Smart growth: Challenges and opportunities for China in the Australian property sector
Chinese investors have a huge appetite for Australian commercial real estate. The industry attracts the largest share of Chinese direct investment in Australia sitting at 45 percent of total investment in 2015.
The steady flow of investors are looking to develop new urban precincts. How will these investors transform Australian cities? How can the government's 'smart cities' policy make the best use of Chinese capital?
Our panelists were Chris Johnson, CEO of Urban Taskforce, Richard Butler, Senior Managing Director of International Investments at CBRE, GT Hu, CEO of Country Garden Australia and Stuart Dixon-Smith, Partner, King & Wood Mallesons. They discussed the role of Chinese investment in Australia's property sector.
The panel was moderated by ACRI Director Bob Carr.
Full audio of the discussion available below.
View the full event photo gallery here.
This event was made possible by the generous support of King & Wood Mallesons.
Gallery
Speakers
Chris Johnson
Chris Johnson joined the Urban Taskforce as its chief executive in 2011.
Chris is a former NSW Government Architect and former Executive Director at the NSW Department of Planning. He has extensive experience in the planning system and the delivery of major projects.
Chris was a member of the Central Sydney Planning Committee for 10 years and the NSW Heritage Council and has represented New South Wales on many national bodies.
He is a life Fellow of the Australian Institute of Architects (AIA) and a member of the Planning Institute of Australia (PIA). He has written 14 books on planning and architecture and has been an adjunct professor at three universities in New South Wales.
Chris has a Bachelor of Architecture from Sydney University; a Master of the Built Environment from the University of Technology, Sydney; a Master of Architecture from the University of New South Wales and a Master of Cultural Heritage from Deakin University.
Chris Johnson was Director of Chris Johnson Special Projects for 3 years undertaking consulting services in the areas of architecture, planning and urban design. He is the winner of a Byera Hadley Travelling Scholarship awarded in 2011.
Richard Butler
Richard first joined CBRE in 1989 as Director, City Sales. In 1995 he was appointed Director, Asian Marketing (Eastern Seaboard Offices). In this role he was responsible for coordinating all Asian marketing on behalf of the Sydney, Brisbane, and Melbourne offices. In 1998, Mr Butler was appointed Acting Managing Director of the Sydney office, and now heads International Investments in the capacity of Senior Managing Director.
Richard's dual CBD expertise and international market knowledge is a valuable asset to the Institutional Investment Property team, and provides a competitive advantage in disposition and acquisition transactions.
Richard has executed over $4 billion in transactions in Australia. His track record is globally recognised and he has been instrumental in CBRE's cross-border investment activity covering the US, EMEA and Asia.
Stuart Dixon-Smith
Stuart Dixon-Smith is a Partner in King & Wood Mallesons' Sydney office and is Head of Real Estate for the Australian firm.
Stuart specialises in property development and property finance law, acting for developers or lenders on the construction, financing and development of major properties and infrastructure projects.
Stuart generally acts as coordinating partner in major transactions. Consequently he has developed broad legal and non-legal skills. His legal skills cover property acquisitions and sales, leasing, planning, subdivision, construction, banking and finance, stamp duty, property related taxation, public property trusts, listings, and debt issues. Non-legal skills include business finance, financial budgeting and modelling, transaction structuring, database information management, computer systems, negotiation skills and management of large property transactions.
Stuart also has particular experience of complex residential developments, hotels, tourism, public/private sector infrastructure and hospitals.
Stuart is consistently nominated as one of the world’s best lawyers in Real Estate by Chambers Asia Pacific, Legal 500 Asia Pacific and Best Lawyers. In the 2015 edition of Chambers Asia Pacific, clients note that "He is exceedingly clever and uses his encyclopaedic knowledge of property law to apply concepts in clever ways to solve problems. He is also fabulous in tough negotiations”. Stuart has also been nominated as a leading practitioner in Euromoney’s Construction and Real Estate Expert Guide.
