Foreign speakers

Foreign speakers will be sharing their knowledge and experience at next year’s Malaysian Annual Real Estate Convention (MAREC 08).

Convention chairman Siva Shanker says, “As the national institute representing real estate agents in Malaysia, we are able to bring in quality speakers from abroad.

"They will be able to impart their years of knowledge and experience to our local participants.

“We are also able to identify practitioners in these countries who are also looking to spread their wings into Malaysia.

Participants will be given information on how they can take advantage of the growing regional markets. Pic shows Singapore's Sentosa Cove.

“By introducing them to local practitioners, we hope to create the seeds of future smart partnerships. By the end of the Convention, we hope to have several requests from practitioners to facilitate these partnerships.”

While the focus of the convention, themed “Regionalising the Malaysian Market – The Reality of Getting There” is on the real estate industry, there will also be some interesting related topics.

“In order to provide a balanced learning atmosphere for the two days, we have taken pains to identify non-core related topics. One of the more interesting ones is Branding Your Way To Success,” says Siva.

“A branding expert from Singapore will give us tips and guidelines on how to successfully brand our services, our companies and ourselves.

"With the world changing at such at fast pace and the market place growing more sophisticated, practitioners will find that it is getting increasingly difficult to capture and maintain their market share.

“Without successful branding, no businessman can hope to create a sustainable business that will pay him dividends, whether the market is up or down.

“With globalisation and world economic borders disappearing, the world is becoming a smaller place. Much business is being conducted across seamless borders. This phenomenon is only expected to grow further and gather steam in the future.

“With this in mind, we have enlisted the help of a marketing guru from United States to give a broad outline of International Marketing. This topic will give us an overview on how business is conducted across borders and what role the local real estate agents can play.”

After nearly three sluggish years, the property market has started to show signs of picking up in 2007.

The growth in the property market was not limited to the Malaysian market alone. All around the region, markets began to start showing signs of increased growth. Foreign Direct Investments (FDI) to the region began to increase.

South-east Asia has in the last few years become a hot bed of development and growth. Vietnam and the Indo-China region have started to awaken. Modernisation is the flavour of the day, as these countries scramble to catch up with others in the region, after years of slow growth and political problems.

According to Siva, it is with this scenario in mind that MIEA has geared next year’s convention towards the regionalisation of the local market.

“MIEA has for the past 10 years organised conventions for its members as well as for the public. These conventions focused on the globalising effects of the economy on the Malaysian property market. Participants were given insights into how to compete in an increasingly globalised world,” says Siva.

“This time around, we intend to focus on areas closer to home, which is the regional market. This includes Singapore, Thailand, Indonesia, Philippines, Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam.

Participants will be given first hand information on how the markets in these countries are currently performing and how they can take advantage of these growing markets.

“Opportunities also exist for practitioners who wish to make contact with counterparts in these countries with the intention of creating smart partnerships.

“We have arranged for several networking opportunities that participants can take advantage of.”

There will also be a networking welcome dinner on Friday, January 11, 2008. This is a ticketed event and tickets are currently available for sale at RM100 each.

At this dinner, participants will be able to network with fellow practitioners as well as the speakers, both local and foreign, all of whom will be invited to attend this dinner.

MAREC 08 is scheduled for January 11, 12 and 13, 2008, at the Sime Darby Convention Centre. To take advantage of discounted rates, call the Malaysian Institute of Estate Agents Secretariat at 03- 7727 7477.

By The Star