degree with majors in Accounting and Finance from the University of South Wales.
Peter completed the ICAA Professional Year program and is a fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants Australia.

Charmaine Cheuk is Managing Director, North Asia at CohnReznick Hong Kong Limited. She leads the firm’s Hong Kong office, and is engaged in advisory services for real estate and private equity clients across Asia Pacific.

Charmaine has over 20 years of diversified financial, real estate, and technology experience across the U.S. and Asia Pacific. She has worked for some of the most widely-recognized and respected global organizations through all phases of the investment lifecycle - financial underwriting, asset and portfolio management, valuation, fund finance and operations. She has extensive knowledge of operational processes, real estate technology, system implementation and data management.

Before joining CohnReznick, Charmaine held diverse functional roles regionally across Asia, most recently as Head of Fund Operations Asia at AEW. Prior to AEW, she spent over 8 years at CBRE/CBRE Global Investors through its merger with ING Real Estate Investment Management. Before joining ING, she was a Vice President at Lehman Brothers in the Private Equity Real Estate division.

Charmaine holds an M.S. in Finance from NYU Stern School of Business and HK University of Science & Technology. She is proficient in English, Japanese and Chinese.

Ms. An Chen, CFA, is an Equity Analyst of Asia Pacific Property Securities at AEW Asia Pte Ltd. She focuses on analyzing the listed real estate companies and real estate markets in the Asia Pacific region.Prior to joining AEW in 2010, Ms. Chen worked at Prudential Asset Management in both Singapore and Hong Kong, where she served as a portfolio manager and equity analyst for the Asia Pacific ex Japan Real Estate and as an equity analyst for the Utilities sectors.She holds a bachelor’s degree from King’s College in London and a CFA charterholder.

Ms Karen Lee was appointed as the CEO of the Manager of ARA LOGOS Logistics Trust on 15 August 2020. Prior to her current appointment, Ms Lee was the Head of Asset and Investment Management for LOGOS SE Asia Pte Ltd where she was instrumental in the asset management strategic planning for LOGOS’ South East Asia business and growing the Singapore portfolio.

Ms Lee has more than 20 years of experience in the real estate industry covering industrial real estate development, asset and investment management, business development, leasing, marketing and property management. Prior to joining LOGOS, Ms Lee was Head of Singapore Portfolio and Asset Management of Ascendas Funds Management (S) Pte Ltd, the manager of Ascendas REIT (A-REIT). During her stint with Ascendas Funds Management (S) Pte Ltd, Ms Lee was responsible for formulating and executing strategic asset management strategies as well as overseeing the performance of A-REIT’s S$9 billion AUM Singapore portfolio.

Ms Lee holds a Bachelor of Science (Economics) (Hons) degree and a Master of Science (Real Estate) from the National University of Singapore.

Dr. Calvin Lee Kwan is currently Head of Sustainability at Link Asset Management Limited, manager of one of the world’s largest retail focused real estate investment trusts. He oversees the execution of a world-class corporate sustainability program, encompassing strategy, operational efficiency, culture development, thought leadership and policy advocacy. He is also responsible for translating and communicating these efforts to the growing body of ESG-focused investors globally, positioning Link as a sustainable and responsible investment.

Innovation is Dr Kwan's passion. He has been a pioneer of sustainable finance, issuing Hong Kong’s first green bond in 2016, followed by the global real estate sector’s first benchmark sized convertible green bond in 2019. He connects Link's long term ESG performance with financial incentives in the form of sustainability linked loans.

Dr. Kwan is a member of the United Nations Environment Programme Finance Initiative’s (UNEPFI) Investment Commission, and co-chair of its Property Working Group. He is responsible for steering the group’s efforts on contemporary global business issues including developing TCFD-compliant reporting methodologies, measuring positive impact and COVID-response risks and opportunities.

As an adjunct associate professor at The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, he nurtures future generations of sustainability professionals, teaching post-graduate courses in environmental policy, corporate sustainability and directs a business sustainability focused research group in the Division of Environment

Dr. Kwan earned a BS in Business Administration and Biochemistry from the University of California, Riverside, Master and Doctorate degrees in Environmental Science and Engineering from the University of California, Los Angeles, an EMBA from Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern and HKUST and is currently completing a JD at Chinese University Hong Kong.

Sigrid is the Chief Executive Officer of Asia Pacific Real Estate Association (APREA). Based in Singapore, she is responsible for overseeing the strategic direction, initiatives and operations of the association across Asia Pacific.

Sigrid joined APREA’s executive team in January 2019. A recognized expert in global economic, public policy and real estate issues, Sigrid is a frequent speaker at industry events. Her commentary on commercial and residential real estate markets is also regularly featured in a wide array of global publications, including the Wall Street Journal, Financial Times, Bloomberg, New York Times and Reuters. Additionally, she has made several television appearances on financial networks and radio such as CNBC, Bloomberg, CNN, National Public Radio and Channel News Asia.

Sigrid brings to APREA more than 20 years of experience in economic and real estate research, consulting and business strategy. From 2010 through 2018, she served as Managing Director of Asia Pacific Research and Advisory Services of Cushman & Wakefield (C&W), where she was responsible for research, thought leadership, strategy formulation and client management. Before relocating to Singapore, she was based in Washington, D.C. and led C&W’s U.S. research group in the Mid- Atlantic region, overseeing all aspects of market research activities in the Washington, DC; Virginia; Suburban Maryland, Baltimore; and Philadelphia areas. Prior to joining C&W, Sigrid served as a Senior Economist for the National Association of Realtors (NAR). In that position, she developed NAR’s office, warehouse, retail, multi-family housing, and international research programs.

Sigrid holds a Master of Business Administration from Cornell University’s Johnson Graduate School of Management and a Master’s degree in Economics from Pennsylvania State University. She is a member of several civic groups including the Rotary Club of Raffles City in Singapore, where she has served in various leadership positions.