• Encompassing the enduring strengths and the increased availability of options for investing in real estate 
• Impact of financial turmoil and cyclical downturns on securities and direct real estate 
• Determining structural opportunities that transcend the slowdown
  

• Maintaining Japan’s niche and edge as an Asian powerhouse – What role do economic policies play?
• A further insight into Japan’s demographics, annual GDP growth and sustainability period – What are the upsides and downsides for investors?
• Pricing versus risk: A close-up view on interest rates and its impact on the property market
• Analysing growth trends and investor interest globally: Has Japan priced itself out of attractiveness?
  

• Globalisation and Japan: Impact of the changing regulatory environment on foreign players
• Updates on “Japan’s financial instruments and exchange law”
• Creating the recipe for an international centre of finance – How attractive is Tokyo compared to other finance centres in Asia?  
• Promoting competition on the financial marketplace and coping with challenges of principle-based regulations 

Good regulation is an integral part of a successful financial services industry in a globalising world, which helps to create real, tangible benefits for businesses and investors through lower capital costs and better investment opportunities.  This session addresses the problems to resolve in making Tokyo a prominent financial centre, the measures needed to create a market that ensures efficiency, transparency and fairness to both domestic and foreign players.

(Speaker to be advised)

• Exploring the market mechanisms of demand for and supply of real estate – Have we reached the equilibrium point?
• Setting the renewed stage for opportunistic investing through economic reforms and financial system restructuring  
• Real estate as a cash flow generator – What are the implications of rising disposable incomes and changing demographics?
• Integration of real estate and capital markets: What makes industry players tick and how do they make the decision to invest? 

Real estate continues to defy revert-to-the-mean gravity to deliver handsome returns to investors.  Fuelled by a world awash with  liquidity, real estate is creating returns for investors that outshine many other asset classes.  In this session, experts will analyse the  latest developments in the field and also consider several warning clouds that can darken the picture.

• Overview of the residential, commercial, retail and industrial sectors: What are the key market indicators for investments into each?  How will this change the investment portfolio of developers?
• Delineating differences between Japanese real estate appraisals and international valuation methods / practices
• Assessing the feasibility of urban-suburban revitalisation - Forecasting yields and converging property development models within metropolitan expansion and suburban growth  
• What types of deals are currently being pursued?  What is the next hot asset class?

• Trendspotting activities in the hospitality sector and the increased evolution of value-added investment strategies
• Analysing the trend and lure of capital markets financing hospitality properties – Are they back and better than before?
• The hospitality and leisure boom in Asia: How does the Japanese hotel sector match up against those of the foreign markets?  Will foreign capital stimulate the development of luxury and condo hotels?
• Developing the untapped investment potential of golf resorts as a new hospitality asset type

Sponsored by

• Delving into the market capitalisation and listing of J-REITs over the recent years – How do they fair against the global and Asian REITs?
• The explosive growth of securitisation vehicles in Japanese real estate: Is the J-REIT index ahead of itself?  Will introducing tax-efficient REITs improve liquidity and pave the way for more institutional investment?
• Scanning the economic skyline of REIT diversification beyond conventional property types
• Sponsor involvement in externally advised J-REITs – How will this model hamper M&A strategies for growth?

Hosted by


Welcome to Terrapinn’s signature Speed Networking!
Meet the key players in your industry in a brief but fun environment.  You have learnt about strategic opportunities, now it is time to meet the fund managers, property companies and specialist advisors to strike up valuable one-to-one meetings with your prospects.  Through a rotating cocktail table format, you can now gain personal introductions to the decision-makers who are your potential clients and partners.  Bring plenty of business cards along for what guarantees to be a fast and furious interactive session!

• Understanding the increasing interest of J-REITs to invest overseas – What does this spell for portfolio diversification and its appeal to investors?  What are the impediments and challenges to foresee?
• Enhancing market capitalisation through listing of joint-venture J-REITs on the foreign markets
• Fostering greater transparency, accessibility and stability in the real estate asset class – Secrets of success to choosing the optimum vehicle structure
  

• Defining prerequisites for the breakthrough of property derivatives in Japanese real estate
• Rebalancing portfolios for diversification optimisation and risk reduction
• Emulating the thriving property derivatives market in USA / Europe – Can Japan follow in the footsteps of success in time to come?  How does Japan measure up against the current property derivative wave in Hong Kong?
• Avoidance of the credit crunch scenario through property derivatives

Sponsored by;

Networking cocktail reception is hosted by

• Investment fads and fancies: Repositioning, redeveloping and turnaround strategies – How do they differ for each asset class?  Which model works best for achieving high octane returns?
• Adopting lessons learnt from the history of globalisation - How does this drive asset class diversification?  Where is the real money heading apart from stocks and bonds?
• Focusing on the land of the rising management buyout: How big will private equity be in Japan and how extensive will the role of real estate be within them?

• Exploiting trends in activist investing – How are new and upcoming funds competing with the “big boys”?
• Real estate funds performance measurement: Has fund transparency improved?  What tools do prospective investors have?
• Public versus private investing - What are pension funds investing into now, the near future and why? 
• Deployment of capital in sourcing the deals: How are hedge funds and private equity integrating real estate into their return streams?

• Adopting the eclectic approach of aligning investor interest and benchmarking fund performance 
• Alternative opportunistic strategies: Exploring new avenues of core-plus and niche investing – How are returns measured? 
• Overcoming high entry barriers: Deploying capital through special situation funds for assessing deal flow – Where lie the opportunities and pitfalls?

• Highlighting the importance of loan securitisation and syndication for Japan’s financial system
• A further insight into the growing trends of non-recourse financing and consolidation of special-purpose vehicles 
• Examining the liquidation of real property through securitisation and the underlying benefits for institutional investors
• Deriving a prognosis for foreign investors in North Asian real estate – Comparison and contrast of project financing methods and complex securitisation models within Japan and neighbouring Korea

• Assessing the growing popularity of mezzanine financing as a hybrid investment tool
• Thriving on borrower numbers and lender competition: Implementing effective strategies for weighing risks / rewards and trade-offs – How will this take the loan syndication business to the next phase? 
• Decoding the complexity and variety of real estate mezzanine loan portfolios – Is there a shifting tide or a streamlining routine?  What are the fundamentals for taking control?
• Drawing parallels between the US and other Asian markets – What pivotal role will the liquidity of banking systems play?

• Decoding the intrinsic lender-borrower relationship in Japanese real estate – How does it measure up against the universal model?
• Implications of taxation and asset / liability issues for loans and bond issuances - Examining the usage of leases, hybrid instruments and structured financial products
• Maturation of the CMBS market – What are buyers seeking in terms of pricing, structuring and credit performance? 
• The scoreboard for CMBS issuance in Japan against the global standards of 2007 – Will this wave remain on a high even in the sub-prime market?

• Expanding domestic and global reach through M&A – What are the special due diligence and legal issues involved?
• Acquisition finance and asset retention: What are the options available for large real estate portfolios when structuring transactions?  Are there alternative routes?
• Implications of increased M&A activity on the Japanese mortgage market
• Unearthing, entitling and developing successful M&A projects in the Japanese property cycle – How do we go about the nooks and crannies?  Which are the profitable regions and sectors to set your sights on?

• “Diversity on the green” concept: Exemplifying best practices in environmental enhancement, architectural construction and public / private partnerships 
• Formation of green real estate funds: How will this increase the bottom line for investors and their business profit margin?   
• Green to gold: Influencing project feasibility and investment returns through innovation, value creation and establishing a competitive advantage
• Construction project implementation in Japan - The numbers seem to add up now, how are we going to get it built?

• Forecasting the directional evolvement of joint-ventures in Japanese real estate
• Optimising property ventures through developing strategic relationships   
• Which aspects of Japanese real estate are moving towards the international platform?

Registration begins at 9.00am with the masterclass commencing at 10.00am and ending at 4.00pm.  Networking luncheon is at 12.30pm for all delegates.

This full-day masterclass is intended for greater delegate participation and a more interactive discussion.  Led by industry experts chosen for their specialised expertise and experience, both sessions offer a premier learning platform for getting to grips with a particular aspect of your industry or responsibility prior to the main conference. 

10.00am – 12.30pm
Inbound real estate investments – Sharing the experiences, pitfalls and successes

• Political play and intellectual economics – How would this paint the picture for Japan’s capital markets?
• How will the new regulation introduced by FSA impact real estate investment activities?
• Multinationals investing into Japan through M&A or joint-ventures - What are the common tax and regulatory concerns affecting investment structures and partnerships?  
• Highlighting the inside scoop of the property business in Japan: Mitigating risks and overcoming challenges – Which business model works to the best advantage?

In recent years, Japan has established itself as one of the world’s top destinations for direct foreign investment.  This session will explore the nooks and crannies encountered in M&A transactions and joint-ventures including navigating post-integration and reorganisation amidst Japan’s economic vibrancy and political stability.  

Your Masterclass Leaders:



James Tervo
Managing Partner, Asia Real Estate Practice
Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe, China


James Tervo is the Managing Partner of Orrick's Asia Real Estate Practice, responsible for real estate practices in the Tokyo, Hong Kong, Beijing and Shanghai offices, having recently relocated to Shanghai from Tokyo.  While in Tokyo, he served as Managing Partner of Orrick's Tokyo office and Partner in-charge of the Tokyo Real Estate Group.  Since arriving in Asia in July 2002, Mr Tervo has focused on real estate finance and related entity formation and capitalisation, representing lending institutions, investment banks, developers and both domestic and foreign investors. 

Asahi Yamashita
Partner, Real Estate
Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe, Japan


Asahi Yamashita is a Partner in the Tokyo office and a member of the Real Estate Group.  He founded Sho Kokusai Law Offices (currently named Orrick Tokyo Law Offices), the gaikokuho joint enterprise of Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP, in November 1999.  Mr Yamashita's practice focuses on real estate transactions involving real estate assets, complex investment fund formation, joint-venture investments and mergers and acquisitions.  He has a wide range of experience and extensive legal knowledge relating to financial institutions, real estate companies, servicing companies and has been active in representing many of them over a period of several years. 

1.30pm – 4.00pm
Analysing property investments and related capital flows in Japan

• Where does the Japanese real estate investment market fit in the investment cycle? 
• Delving into real estate private equity – Where are the current hotspots for real estate investments and transactions?  How do we derive win-win methodologies for reaping superior returns?
• Structuring international real estate investments and tax implications of different ownership vehicles – How do financial reporting requirements and accounting standards affect real estate investments in Japan?
• Forecasting future trends for the Japanese real estate capital market within an international context

There has been tremendous growth in the number and size of property funds investing in Japan and Asia over the recent years.  This session will examine the attractiveness of Japan with comparison to other key geographical regions while discussing some of the structures being utilised with the reporting requirements and accounting standards relating to real estate investments.  Finally, we will explore future investment trends and Japan’s foothold in the international real estate market.

Your Masterclass Leaders:

Thomas Brown
Partner, Assurance & Advisory Business Services
Ernst & Young ShinNihon, Japan


Thomas has been in Tokyo since October 2002, where he serves as the real estate opportunity fund Practice Leader and the Japan representative to the global real estate advisory panel.  He has been concentrating on advisory and audit services for real estate funds and investees of real estate opportunity funds, including distressed and restructured real estate assets, loan servicing companies, non-performing and sub-performing loan portfolios.  He has approximately 17 years of accounting and audit experience working in Tokyo, Chicago and North Carolina (USA).


Satoshi Yamada
Managing Director, Real Estate Advisory
Ernst & Young ShinNihon, Japan

Since January 2000, Satoshi has managed large scale acquisition due diligence engagements in the Japanese market.  Prior to joining Ernst & Young, Satoshi spent 10 years at Aozora Bank (formerly Nippon Credit Bank) in the loan origination as well as market and asset management departments.  He also has experience in sell-side financial advisory work for many financial institutions in Japan.

Kenji Amino
Partner
Ernst & Young ShinNihon, Japan

Kenji is a tax partner specialised in providing international tax advice to multinational companies.  He retuned from Ernst & Young New York office in June 2005 where he worked with US and Japanese based multinationals for 3 years.  Before joining Ernst & Young, Kenji was a tax partner at a big four accounting firm in Japan.  He is also a co-author of “Taxation for Corporate Reorganisation” and “Taxation for Financial Products”.