International speakers are set to unravel the emerging economic and market situations in
the country and the rest of the world at the forthcoming International Business &
Economic Forum of the Philippine Chapter of the International Real Estate Federation
(FIABCI-Ph).
Citing the event’s theme “Taking the High Road to Global Excellence”, FIABCI-Ph
chairman and Special Envoy to Japan Dr. Reghis M. Romero II said the topics expected to
be discussed would include financial and monetary strategies, innovative marketing
systems, foreign investment priorities, trade and manufacturing segments of construction
and real estate development, and crisis management, among others, all in the wake of the
Russia-Ukraine conflict, erratic fuel supply and price fluctuations, global inflation
stemming from the covid pandemic, and upticks in US interest rates since March last year.
Among the international forum speakers, according to FIABCI-Ph president
Architect Nestor S. Mangio, are Economic Research Director Lara Romina Ganapin
representing Governor Felipe M. Medalla of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, director
Budiarsa Sastrawinata of Indonesian property conglomerate PT Ciputra Development Tbk
and president of PT Damai Indah Golf Tbk and PT Ciputra Residence, president and chief
executive officer Aileen R. Zosa of the Bases Conversion and Development Authority,
senior vice president for Asia Pacific development Vic Toh of the Singapore-based APAC
Realty Ltd and former vice president for global business development of US-based
Anywhere Real Estate Inc. and Realogy Holdings Corporation, and vice president Ronilo
Balbieran of the economic reform think-tank REID Foundation.
A faculty member of the School of Economics, University of Asia and the Pacific,
Balbieran is a licensed environment planner and infrastructure and logistics specialist who
headed the technical working group that drafted and prepared the recently launched
Philippine Construction Industry Roadmap 2020-2030, and was one of the advisers in
updating and crafting the Philippine E-commerce Roadmap 2020-2022.
As vice president of REID Foundation, he assists the Department of Public Works
and Highways in designing, planning and implementing infrastructure convergence
programs with the Department of Tourism on local tourism roads, with the Department of
Trade and Industry on roads connecting economic zones and logistics hubs, with the
National Defense on military facilities to protect critical infrastructure areas, and with the
Philippine National Police on upgrading police stations. These convergence programs
have so far implemented more than P150 billion worth of local infrastructure that would
not have been funded internally by the local government units, or the limited budgets of
agencies.
On the other hand, Sastrawinata, aside from being the incoming president of
FIABCI-World this June, also serves as honorary president of the International Urban
Development Association and is actively involved in Indonesia’s chamber of commerce
and industry, real estate brokers’ association, and public listed companies’ association. He
completed his civil engineering degree at the Plymouth Polytechnic in the UK and his
MBA at the Prasetiya Mulya Institute of Management in Jakarta.
Having a multidisciplinary career, Vic Toh was APAC’s vice president for global
development, corporate development manager of the ECG Group of Companies, and
senior franchise development analyst of Burger King Corporation and analyst for
marketing & analytics of APAC, both in Singapore.
As the first female president and CEO of the BCDA, Ms. Zosa has 27 years of institutional knowledge in business development and public policy, and reportedly over a decade in various posts in the public sector such as those in the Senate, Office of the President and the Commission on Audit.
Slated at the Sofitel Philippine Plaza Hotel in Manila at 1pm on February 21, the
International Business & Economic Forum will precede the gala night of the FIABCI-Ph
International Property and Real Estate Excellence Awards, which will be staged in the
same hotel at 5pm.
Competing for gold and silver awards are 33 property and real estate projects in 15
categories — residential high- rise, mid-rise, low-rise, sustainable development, office,
masterplan, environmental, retail, public infrastructure, industrial, economic/mid-cost
housing, affordable, hotel, convention, and specialized/purpose-built. From among the winners will be chosen the Property Developer of the Year and the Property Man of the
Year awards.
“Winning the FIABCI-Ph Property and Real Estate Excellence Awards makes the
winners eligible to compete in the FIABCI International Prix d’Excellence Awards, which
is globally regarded as the ‘Oscars of Real Estate’ and whose criteria involve excellence in
all technical, environmental, social, economic and financial aspects of the project,” said
Dr. Romero II shortly before joining the delegation of President Marcos Jr. to Japan.
Constituting FIABCI’s international membership are 48 national and multinational
chapters, 90 professional associations (including the Philippine Federation of Real Estate
Service Professionals Inc.), 95 public and private academic institutions, over 2,300 regular
members, and around a million associate members in more than 70 countries across the
globe.
