The chair and secretariat of this year's ASEAN Real Estate Network Alliance (ARENA), the Malaysian Institute of Estate Agents (MIEA), is hosting the ARENA Convention and Exhibition (ACE) 2017 for the first time in Malaysia. Happening from 25th to 27th August 2017, ACE 2017 will discuss cross-culture practices, skills and knowledge to allow real estate practitioners the opportunity to expand and have a greater regional reach.

The ASEAN Real Estate Network Alliance (ARENA) is a regional grouping of eight National real estate associations across ASEAN with the aim of fostering greater collaboration within the real estate fraternity.

With the theme "making friends and connecting business”, ACE 2017 is also aimed at supporting Malaysian real estate practitioners to look beyond borders and cross sell properties in other markets. This will also help provide access to alternative markets to address the current economic uncertainties in the local property market.

ACE 2017, which will be held at Berjaya Times Square, will be Malaysia's largest regional real estate convention and is expected to draw over 600 participants from ASEAN, the United States and the United Kingdom.

Organizing Chairman and Secretary General for ACE 2017, Soma Sundram said "ACE 2017 is the best platform to connect with real estate practitioners from eight National real estate Associations such as Malaysia, Singapore, Philippines, Thailand, Indonesia, Vietnam, Cambodia, and Myanmar. With intra-ASEAN trade valued at USD 305 billion in 2015, there are many opportunities to conduct property-related investment throughout the region”.

Soma added that some of the regional markets have a lot of untapped potential and growth opportunities. At the same time, Malaysian real estate practitioners can also collaborate with their regional counterparts to draw investment into Malaysia.

Currently ASEAN is expected to grow economically at 5% per annum, compared to the global growth rate of 3.5% per annum.

Chairman of Council of Presidents for ARENA and President of the Malaysian Institute of Estate Agents (MIEA), Eric Lim said "We are grateful to our sponsors for their support and at ACE, there will be networking opportunities and breakout sessions where attendees can discuss cross-cultural business practices and understand the real estate business better”.

Lim added that discussions would also be held amongst the Presidents of the eight regional real estate associations to propose methods of improving intra-ASEAN real estate transactions and better sharing of information.

A number of themes will be covered at the event such as how to do cross border sales, using technology as the latest real estate method to market properties, showcasing hotspots in Malaysia to attract foreign investment, the performance of regional real estate markets and how full liberalization will affect the real estate service sector.

Notable speakers for ACE 2017 include: - Dato' Sri Matthew Yeoh, founding member of ASEAN Legal Alliance, "China's One Road, One Belt And Its Impact on ASEAN” - Kumar Tharmalingam, Senior Advisor to AREA Management Sdn Bhd, "The Making Of An ASEAN Real Estate Community and Moulding The Future” - Chris Dietz, Executive Vice President for Global Operations, Leading R, "Connecting Business Through Cross Referrals - Kick Starting and Developing It” - Dr. Sopon Pornchokchai, President, Thai Appraisal Foundation, "The ASEAN Regional Markets, Its Performance and Direction” - Lewis Ng, Chief Business Officer, PropertyGuru Group, "The Changing Landscape Of The Digital Marketing Platform in ASEAN”

"We are happy to say that we have 568 registered participants and we expect a full house when the conference starts. For those who are interested you can still register online at www.arenarealestate.org or call the ACE'17 secretariat at +603-7960 2577”, said Lim.

ACE 2017 is supported by main sponsors Malaysian Resources Corporation Berhad (MRCB), Bukit Bintang City Centre (EcoWorld) and PropertyGuru.