As Shanghai re-emerges from COVID-19 lockdown after two months, it presents another case study in how a major metropolitan area attempts to return to a semblance of normalcy. Across the globe, cities have been returning to work at their own pace, with office buildings filling up once again (or not) due to locality-specific regulations, company policies, and workers’ desires.  

In Asia, Shanghai is in its nascent stage of easing restrictions. On the other hand, Singapore has kept a steady pace of re-opening, from relaxing regulations on foreign travel to phasing out the limit on the percentage of employees that companies can allow back to the office. Across the Pacific in Los Angeles, office buildings are open and ready for workers, but remain sparsely populated.  

What do these cities, with their varied stages of safety protocols and attitudes toward the return to the office, mean for the future of commercial real estate? Join Asia Society Southern California for its latest U.S.-Asia Real Estate webinar program, featuring experts on the subject from Shanghai, Singapore, Hong Kong, and Los Angeles. The program will begin with a panel discussion including Lindsay Dunn, Executive Vice President of City National Bank, Michael Kenderes, Vice President of Real Estate at McKinsey & Company, and James Macdonald, Head of China Research at Savills. The panel will be followed by a fireside chat with Shui On Group founder and ASSC 2021 “Real Estate Visionary” Vincent Lo, who will provide his insight on the topic from the perspective of both mainland China and Hong Kong. Richard Green, Director of the USC Lusk Center for Real Estate will moderate both conversations. Adriel Chan, Vice Chair of Hang Lung Group, will give welcome remarks.  

The program is part of ASSC’s U.S.-Asia Real Estate Initiative (USAREI), which was launched in May 2020, in collaboration with the USC Lusk Center for Real Estate and the UCLA Ziman Center for Real Estate. USAREI is a comprehensive, multi-year initiative to promote a deeper understanding of real estate issues that are of shared importance to Southern California and urban areas in Asian countries, and is underwritten by OUE, a prominent Singapore-based real estate development firm.

For previous USAREI programs, we invite you to watch or revisit them:

1. In May 2020, Asia Society Southern California hosted the first USAREI event entitled COVID-19: The Implications for Real Estate on Both Sides of the Pacific, which discussed the effect of the pandemic on the real estate sector and the world we inhabit. The program featured Vincent Lo, Goodwin Gaw, Jaime Lee, Reon Roski, Adriel Chan and was moderated by the Director of UCLA’s Ziman Center for Real Estate, Tim Kawahara.
2. In July 2020, Asia Society Southern California hosted the second USAREI event titled Navigating the Economy in a Time of Troubles: U.S.-China & COVID-19, which discussed Transpacific commercial opportunities amid mounting political tensions in the U.S.-China relationship and the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. The program featured Ronnie Chan, Adriel Chan and USC’s Lusk Center Director, Professor Richard Green.
3. In May 2021, Asia Society Southern California held its Annual Gala and honored Shui On Group founder Vincent Lo, who received ASSC’s inaugural USAREI "Real Estate Visionary" honor. The fireside chat was moderated by USC Lusk Center Director Richard Green.
4. In June 2021, Asia Society Southern California held a conversation on affordable housing and land use in Singapore and Los Angeles. The panelists include Los Angeles’ Director of Planning, Vince Bertoni, Chair of the Lee Kuan Yew Centre for Innovative Cities at Singapore University of Technology and Design as well as the Centre for Livable Cities under the Ministry of National Development, Koon Hean Cheong, and Chair of the Urban Planning Faculty Executive Committee at the UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs, Michael Manville.
5. In November 2021, Asia Society Southern California took a timely look at disruptions to the global supply chain. The conversation featured Kenneth Lim of Singapore’s Maritime and Port Authority, Jaime Lee, President of the Los Angeles Board of Harbor Commissioners, Kevin Klowden, Executive Director of the Milken Institute's Center for Regional Economics and California Center, and Richard Green, the director of the USC Lusk Center for Real Estate.

Welcome remarks by:

Adriel Chan is Vice Chair of Hang Lung Group and Hang Lung Properties. His direct responsibilities include project design, management, construction, and costing, as well as group sustainability.

He joined Hang Lung in 2010 in Shanghai, and has held roles in finance, leasing, and project management. He moved back to Hong Kong in 2012, and was appointed to the board as an Executive Director in 2016, before becoming Vice Chair in 2020.

Chan also serves in a number of external capacities: he is a Vice President and Executive Committee member of the Real Estate Developers Association of Hong Kong, Hong Kong’s main real estate industry body, and is a Court member of the University of Hong Kong. He is also an Overseers of Morningside College at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, and sits on the Hong Kong University of Science & Technology (HKUST) Business School Advisory Council. He is a Director of Academy of Chinese Studies, a member organization of the Our Hong Kong Foundation.

He regularly presents at industry conferences such as MIPIM, Urban Land Institute, Guandian, and the International Council of Shopping Centers, and has also spoken for JP Morgan, the University of Southern California (USC), Asia Society, LinkedIn, and others.

Chan holds an EMBA jointly awarded by the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University and the HKUST, and a Bachelor of Arts degree in International Relations from USC.

Panelists:

Lindsay Dunn is executive vice president and head of Real Estate Banking at City National Bank. She also serves on the bank’s Executive Committee. She is responsible for providing a wide range of financial services to real estate developers and investors in markets in which the bank operates. She was promoted to her current position in 2021.

Dunn joined City National in 2005 as a vice president and Relationship Manager in the Real Estate division. Most recently, she served as a senior vice president and regional manager responsible for real estate lending, operations and business development in Southern California. She was recognized by the Los Angeles Business Journal in 2022 on its “Women of Influence: Finance” list, and in 2021, on its “Leaders of Influence: Lenders” list. She was also named in the Top Teams of American Banker’s most powerful women in banking in 2021. In addition, she was recognized by Bisnow as one of Los Angeles’ Power Women in 2019.

Dunn began her banking career in 2001 at Union Bank of California, where she started with the Corporate Banking division before transitioning to the Real Estate Industries Group. She is a graduate of Union Bank’s management training credit program. 

Dunn serves on the board of Imagine LA, an organization dedicated to helping families navigate their way out of poverty, and on the Executive Committee for USC Lusk Center for Real Estate. She is also a member of the International Council of Shopping Centers and Urban Land Institute. Lindsay earned her bachelor’s degree in business administration from the University of Southern California. 

Michael Kenderes is Vice President, Real Estate at McKinsey & Company. He has 32+ years of experience in the industry and an extensive track record in investment, property development and design & build, specializing in mixed use, retail, office, residential and industrial. Kenderes has 20 years of experience in Asia, especially Vietnam, Malaysia, China and Singapore. Prior to his 4 years at McKinsey, Kenderes spent 29 years at Lendlease with the last 8 years as Head of Development, Asia accountable for P&L.

James Macdonald was appointed as Head of Savills Research, China in 2007. He has the overall responsibility to ensure the successful delivery and expansion of Savills research capabilities as well as to consolidate and integrate all research activities across mainland China. The research team covers a wide range of cities and assets classes. The increased capabilities of the Research department will support the continuing expansion of the company in one of the world’s fastest developing nations, securing Savills position as a dominant player in the China real estate market. As the head of research James has spoken at numerous conferences hosted by PERE, REIW, MIPIM and ULI as well as various other chambers of commerce and investment banks. He is also frequently cited in both the trade press and mainstream business press. Originally from London, UK, Macdonald has lived and worked in Shanghai since 2002. Since joining Savills that year, he has been actively involved in the growth of the Research department, advising and liaising with numerous international and domestic developers, and financial institutions.

Fireside Chat Speaker:

Vincent H. S. Lo is the founder and Chairman of the Shui On Group established in 1971. The Group is principally engaged in property development, premium commercial properties’ investment and management, construction businesses in Hong Kong and the Chinese Mainland. The Group's corporate culture and long term objectives are based on its commitment to quality, innovation and excellence. Mr. Lo is also the Chairman of Shui On Land Limited (SOL) and SOCAM Development Limited (SOCAM), both are listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.

Mr. Lo was awarded the Grand Bauhinia Medal (GBM) in 2017, the Gold Bauhinia Star (GBS) in 1998 and appointed Justice of the Peace in 1999 by the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR). He was named Businessman of the Year at the Hong Kong Business Awards in 2001, and won the Director of the Year Award from The Hong Kong Institute of Directors in 2002 and Chevalier des Arts et des Lettres by the French government in 2005. Mr. Lo was honoured with “Ernst & Young China Entrepreneur Of The Year 2009” and also, as “Entrepreneur Of The Year 2009” in the China Real Estate Sector. Mr. Lo was made an Honorary Citizen of Shanghai in 1999 and Foshan in 2011. In 2012, the 4th World Chinese Economic Forum honoured Mr. Lo with the Lifetime Achievement Award for Leadership in Property Sector.

In addition to his business capacity, Mr. Lo has been active in community services. He participated in the preparatory works of the establishment of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region and had served as Chairman of Hong Kong Trade Development Council and Hong Kong Airport Authority. He currently serves as Member of the Board of Directors of Boao Forum for Asia, President of Council for the Promotion & Development of Yangtze, Honorary Life President of Business and Professionals Federation of Hong Kong, among his many other positions.

Moderator:

Richard Green is the Director of the USC Lusk Center for Real Estate. He holds the Lusk Chair in Real Estate and is a Professor in the USC Sol Price School of Public Policy and the Marshall School of Business.

Prior to joining the USC faculty, Green spent four years as the Oliver T. Carr, Jr., Chair of Real Estate Finance at The George Washington University School of Business. He was Director of the Center for Washington Area Studies and the Center for Real Estate and Urban Studies at that institution. Green also taught real estate finance and economics courses for 12 years at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where he was Wangard Faculty Scholar and Chair of Real Estate and Urban Land Economics. He also has been principal economist and director of financial strategy and policy analysis at Freddie Mac.

Founding Sponsor:

Bronze Sponsor:

Partners: