SINGAPORE - Mapletree Investments (“Mapletree” or “the Group”) and the Singapore Management University (“SMU”) successfully concluded the fourth edition of the Mapletree Real Estate Forum at SMU on 8 November 2024.

Speaker Mr Matt Walker, Chief Executive Officer, Student Housing, Mapletree and panellist Ms Joy Wang, Head of ASEAN Equity Research and ASEAN Property at HSBC Bank, exchanged their views on the current trends in the student housing market. Hot-button topics discussed during the forum included investment returns, risk factors and the structural drivers to support long-term growth in this resilient asset class.

Addressing the need for increased investment amid growing demand for student housing, Mr Walker said: “There is scalability potential within the student housing market, driven by structural undersupply and growing demand for higher education and student mobility across several countries. Mapletree is among one of the largest owners of student housing in the United States (US) and the United Kingdom (UK), with close to S$6 billion in assets under management in its student housing portfolio at present.” 

He added: “The Group’s overall student housing portfolio comprises a total of 85 Purpose-Built Student Accommodation assets with close to 33,000 beds located across 47 cities in the UK, the US, Germany and Canada. The Group will align its efforts with this growing trend and strengthen its market position in the student housing segment.”

Mapletree maintains a positive outlook on the student housing sector and seeks to leverage its in-house operating and development capabilities to grow its student housing portfolio.   

More than 70 students from SMU, industry professionals, real estate practitioners and members of the public attended the insightful panel session that was moderated by Associate Professor John Sequeira, Associate Professor of Finance (Practice); Coordinator, Real Estate Programme, SMU.

This forum was organised as part of the Mapletree Real Estate Programme at SMU to build a pipeline of real estate investment industry leaders, cemented by Mapletree’s corporate social responsibility pillar of education. The programme was launched with a S$3 million endowed donation in 2018 and enhanced in 2021 with a S$2.5 million contribution. The programme encompasses the undergraduate and postgraduate levels, including scholarships, prizes, overseas study trips, Mapletree-named academic positions, and regular speaker events.

Most recently, 27 undergraduate and postgraduate students, as well as academic staff from SMU, visited Mapletree’s Japan office on 7 October 2024 as part of the five-day Mapletree Real Estate Study Trip in Tokyo. 

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Mr Matt Walker, CEO, Student Housing shared about Mapletree’s strategy and outlook in the student housing market with attendees at the 4th Mapletree Real Estate Forum at SMU on 8 November 2024.

  
More than 70 participants actively fielded questions to the panellists at the 4th Mapletree Real Estate Forum.

 
From left to right: Professor Francis Koh, Professor Emeritus, SMU; Ms Wendy Koh, Group Chief Financial Officer, Mapletree Investments and Chairman, SMU Advisory Board for the Real Estate Programme; Ms Joy Wang, Head, ASEAN Equity Research and ASEAN Property, HSBC Bank; Mr Edmund Cheng, Chairman, Mapletree Investments; Professor Bert De Reyck, Dean, Lee Kong Chian School of Business, SMU; Mr Matt Walker, CEO, Student Housing, Mapletree Investments; Mr Wan Kwong Weng, Group Chief Corporate Officer, Mapletree Investments; and Associate Professor John Sequeira, Associate Professor of Finance (Practice), Lee Kong Chian School of Business; Coordinator, Real Estate Programme, SMU.