10:20

Commercial real estate: a property portal commodity?

Behnam Bargh, Director, CRC

Robert Thomas, Director - Head of Agency, CORE

Matt Gregory, CCO, houza

.    Commercial real estate analysis & 2021 outlook
.    What trends have emerged this year - pre and post pandemic?
.    What is the current supply and demand situation, and where do you see this going?
.    What are the driving forces shaping commercial property in 2021?
.    How has the importance of building management affected both tenants/buyers and landlords/owners post-pandemic?
.    Has the way you reach the commercial property consumer changed and what direction is this heading?

10:50

New opportunities for Residential in 2021

Lynnette Abad, Director, PropertyFinder

Elaine Jones, Executive Chairman, Asteco Property Management

Dounia Fadi, Chief Operating Officer, Berkshire Hathaway

·    Why is student housing such an untapped market in the GCC when it has so much potential for growth?

·    What ROIs does student housing investment provide?

·    What kind of role did the pandemic play in the rise of “Live-Work-Play” communities?

·    How important is the sense of community in any residential building moving forward?

·    Why is housing sustainability such an important topic that’s not yet implemented?

11:25

Automation & Proptech: Why haven’t we adopted yet? A Futuristic outlook

Sean McCauley, CEO, DevMark Group 

Aladdin Albatayneh, Head of Commercial and Acquisition, Ajar

·    What’s at stake for real estate professionals?

.    Accelerated changes companies are making to be in the lead and adapt to the new world to be relevant?

11:50

The Era of E-commerce & Retail:

Challenges & opportunities with the rise of e-commerce in the GCC

Gabriella De La Torre, Director of Consulting, CBRE

Anurag Bajpai, Partner and Head of Consumer & Retail, KPMG

Imran Sheikh, Chief Investment Officer, Peninsula Real Estate Management Limited

Mansour Hajjar, Head of Country Management for UAE & India, Chalhoub Group

.    Are we ready?

.    What infrastructure & tech is missing?

.    What opportunities does the rise of e-commerce present to the industrial & logistics’ sector?

.    How are GCC developers adapting to the retail shift?

.    What are the challenges and opportunities with brick & mortar today?

.    How are consumer behaviors shifting and what is the response of occupiers?

.    How will they manage demand fluctuations?

.    Investor response?

12:25

Adapting to Smart Cities – The battle between Tech & Green

Mark Hamilton, Head of Digital Solutions, MENA, JLL

Dima Alkawadri, Adjunct Professor of Architecture & PhD Candidate, Heriot Watt University

·    What role does ESG play in the future of smart cities?

·    How has Covid-19 impacted the focus shift of smart cities from mostly tech to a hybrid of Tech and Green?

.    What are the impacts of the hybrid approach on sustainability?

12:50

UAE and KSA: GDP, Population and Residential real estate

Dr Christopher Payne, Chief Economist, Peninsula Real Estate Management Limited

.    What is the transmission mechanism between the oil market and weak domestic aggregate demand?
.    What is the economic impact of Covid-19? Why has Saudi Arabia tripled VAT in the second half of 2020?
.    How does population fluctuate in response to non-oil GDP? How this differs between the UAE and Saudi Arabia?
.    What can we expect from the residential real estate market over the next few years?

13:15

Lunch Break

14:15

Hotel of the Future - New Standards for the Hospitality Sector - A design perspective

Prodipto Ghosh, Senior Associate Director, CRTKL

Brian Johnson, Managing Partner, GAJ

Sidharth Mehta, Audit Partner, Head of Real Estate and Construction, KPMG

Kourosh Salehi, MENA Design Director, LWK + Partners

·    What innovative solutions have emerged in the hospitality sector amidst the pandemic?

·    How did the Hospitality sector aid in curbing the spread of the virus and what role did it play? (depending on a speaker)

·    What demands and shifts have occurred post social distancing protocols?

·    How has the hospitality sector adapted to the travel restrictions?

·    What role did hospitality play in a pandemic-ridden world?

·    What will regulations and standards look like in a post-Covid-19 world?

·    How will the regulations change the physical space and feel of the hospitality industry?

·    What impact will the new regulations have on hospitality investments?

14:45

Repurposing: A design perspective

This session is “Powered by the RIBA”

Joe Tabet, Managing Director, JT + Partners

Marwan Fouad, Proposals Manager – PhD Candidate, APG

Firas Hnoosh, Managing Director, Nordic Office Architects

·    What is the importance of retrofitting to being green & sustainable?

·    How are GCC architects and interior designers incorporating repurposing into their designs?

·    Where is repurposing an appropriate solution?

.    Retail space to fulfilment centers?

.    Why is retrofitting better than demolishing and creating new?

15:20

Real estate investment is the key component in healthcare infrastructure development 

Sandeep Sinha, Head of Healthcare MENA, JLL

How real estate investment in healthcare has changed the business model of healthcare players

·    Reduced project development cost

.    Improve project completion time and project management 

.    Asset light model / innovative business models / propco-opco

.    Focus on business performance than managing the real estate

.    Better cash flow and realistic valuation

.    Valuation of healthcare entities based on business performance not on real estate any more

How investment is healthcare real estate has created the opportunities for real estate developers:

.    Customise healthcare infra development based on healthcare needs

.    Development of healthcare focused REIT

.    Long and sustainable return on investment

.    New asset class which is stable and will be in need forever

.    Partnership with corporate healthcare sector

.    Healthcare Infra PPP

.    Impact of Covid-19 on the healthcare and pharmaceuticals sector and need for infra partner

15:40

Master planning and the regeneration of urban environments

Dicky Lewis, Director and Co-Founder, White Red Architects 

16:00

Are Staycations the ‘New Normal’? Overview of the Hospitality sector (a real estate perspective)

Thuku Kimani, Colliers International MENA

·    How can revenue be increased in a time where travel restrictions are imposed?

·    What impacts will local guests have on the Hospitality Sector that are different from international guests?

.    Do staycations demand a change in the physical space of hotels?