Pan Pacific Congress The 25th Congress was held in Bali, Indonesia from 27 to 30 September. As much as 542 delegates from the region (including China and Taiwan) attended. HKIS representatives were Edward Au and Francis Ng. The theme of the Congress was on 'Financial Crisis, Global Uncertainty and Bordless Competition -the Profession's Challenges in the Next Decade'. This was the first time the HKIS took part in the event. Although we were not in a position to present a paper and deliver a talk at the Congress, we did raise questions on property transactions/speculation/investment, building design etc. and exchanged views with delegates. The Congress focused on the examination of the current state of the global property market, property valuation in uncertain economic condition, the trends and issues in the aftermath of the crisis. A number of breakout session discussions around the topics like financial instrument valuation, intangible asset valuation, detrimental asset valuation, green building valuation and capital markets took place. Papers of these topical issues are placed in the HKIS library for members' reference. Visit by The Japan Real Estate Institute Its Director General (Research and Study Division) together with staff came to the HKIS Office on 5 October. They were greeted by Lawrence Poon, Tony Wan and Francis Ng. The Institute was established some 20 years ago and its major business are on: (i) appraising valuation procedures (ii) research projects in property development and (iii) consulting services. It is a non-profit making organisation and maintains contacts with practitioners in Japan and overseas. CPD Event To curb the soaring property prices, the government has recently imposed progressive measures regulating the sale of uncompleted residential units. A CPD seminar on topic “The Implementation and Impact of New Measures for Sale of Uncompleted Residential Units in Hong Kong” was presented by Mr Andrew Yu on 1 September. Views and experiences on how to comply with the 9 principles and 12 measures for the sale of uncompleted domestic units as well as the impacts, limitations and ambiguities of these measures were shared. Forthcoming CPD events will include: - Workshop of Property Valuation Report Writing for Public Circular Purpose in Hong Kong; - The Role of a Professional Land Surveyor in Development Projects; -The Role of Surveyor as Expert Please watch out for announcements.