PETALING JAYA: ARENA Convention and Exhibition (ACE) 2017, had gathered approximately 600 delegates from across the globe to Malaysia for the first time.

The two-day conference held on Aug 25 and Aug 26 was organised by the chairperson and secretariat of this year’s ASEAN Real Estate Network Alliance (ARENA) and the Malaysian Institute of Estate Agents (MIEA) to discuss cross-culture practices, skills and knowledge regarding real estate.

ACE 2017 was attended by its members from eight countries which are Malaysia, Singapore, Philippines, Thailand, Indonesia, Vietnam, Cambodia and Myanmar, as well as some delegates from United States (US) and United Kingdom (UK).

With the theme “making friends and connecting business”, the event was held at Berjaya Times Square Hotel and officiated by Finance deputy minister Datuk Lee Chee Leong.

ACE 2017 organising chairman and secretary general Soma Sundram said in a statement, “By hosting events such as ACE 2017 annually, we envision that ARENA will become a powerful regional body that will provide its members with a secure networking platform to promote cross border real estate transactions.

“ASEAN is growing tremendously, and there are tremendous economic opportunities for ARENA members.

Each ASEAN country, however, has its characteristics and legal framework for property transactions.

Through programmes such as ACE 2017, we can share and better understand each market especially when it comes to best practices.”

Amongst the themes that were covered during the conference included how to make cross border sales, using technology as the latest real estate method to market properties, showcasing hotspots in Malaysia to attract foreign investment, the performance of regional housing markets, and how full liberalisation will affect the real estate service sector.

According to ARENA Council of Presidents chairman and MIEA president Eric Lim, “ACE 2017 is the single largest congregation of local real estate practitioners in this region.

ARENA represents 20,000 association members and more than 100,000 practitioners serving an estimated population of 600 million people.

“This reinforces our commitment towards supporting cross border real estate transactions, building efficient networks and improving the standards of service amongst practitioners”.