REAL ESTATE - A new Asian real estate investors’ forum will be unveiled this week at the MIPIM Asia event in Hong Kong.

The Asian Real Estate Association (AREA) is being formed to bring together investors, managers of privately held real estate vehicles, developers, lenders and consultants.

A group of senior industry players in the Asian region has been meeting regularly since early 2005 to plan the formation of this organisation. They include representatives from Hong Kong Land, LaSalle Investment Management, ING Real Estate, Invesco, Merrill Lynch and Grosvenor.

AREA intends to create a broad Asian forum, with a wide membership, to provide the latest strategies on how to shape and implement a real estate investment strategy, structure transactions and identify the right advisors and investment partners. The full list of founding members firms includes AXA Real Estate, Clifford Chance, CLSA and Composition Capital Partners.

AREA will have four working committees initially. The management committee will govern and provide support to the other three committees, which will be focused on events, database work and research and information. The database committee aims to develop a members-only Asian real estate market database, as well as other website-based services and databases.

AREA’s management committee has been in discussion with similar industry associations in Europe and the US such as AFIRE and INREV, who have provided advice on forming strategic relationships to establish the Asian forum.

The Asian Public Real Estate Association (APREA), which represents the listed sector, says it looks forward to discussions with AREA on ways they might together.