OPENING GENERAL SESSION

More than 300 corporate real estate leaders from across Asia and around the globe have come to Mumbai (Bombay), India, for the 2008 CoreNet Global Asia Summit, themed "Talent: The Pulse of Corporate Real Estate."

CoreNet Global Asia Regional Chair Mike Zamora, MCR, Senior Manager, Asia Pacific & Japan, Cisco, welcomed attendees to Mumbai.

"Our over-arching theme for this Summit is talent," he said. "We're here to consider not just talent in corporate real estate (CRE), but also in our businesses and as individuals."

Setting the stage with a macro-economic viewpoint on India was Keki M. Mistry, Vice Chairman and Managing Director of HDFC (Housing Development Finance Corporation Limited).

Mistry pointed out that India's recent economic story has been a decidedly positive one, with GDP averaging some 8.6 percent for the past four years. "The most significant change in India is increased confidence," he stated. "India continues to be a preferred destination for foreign investment. And India's real estate market is being transformed. It is more transparent and more professional."

But he concluded with a cautionary note: "No one yet has a handle on the true cost of the U.S. sub-prime mortgage crisis."

James McLean, National Director (Singapore) for Jones Lang LaSalle, sponsor of General Session I, introduced the next speaker. Manu Bhaskaran, Partner and Board Member, Centennial Group, gave a lively presentation on "Asia's Challenges: Managing Global Risks and Competing for Talent."

Asia currently is in a great upswing due to a variety of positive factors affecting its economy - and the global economy - in recent years:

Now, though, "the benign era for growth has ended," Bhaskaran said. Ahead looms a period of slower global growth lasting at least 18 to 24 months, he suggested, due to these factors:

In the longer term, the growth of emerging markets, (such as China, India, Brazil and others) means more competition. "And in a more competitive world, cities and talent will matter a lot more than before," he predicted. "Who wins talent, wins the game."

GENERAL SESSION II

Adit Jain, Chairman, IMA India

Adit Jain believes that India has tremendous growth opportunity if it can successfully address three factors: infrastructure, people and government. While India is making great strides, Mr. Jain believes first impressions make a worrying case.

Delhi and Bombay have possibly the worst airports in the world. Hotel rooms are not available even at $400 USD a night. The urban infrastructure is crumbling.

Despite all this there is a strong business opportunity.

Until the end of the Cold War, India was an agrarian economy. Tonight, if everyone in India went to sleep, the economy would still grow at 6%. Pretty good, but when everyone is awake, growth increases another 3% to a healthy 9%. Agriculture is 18% of GDP, services are 54% and industry is 28%. When you consider export trade is 40% of GDP and rising, you see growth is a derivative of manufacturing and services with IT exports increasing in importance.

Several factors are driving this economic growth:

Also fueling growth are several fundamental changes:

But is this growth sustainable? According to Mr. Jain, the answer is a resounding YES.

The weak political system that has delayed firm action by government is being turned around with better communication and planning between national, regional and local governments. While the infrastructure is still playing "catch up" – autos and ox drawn carts share the same roads and only 15% of people who commute to work have access to mass transit - billions of dollars are being invested in improvements. Hotel room capacity will increase by over 60,000 rooms in the next five years to accommodate an expected increase in business visitors. And education, which has been lower than most developing countries, achieved a stunning 80% school enrollment in 2005.

What does the future hold? India's GDP over the past 12 months was 9.4%. Government anticipates growth will continue to be strong at 7.5 - 8.0% per year over the next two years, despite the predictions of a slower world economy. By 2025, India expects its economy will be six times greater than its current size. This is equivalent to Japan today whose GDP of $4 - 5 trillion USD makes it the second largest economy in the world.

Adit Jain advises multinational corporations on India strategy. He chairs the India CEO Forum, a retainer-based business information service offered by OMA to over 400 clients. Adit is extensively published on topics of politics, economics and business practices. He sits on the Board of Sanmar Group; Shriram Finance; PR Pundit; BMR Tax and the Centre of Civil Society.