APREA Asia Pacific Market Outlook Series
Asia Pacific: Onward & Upward

Sue Ann has more than 15 years of experience in financial services and real estate investments. She began her career at Citibank and BNY Mellon before moving to the alternative investments industry. Having held various roles in finance, asset management, investor relations and business development, she joins Apex Group as Business Development Director to spearhead the growth of their real estate fund solutions business in the region. Sue Ann holds a Bachelor of Business Management from the Singapore Management University.

Sigrid is the Chief Executive Officer of Asia Pacific Real Assets Association (APREA). Based in Singapore, she is responsible for overseeing the strategic direction, initiatives and operations of the association across Asia Pacific. Under her leadership, APREA repositioned to an industry trade group focusing on real estate and infrastructure.

Sigrid joined APREA’s executive team in January 2019.

Prior to APREA, she served as Managing Director of Asia Pacific Research and Advisory Services of Cushman & Wakefield (C&W) from 2010 through 2018, 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.

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 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, and serves in the Executive Committee of the Crohn’s & Colitis Society of Singapore.

Mr John Lim is the Chairman of JL Family Office. He is also the Senior Advisor and Non-executive Director of ESR Cayman Limited and serves as a Non-executive Director of ARA Asset Management (Fortune) Limited, ARA Trust Management (Suntec) Limited, ARA Asset Management (Prosperity) Limited and Hui Xian Asset Management Limited.

Mr Lim is Chairman of the Asia Pacific Real Assets Association (APREA) and the Consultative Committee to the Department of Real Estate, National University of Singapore. He is also a Patron of the Securities Investors Association of Singapore (SIAS) and a Council Member of Singapore Chinese Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

Mr Lim co-founded ARA Asset Management in 2002 and was its Group CEO for 18 years and Deputy Chairman from February 2021 to January 2022.

Mr Lim has over 40 years of experience in the real estate industry and has received many notable corporate awards. These include the PERE Global Awards 2020 and 2016 Industry Figure of the Year: Asia, Ernst & Young Entrepreneur Of the Year Singapore 2012 and the Outstanding CEO of the Year 2011 at the Singapore Business Awards 2012. Mr Lim, along with the Board of Directors of ARA, was a recipient of the prestigious Best Managed Board (Gold) Award at the Singapore Corporate Awards 2012. In 2017, he was conferred the Public Service Medal (PBM) by the President of Singapore in recognition of his contributions to the community.

Mr Lim holds a Bachelor of Engineering (First Class Honours) in Mechanical Engineering, a Master of Science in Industrial Engineering, as well as a Diploma in Business Administration, each from the National University of Singapore.

Christine is the Head of Research, APAC at Knight Frank. She has over 15 years of industry experience, curating and co-ordinating regional forecasts and market outlook for clients across the office, industrial and residential sectors as well as specialist asset classes such as student accommodation, multi-family and data centres. Her insight and in-depth knowledge of real estate market is also well sought-after by both the local and international media. She has a Bachelor of Science degree in Engineering from Cornell University (US) and a Master of Arts degree in Media and Communications from University of London (UK).

George Agethen is responsible for the investment and asset-management strategies outlined in the Ivanhoé Cambridge’s annual business and strategic plans. He works closely with the Asset Management, Growth Markets team and collaborate with internal and external stakeholders to put in place and consolidate strategic partnerships for major projects being developed in the Asia-Pacific region.

Mr. Agethen has extensive experience in our industry, and more specifically in the Asian real estate market. Before joining Ivanhoé Cambridge in 2015, he was Senior Executive Director and Head of Alternative Investments at Ping An Trust, a subsidiary of Ping An Insurance (Group) Company of China Ltd., a public company. In his past position, he was responsible for establishing a multi-asset real estate portfolio which invests globally. He served also as Executive Director for HREI (a joint venture between Harvest Funds Management and Grosvenor Group) and as Head of business development and capital-raising for Harvest Capital Partners, China’s leading real estate fund managers. He was previously Vice President, Private Capital Markets, Real Estate, for Macquarie Capital in Asia. He also spent several years in the real estate sector in Australia.

Mr. Agethen holds bachelor’s degrees in commerce and in law and a master’s degree in commerce, specializing in Finance, from University of New South Wales in Sydney, Australia. Mr. Agethen is a Fellow of the Financial Services Institute of Australasia and is a Jury Member for the MIPIM Asia Awards. Over the course of his career, George has lived in Australia, Hong Kong, Singapore, and China. He speaks fluent English, Mandarin and Cantonese.

Jesper Palmqvist is based in Singapore and as Senior Director he leads STR in Asia Pacific since 2013. His career spans across hospitality, online travel, IT and music. Originally from Sweden, he frequently presents the latest trends and updates at industry events and media outlets.

STR, a CoStar Group company [NASDAQ: CSGP], tracks daily historic and future supply and demand data as well as monthly financial data for the hospitality industry and provide valuable market share analysis for global hotel and investment companies and agencies across the globe..

Han Hwee Chin is Senior Vice-President (Research and Strategic Planning) of GIC Real Estate. GIC Real Estate invests outside of Singapore and has teams in nine offices worldwide, managing a well-diversified portfolio in various property sectors. 

At GIC Real Estate, Hwee Chin undertakes property research and monitoring long-term trends of Asia-Pacific property markets. She also manages the design, composition and risk framework of the real estate portfolio, to formulate investment strategies globally across markets and property sectors.

Hwee Chin graduated from the National University of Singapore with a first class honours degree in Real Estate and has a MBA from the University of Western Australia. She started her career with JTC Corporation where she was involved in the leasing, marketing and development of various industrial clusters such as IT, biomedical and chemicals. Thereafter, she joined the Ministry of Trade and Industry (Singapore) where she was involved in ministerial and policy work, before moving to GIC. 

Alessandro Fiascaris is Senior Vice President, Head of Investments Asia Pacific at Oxford Properties, a leading global real estate investor, asset management and business builder.

Alessandro leads a team responsible for investments in Asia Pacific, having joined Oxford in 2022.

Prior to joining Oxford, Alessandro worked at a Blackstone for fifteen years in Singapore, Hong Kong and London.

Alessandro holds a BA in Mathematics from Cambridge University and an MBA from Stanford University. He currently lives in Singapore.

Gordon Marsden is a senior leader in Cushman & Wakefield’s Asia Pacific Capital Markets business. His role covers strategic advice, investor relations, capital raising and brokerage. Leveraging his 15+ years of experience and broad knowledge of the real estate markets across Asia Pacific, Gordon has conducted strategy work for a wide range of clients, executed joint ventures in the region as well as undertaken capital raising initiatives. Gordon has led divestment campaigns on individual assets and significant portfolios across multiple asset classes. His client portfolio includes pension companies, insurance companies, sovereign wealth funds, limited partners, fund managers, developers, family offices and high net worth individuals. Having previously been actively involved in Asian outbound capital, he is also well versed on global real estate markets and their drivers of growth. Gordon sits on Cushman & Wakefield’s Asia Pacific Capital Markets Board.

Peter Young is a real estate investor and fund manager with a significant track record in investing in the developed markets of the UK, Western Europe, US and Australia across multiple real estate sectors.

Peter manages capital and co-invests alongside Family Offices, High Net Worth Individuals and Institutional Investors across debt and equity in specialist real estate living sectors, including purpose- built student accommodation, multi-family housing, co-living and senior housing. As CEO of QIP, he oversees the regulated asset management business and leads the team in sourcing and managing strategic investment opportunities. He has executed on a range of real estate transactions totalling USD $500m.

Glyn Nelson is Managing Director and Head of Research and Strategy with responsibility for directing AEW’s research activities in the Asia Pacific region. He is a member of the AEW Asia Investment Committee and a member of the firm’s Global Securities Allocation Committee. Mr. Nelson responsibilities include monitoring, evaluating and forecasting the macroeconomic environment, demographic trends and capital market conditions across the region. Prior roles include Head of Asia Pacific Property Research for Aberdeen Asset Management and Head of the Real Estate Intelligence Service for JLL. Mr. Nelson has a B.Com from the University of Auckland and an M.S. from the University of Texas.

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.

Ms Serena Teo is the Chief Executive Officer of the managers of CapitaLand Ascott Trust (CLAS), the largest lodging trust in Asia Pacific. CLAS’ portfolio comprises 105 properties with over 18,000 units across 15 countries in Asia Pacific, Europe and the United States of America.

Ms Teo has over 25 years of experience in both private and public sectors. She was formerly with the Ascendas Group, Singapore Economic Development Board (EDB) and EDB Investments. Ms Teo holds a Master in Business Administration from INSEAD and a Bachelor in Electrical and Electronic Engineering (Honours) from National University of Singapore.

Mr Garing has over 25 years of investment management, financial markets and accounting experience in the global real estate industry. Prior to his appointment to the CEREIT Manager, he was most recently the Chief Capital Officer of Cromwell Property Group, where he was responsible for capital management and fund raising for capital markets, as well as public and private fund initiatives.

A proven capital markets manager, investor and analyst, Mr Garing was previously a Managing Director of Bank of America (formerly Bank of America Merrill Lynch) Asia Pacific (“APAC”) and Bank of America Australia. He was the Global Head of Real Estate Research and the Chairman of the bank’s APAC Recommendation Review Committee.

Mr. Joachim Kehr is Head of Asia-Pacific and a Senior Partner at CenterSquare Investment Management, an independently-owned, global investment manager, which focuses on actively managed real estate, private equity real estate and private real estate debt strategies with around $15 billion in institutional client capital. Joachim leads the firm’s investment management efforts across Asia and is a member of the firm’s Global Listed Real Estate Investment Committee and industry bodies.

Prior to joining CenterSquare in 2011, Joachim was a member of BNP Paribas Investment Management’s Listed Real Estate team based in Amsterdam and Singapore.

Joachim holds a MSc in Economics & Finance from the University of Tilburg, The Netherlands.