SEE Property Forum 2016 - Bucharest, Romania

Keynote speech: The role of urban planning in improving a city's competitiveness

This year’s keynote speech will be given by RICS Immediate Past Global President Dr. Louise Brooke-Smith FRICS, who will talk about the role of urban planning in improving a city's competitiveness. Urban planning will be one of the key themes of the conference with one of the roundtable discussions focusing on the future of Bucharest.

People:

• Louise Brooke-Smith FRICS, Senior Partner and UK Head of Development Strategic Planning and Head of Social Value, Arcadis

Foreign investors’ roundtable – CEE/SEE outlook

In 2016 commercial real estate investment activity seems to be picking up again in Southeastern Europe after a slightly weaker 2015. Which countries can present themselves as the best choice for investors? Where will new money come from? Will the market continue to be dominated by portfolio deals? What is the most sought after asset class? Our expert panel will answer all of these questions and many more. Speakers from all around CEE.

Chair: Michaela Lashova MRICS, CEO, Cushman & Wakefield Forton

Conversation participants:

• Alex Bebov, Managing Director, Balkan Advisory Company
• Laurentiu Lazar MRICS, Director of Investment and Valuation Services, Colliers International
• Robert Neale, Board Member, RICS in the Czech Republic
• Lila Pateraki, Chief Investment Officer, Zeus Capital Management
• Péter Számely MRICS, Head of Real Estate Finance CEE, HYPO NOE Landesbank
• David Yearn, Business Development Manager CEE, First Title

Urban planning – The future of Bucharest

The future of the Romanian capital is in the hands of today’s urban planners and real estate developers. Their decision will determine how Bucharest can perform on an increasingly competitive global scene. Creating a city that attracts innovators and investors is in everybody’s interest, but all must be done in a smart, sustainable and responsible way.

Chair: Mircea Enache, Director, Senior Planner & Information Systems Specialist, CEP

Conversation participants:

• Andrei Botis, President, Romania Green Building Council
• Razvan Iorgu, Managing Director, CBRE Romania
• Melinda Reikli, Country Manager Romania, S+B Gruppe
• Oana Ureche, Partner, Ţuca Zbârcea & Asociaţii

Coffee break – Networking

Retail challenges roundtable – E-commerce, generation Y, regulatory changes

The Romanian retail market has had a good year in 2015 with a significant growth in household consumption, a number of new market entrants and strong development activity all pointing to an upward trend. For how long can the growth continue? Can developers keep up with changing consumer habits? E-commerce, regulatory changes also in focus.

Chair: Luiza Moraru MRICS, Head of Property Management CEE, CBRE

Conversation participants:

• Costin Blideanu, Head of Leasing Department, AFI Europe Romania
• Raluca Crişan, Marketing Manager, Immochan Romania
• Razvan Gaita, Country Manager, Portico Investments
• Iuliana Ghimpu, Leasing Manager, Anchor Grup
• Bogdan Halcu, Managing Associate, Ţuca Zbârcea & Asociaţii
• Mihaela Petruescu, Head of Property Management, DTZ Echinox

Office developers’ roundtable – New projects, sustainable solutions, changing tenant requirements

Bucharest has one of the youngest modern office stocks in Europe with nearly 480,000 square metres of Class A space developed in the last five years. A strong demand and improving financing makes the city an attractive choice for developers but that also results in a fierce competition. How can a building truly stand out? Our developer roundtable will try to answer this question.

Chair: Ilinca Paun, Managing Partner Romania, Colliers International

Conversation participants:

• Sven Lemmes, Country Manager Romania, Atenor
• Mark Rea MRICS, Managing Partner, Sentient Consultants
• Marian Roman, Managing Director, CA Immo Romania
• Sorin Visoianu, Country Manager Operations Romania, Immofinanz
• Affan Yildirim, General Manager and Board Member, Anchor Grup Romania

Lunch break – Networking

State of convergence in the Central and Eastern European region

The European Central Bank will publish its 2016 Convergence Report during the conference and participants will have the chance to learn more about the report’s findings first hand. The first speaker of the afternoon session, Christine Gartner, the ECB’s Principal Economist will talk about the state of convergence in the Central and Eastern European region.

People:

• Christine Gartner, Principal Economist and Coordinator of the ECB’s 2016 Convergence Report, European Central Bank

Romanian investors’ roundtable

Last year has proven to be truly a turning point for the Romanian investment market. An increased number and more diverse group of investors started looking at individual assets and portfolios, resulting in the largest number of transactions since the beginning of the crisis. Will this upward trend continue into 2016 and 2017?

Chair: Răzvan Gheorghiu-Testa, Partner - Co-Head of Real Estate Practice Group, Ţuca Zbârcea & Asociaţii

Conversation participants:

• Ana Dumitrache, Head of Real Estate Financing Department, Banca Comerciala Romana / A member of Erste Group
• Claudius Ferentz, Consultant, Secure Legal Title
• Robert Miklo, Director, Investment Services, Colliers International
• Stamatis Sapkas, Deputy Chief Investment Officer, Globalworth Real Estate Investments
• Andrei Văcaru, Head of Capital Markets CEE, iO Partners
• Ioannis Xanthopoulos, Investment Director CEE, Bluehouse Capital

Construction challenges in the field of Romanian developments

People:

• Attila Puskas, Contracting Director, KÉSZ Romania

Opportunities in regional Romanian cities

Romania is one of the very few countries in the CEE/SEE region where life does not stop beyond the capital. There are many regional cities that can offer really attractive opportunities both for developers and investors.  Our panel of active real estate professionals will take a closer look at each these cities and offer an overview of the most important trends.

Chair: Ionut Oprea, Brand Manager, Transilvania Business

Conversation participants:

• Adela Mîrza, Specialist Marketing, TETAROM
• Andras Policsek, Business Development Manager, Ravensdale Investments
• Attila Puskas, Contracting Director, KÉSZ Romania

Wine tasting and networking

After a whole day of thought-provoking discussions participants of SEE Property Forum 2016 will have a chance to relax and finish the day with some wine tasting. The bottles of Liliac combine the taste of hand-selected Romanian grapes with Austrian expertise, providing a great opportunity for networking.