RICS Annual Conference gathers property industry specialists, government officials to assess Hong Kong’s role in Greater Bay Area

HONG KONG, CHINA - Media OutReach - May 18, 2018 - The RICS (Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors)Hong Kong Annual Conference 2018 gathered nearly 500 business executives, property professionals and policymakers to examine Hong Kong'spotential to driveGreater Bay Area (GBA) development.

The conference, "Establishing Hong Kong as the nucleus of a thriving Greater Bay Area", was held 18 May at the Grand Hyatt Hong Kong.

Guest of honourMrs Carrie Lam, Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, opened the conference with a speech Hong Kong's role and potential in the Bay Area.

"Hong Kong's strengths are rooted in our "One Country, Two Systems" advantage. This advantage will not disappear or diminish. The freest economy in the world, Hong Kong delivers high-powered financial and professional services and global connections, even as we deepen our economic ties to the Mainland." Chief ExecutiveMrs Carrie Lam said. "A prosperous Bay Area will generate increasing demand for infrastructure construction and high-end, high value-added services. That is pitching to our strength and our expertise. It will be an opportunity Hong Kong will smartly and eagerly run with."

An overview of the GBA development featured presentations by The Honourable Mrs Regina Ip Lau Suk-yee, GBS, JP, Legislative Council Member, Hong Kong SAR and Chairperson, New People's Party; and Prof Guangnan Zhang, Professor, Doctoral Supervisor, Institute of Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macao Development Studies. Dr Justin Chiu, Chairman, ARA Asset Management Limited, examined the GBA's impact on Hong Kong's real estate and construction sectors.

Senior leaders from academia and private sector from a broad range of industries deliberated their views and explored future growth and challenges for the 11 Bay Area cities. Four panel discussions scrutinised GBA challenges and how might Hong Kong and our people lead the success of GBA.

"Hong Kong's strong economic standing and world-class professional services position it as the Bay Area's gateway city,"Mr Dave HallamMRICS, Chair, Organising Committee,said. "RICS designed this conference to initiate active engagement and involvement in the wider community, so that Hong Kong can take advantage of the opportunities brought by this grand plan".

About RICS

Confidence through professional standards

RICS promotes and enforces the highest professional qualifications and standards in the development and management of land, real estate, construction and infrastructure. Our name promises the consistent delivery of standards -- bringing confidence to the markets we serve.

We accredit 125,000 professionals and any individual or firm registered with RICS is subject to our quality assurance. Their expertise covers property, asset valuation, real estate management; the development of infrastructure; and the management of natural resources, such as mining, farms and woodland. From environmental assessments and building controls to negotiating land rights in an emerging economy; if our members are involved the same professional standards and ethics apply.

We believe that standards underpin effective markets. With up to seventy per cent of the world's wealth bound up in land and real estate, our sector is vital to economic development, helping to support stable, sustainable investment and growth around the globe.

With offices covering the major political and financial centres of the world, our market presence means we are ideally placed to influence policy and embed professional standards. We work at a cross-governmental level, delivering international standards that will support a safe and vibrant marketplace in land, real estate, construction and infrastructure, for the benefit of all.

We are proud of our reputation and work hard to protect it, so clients who work with an RICS professional can have confidence in the quality and ethics of the services they receive.

For media enquiries, please contact:

RICS East Asia Public Relations Representatives

Ms Wendy Chan/ Ms Peggy Mak

T: +852 3159 2962/ +852 3159 2982

E: wendy.chan@creativegp.com / peggy.mak@creativegp.com