PDD Visit to Guangzhou 6 and 7 May 2011
Planning and Development Division organized a two-day study visit to Guangzhou to exchange views and practice of town planning and development with mainland Institutes on Planning and Real Estates Appraisals. The delegation from Hong Kong was composed by about 30 members from various Divisions.

On the first day, Professor Song Jing Song ( 宋劲松), Professor Zhao Hong Kong (赵红红) shared their insight on future development of China, believing that the coming 20 years would still be the golden time. Under such rapid development, well-rounded town planning is essential and an eco-balance planning development schemes become the most important target of all. Apart from creating green path to make sure sufficient air movement within the city, the Government also created artificial lake along the city to improve the city outlook and promote eco-life. Our guess speaker, Mr. Tam Po Yiu (谭宝尧) (President of HKIP) analyzed the Hong Kong planning system and took the West Kowloon area as an example. The biggest challenge of all is to strike a balance between reclamation for better site, be environmentally friendly, with benefit to the public. Mr. Chan Zong Biao (陈宗彪) talked about development trend in Guangzhou. Mr. Charles Chan (陈超国) briefed the delegation on real estate markets in Hong Kong. Hong Kong surveyors and China valuers and planners were satisfied with the seminar and look forward to the next joint event.

Thanks to Mr. SC Liu (廖胜昌), the Chairman of Mytop Home (满堂红), our visit was fruitful and we had chances to understand the property market in Guangzhou by visiting the headquarter of Mytop Home and the first class mall Tai Koo Hui (太古汇) developed by Swire Property.

Representative from Mytop Home was very generous to share their vision on how Information Technology contributed to their success in the competitive market in China. The level of sophistication of an agency company is unheard of in Hong Kong, and yet Mr. SC Liu, humbly stated that they were not satisfied with it. As they have been expanding their business to northern part of China, he would invest more into IT to manage large numbers of staff. His sagacity is impressive and far more advanced than the market.

Tai Koo Hui is going to be one of the first top class mall, commercial and hotel complex in Tian-he, Guangzhou, with its grand opening in May 2011. We were honored to learn from Mr. Peter Kok (郝继霖), General Manager, Guangzhou and Southern China, the challenge he faced in the development process for the past ten years. We were also granted a chance to pre-view the mall, the design of which is stunning and inspiring. The mall is almost 100% leased out with world class brand like LV and Hermes.

In all, members enjoyed and benefited from the Guangzhou visit and we would continue to look for learning opportunities for our members.