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The year of 2020 was a grim year for much of the economy due to the devastating effects of COVID-19. The drastic reduction in commerce and industry have cast a long shadow over the office market with demand drying up. Data from Savills showed rents for Grade-A offices in Hong Kong falling by 16.6% last year, marking the largest yearly decline since 2009.

There may however be a glimmer of hope as the roll-out of vaccines gathers steam in 2021. Although it is difficult to tell how the market would unfold under these unprecedented circumstances, we are pleased to have invited Simon Smith and Ricky Lau, respectively Senior Director of Research & Consultancy and Head of Office Leasing at Savills to take a peek at what the future holds. They will also be sharing their thoughts on the implications of COVID-19 for Hong Kong's Grade A office market and likely trends.

Please refer to the following on the virtual seminar:
- Upon successful registration of the event, a unique webinar link will be sent to your registered email 2 days before the event. Please refer to the troubleshooting guide here should you experience any issues in locating the webinar link.
- Instructions on downloading Zoom and joining a webinar can be found here. We suggest that you familiarize yourself with the software in advance of the webinar.
- Please log in 15 minutes (at 3:45pm) before the event begins, through the link that will be sent to your registered email.

DISCLAIMER
Speakers' presentations at this event are intended for educational purposes only and do not replace independent professional judgment. Statements of fact and opinions expressed during this event are those of the speakers and participants and, unless expressly stated to the contrary, are not the opinion or position of the Hong Kong General Chamber of Commerce, its members, or its committees. The Chamber does not endorse or approve, and assumes no responsibility for, the content, accuracy or completeness of the information presented. Attendees should note that, with the approval of speakers, this event may be recorded, and possibly published on the Chamber's website in audio and/or video formats without further notice.

Recording, duplication or distribution of the contents of the online event is prohibited without prior written permission from the Chamber.

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Speaker(s)

Simon Smith, Senior Director, Research & Consultancy, Savills

Simon has worked in Asian real estate consultancy and research for over 20 years and is based in Hong Kong.   Simon is responsible for Regional Investment Research Services covering the property markets of Greater China and the Asia-Pacific region. Simon has worked with most of Hong Kong’s major developers, providing consultancy studies for a wide range of residential, commercial and mixed-use projects. He has also worked closely with a number of governmental and quasi-governmental organisations advising on real estate development issues, including the Hong Kong Airport Authority, the Urban Renewal Authority, and the Hong Kong Science Park. Multinational financial institutions also form part of his client base and recent studies have been completed for Morgan Stanley, ING and Merrill Lynch. He has advised Fortune REIT, Regal REIT, The Link REIT and Prosperity REIT in Hong Kong  and Allco REIT in Singapore on real estate market trends.

Ricky Lau, Deputy Managing Director and Head of Office Leasing, Savills

Ricky joined Savills since 2006 and he has had more than 17 years’ property experience. He currently heads up Savills’ Office Leasing team and is responsible for leading the day to day management of Savills’ Hong Kong and Kowloon office leasing business.

Ricky focuses on working on behalf of an occupier clientele, leveraging his extensive working knowledge of the Hong Kong landlord community. He provides advice to occupiers on issues such as lease acquisition, renewals and leasing restructuring strategies. His clients are largely major multi-national companies and enterprises in Hong Kong and corporations from China including such names as AIA, MassMutual, Ageas Insurance, Principal Insurance, Prudential, MLC, Bayer, ING, ICBC, China Construction Bank, Société Générale, Swiss Re, Kirkland & Ellis, Herbert Smith, Sullivan & Cromwell, Prada and Giorgio Armani.

Ricky has extensive experience in managing property portfolios for major corporations and institutional investors. Prior to joining Savills, he worked with Jones Lang LaSalle where he was responsible for lettings on behalf of a number of major Hong Kong developers, primarily concentrating on new developments including general agency transactions.

Ricky graduated from the University of Hong Kong with an honours degree in Surveying, and is a Licensed Estate Agent.
Date and Time 2021/03/11 16:00 to 17:00
Venue Online via Zoom
Media Closed to media
Enquiries Karen Au
Tel: 28231200
Email: karen@chamber.org.hk
Fee Members @ HK$100 / Non-Members @ HK$200
+$50 for booking offline
This event accepts Chamber Coupon (terms and conditions)
Members enjoy 30% discount with BOC HKGCC VISA Card
Notes - Bookings are only confirmed upon receipt of payment, on a first come first served basis.
- Booking transfer is allowed for corporate members with advanced notice, walk-ins are normally not accepted.
- The Chamber reserves the right to decline any booking or cancel the event. In such case, a full refund of the participation fee will be issued.
- The registration fee is non-refundable for this event.
- Members paying with their BOC HKGCC Visa Card will enjoy a 30% discount on their reservation. The discount is only applicable to the card holder, and does not extend to their guests. The discount cannot be used in conjunction with Chamber Coupons.
- A $50 handling fee per person will be charged for all offline bookings (e.g. fax, e-mail, post) for all Chamber events. Go online today by downloading our app or registering on the HKGCC website to save the environment and money.
- Priority is given to corporate members. The decision to accept or decline any booking shall be at sole discretion of the Chamber.

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