The Financial Times will bring together senior decision-makers from Asia and beyond, including top property developers, investors, bankers and regulators, for the FT Asia Property Summit 2008, the second in a series of annual high-level FT conferences on developments in Asia's real estate markets.

 

Building on the success of the inaugural Summit in Hong Kong in September 2007, this landmark one-day conference in Singapore comes at a time of intense activity in the Asian property sector, with global investors injecting billions of dollars into the region’s fast-growing markets.

 

As sovereign wealth funds and cash-rich Gulf investors join aggressive private equity firms, hedge funds and merchant banks in stepping up their investments, competition for real estate assets in Asia has strengthened, not just in booming developing economies like China and India but also in more mature markets such as Japan, Australia and Singapore.

 

Frenetic construction in Asian cities highlights not only dynamic economic expansion but also the massive urbanisation that is taking place across the region. With commercial and residential valuations surging, some analysts are warning of price corrections, while structural challenges, such as the slow approval process in India, regulatory constraints in China or the lack of available land in Vietnam, are becoming more pronounced.

 

It also remains to be seen how resilient Asia will remain in the face of the sub-prime distress in the US and other Western markets, with local Reits already suffering from the market volatility.

 

These challenges, and the continuing opportunities in Asia’s property markets, will be examined in detail at this essential agenda-setting and networking event.