Young W Chai | Chief Investment Officer
Samsung sra Asset Management | Republic Of Korea
Young W. Chai is the Chief Investment Officer and a founding member of Samsung SRA Asset Management (SRA). Young is in charge of new investments and client services. As of October 2015, SRA manages 15 funds and 1 separate account with a total net AUM of approximately $2.7 billion ($4.8 billion of gross asset value). Young has been with SRA since November of 2012. At SRA, Young led 13 of the 15 funds and 1 separate account acquisitions in Korea, US, UK, Germany and Italy. Prior to joining SRA, Young was the head of the real estate and infrastructure division of Samsung Asset Management since July 2010. Between 2001 and 2010, Young was a Managing Director at GE Capital Real Estate Asia-Pacific. At GE, he held increasingly expanded roles as the President of Korea (from 2001 to 2006), China (from 2006 to 2008), Asia Growth Markets - China, SE Asia and India (from 2008 to 2009) and as the Asia-Pacific Chief Risk Manager (from 2009 to 2010). Prior to GE, Young was Director of Real Estate Research at AEW Capital Management in Boston; Senior Associate in the Real Estate and CMBS Research Team at CS First Boston in New York; and Real Estate Planner at the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in Boston. Young received his BA in Architecture from UC Berkeley, an MBA from UCLA and PhD from M.I.T.
Appearances:
REIW Asia 2017 day 1 @ 12:10
Private Real Estate Debt Funds: The new normal?
- How does the mindset of private real estate debt funds differ? Is it true to say they are acting more as loan originators than raising money to take over legacy portfolios?
- Does this mark a growing trend of private equity funds pushing further into debt investments?
- What role will the banks play in these funds? Is it only ever going to be the senior debt?
- Is a declining junk bond market creating a buying opportunity from hedge funds and others that have been traditionally active in mezzanine loans and other high yield debt?
- A high quality security with an impressive yield: Is this simply the best option for defensive and income-focused investors?
- How applicable are private real estate debt funds for emerging markets? Will high value real estate opportunities in those markets still be considered, or are they really only for A grade geographies?
REIW Asia 2017 day 2 @ 15:20
North Asia opportunities
Panel discussion runs from 15:10-15:50We explore investment opportunities across a number of key north Asian geographies, including Hong Kong, Japan & South Korea:
Hong Kong:
- What opportunities is the development of “CBD2” in Kowloon creating for investors?
- Are impending interest rate hikes and falling property prices from record highs in 2015 affecting investor sentiment towards Hong Kong?
- How is the depreciation of the yen affecting CRE investments? Are we likely to see a continued influx of foreign capital? If the yen starts to improve, will the trend of tightening prices and cap rates be reversed?
- With local REITs easing back on their buying, what opportunities does this create for international players?
- Is access to cheap bank debt a cause for concern in the long-term for international investors?
- Is less competition for assets making South Korea worth another look?
- The lure of the Gateway City: With the cheapest office space per square foot of any city in Asia, and low cost of capital, will this be the next core hotspot in Asia?
Organiser
