RICS World Built Environment Forum Summit 2019 Unites Global Leaders on Future of Investment in Real Estate

New Delhi, March 16, 2019: RICS, the world-leading professional body promoting and enforcing the highest international standards in the built environment sector, is organizing its World Built Environment Forum 2019 Summit at Conrad New York, 13-14 May. The theme for the summit is ‘The future of investment in real assets’ with a focus on harnessing new technology to mobilize the private capital investment needed to meet the growing global demand for new infrastructure, new real estate and the renewal of existing assets.

Now in its fourth year, the Summit is the flagship event of the RICS World Built Environment Forum. More than 500 delegates drawn from the highest levels of industry, government and policymaking will debate how to make informed and responsible investments, within an ever-changing technological and geopolitical landscape. The event is sponsored by big names in real estate, including Cushman & Wakefield, Newmark Knight Frank and Shanghai Oriental Investment Supervision Co (SOIS).

Will Myles, Managing Director, Asia Pacific, RICS, says, “With the RICS World Built Environment Forum Summit 2019, we will bring together international thought leaders, practitioners and policymakers to explore the transformative impact of digitalization on business models and the future of investments in the real estate and construction industry.”

Commenting on the summit, Mr. Nimish Gupta, MD South Asia, RICS, says, “We are extremely thrilled to be part of 4^th edition of RICS World Built Environment Forum Summit 2019 in New York. The Summit aims to encourage the development of a sustainable environment which will be resilient against new risks and scarce resources. It is an amazing opportunity to gain strategic insight, into the future of investment in real assets; and how this may shape the future of investment in India.”

Headlining the event is Parag Khanna, named one of Esquire’s ‘75 most influential people of the 21st Century,’ featured in WIRED magazine’s ‘Smart List’ who recently published the acclaimed book, ‘The Future is Asian’. He brings a global perspective to the intertwined forces shaping investment in the built environment.

In the context of investing in the built environment, the 2019 Summit will specifically explore key themes such as:

• The changing nature of work and workplace
• The impact of algorithms and tokenisation
• The real-world outcomes for cities and citizens
• New finance models for energy and transport
• Investment risk allocation

Over two days, participants will build a picture of how technology is transforming investment in real assets. Their conclusions will outline workable approaches to building public and investor trust as we seek to mobilize more capital into much-needed infrastructure. Attendees will include over 500 C-suite delegates from all over the world which includes CEOs, Partners, CIOS, CTOs, CFOs, MDs, Directors, Board members and Trustees.

Headline speakers include

• International best-selling author and Managing Partner of FutureMap, Parag Khanna as opening keynote speaker.
• Senator Jeff Flake as the keynote speaker on day two of the Summit. His speech will look at key political and economic challenges facing the US from both a domestic and international perspective.
• Michael Spies, Senior Managing Director – Innovation; India and New Markets, Tishman Speyer.
•  Martin J. Brühl, Chief Investment Officer, Union Investment Real Estate to chair an investment committee discussion: Responsible investment in a complex risk landscape. Philip Barrett, a Managing Director and Global Head of Business and Investment Operations, PGIM Real Estate to also participate.
• Raj Bhutti, Chief Information Officer, Newman Knight Frank, as a panellist on: Blockchain and the bottom line: Real estate transactions in the 4^th industrial age.
• Isabel Beltran, Associate director, Resilience Finance at 100 Resilient Cities, who is one of the Summit partners, to lead the panel: Global cities: Common future agendas.
• Kate North, Vice President of Workplace Innovation at Colliers International to moderate a session: New work, new workplaces: How technology and changing human habits are reshaping commercial real estate markets.

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