Pinnacle’s president and managing director Michael Mabutol was a speaker at the LeadingRE APAC Forum, held from April 29 to May 1 in Bangkok, Thailand, which attracted real estate leaders from 14 countries.

Attendees were members of Leading Real Estate Companies of the World®, a global network of 565 market-leading real estate agencies in over 70 countries. Additional guests and speakers included experts in the fields of economics, technology, and marketing.

The program focused on the driving forces behind the thriving Asia-Pacific real estate market and other key destinations around the world, including Bangkok and Phuket, Thailand; Dubai, United Arab Emirates; Tokyo, Japan; New Delhi, India; and Berlin, Germany. Other topics included luxury marketing trends, innovations in digital marketing strategies and brand-building, and the future of real estate.

The event is the latest conference hosted by LeadingRE, designed to help members retain their competitive positions by understanding and responding to market trends and delivering a superior customer experience to home buyers and sellers.



According to LeadingRE president and CEO Paul Boomsma, the networking opportunities are equally important. “As we continue to grow our presence around the world, it is incredibly valuable to come together to strengthen our relationships and learn from one another. The APAC Forum was especially powerful, as we benefitted from the unique insights and perspectives of so many market leaders from this dynamic part of the world,” Boomsma said.

Mabutol presented his observation on the Philippines’ booming commercial real estate, specifically the country’s capital Manila. “The real estate market in the Philippines is continuously growing,” he said. “The main drivers are the business process outsourcing (BPO) and Philippine Offshore Gaming Operator (POGO) industries; growing interest from foreign investors looking at income-generating properties; and the government’s ‘Build, Build, Build’ program.”

According to Mabutol, all these have a dramatic impact on the country’s commercial real estate industry, particularly office and retail markets.



Mabutol joined an accomplished line-up of presenters, which included featured speakers Dr. Kirida Bhaopichitr, Thailand Development Research Institute (Bangkok, Thailand); Matthew Campbell, Dot Property Group (Bangkok, Thailand); Georg Chmiel, Juwai (Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia); Matthew Ferrara, speaker and author (Las Vegas, NV, USA); Taco Heidinga, PropCoach (Selangor, Malaysia); Peter Schravemade, BoxBrownie.com (Queensland, Australia); Andrew Pang, YOO Asia (Hong Kong, China); and Mark Williams, Williams Media (Victoria, Australia).

Featured panelists included LeadingRE Chairperson of the Board Diane M. Ramirez, Halstead Real Estate (New York, NY, USA); Robert Ang, Rahim & Co International (Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia); Kashif Ansari, IQI Global (Dubai, United Arab Emirates); Nick Boyd, Belle Properties (Sydney, Australia); Ian Chen, Jalin Realty (Beijing, China); Bastien Forzy (Sense Property Group); Daniel Ho, IQI Global (Dubai, United Arab Emirates); Pankaj Jain, Realistic Realtors (New Delhi, India); Avril Lee, One Global Property Services (Singapore); Kenneth Moskowitz, The Keyes Company (Del Rey Beach, FL, USA); Lyndon Philips, Prime Real Estate (Phuket, Thailand); Yasuko Suzuki, Plaza Homes (Tokyo, Japan); John Thomas, Realistic Realtors (New Delhi, India); Peter Thompson, Barfoot & Thompson (Auckland, New Zealand); Judith Von Hasselbach, Allgemeiner Grund & Boden Fundus (Berlin, Germany); Jane Wachiradejkul, McGuire Real Estate (San Francisco, CA, USA); and Paul Xumsai, VR Global Property (Bangkok, Thailand).



LeadingRE staff presenters included Paul Boomsma (Chicago, IL, USA); Chris Dietz, (London, United Kingdom); Parikshat Chawla (Singapore); and Stephanie Anton, from LeadingRE’s luxury division, Luxury Portfolio International® (Austin, TX, USA).

In addition to the educational program, attendees had the opportunity to tour the Four Seasons Private Residences and cruise along the Chaophraya River to view many of the area’s iconic landmarks.



Pinnacle Real Estate Consulting Services, Inc. is the Philippine representative of LeadingRE. With a global membership that spans six continents, LeadingRE connects more than 565 firms and 130,000 sales associates who produce over 1.1 million real estate transactions each year. As a member of LeadingRE, Pinnacle provides a quality real estate experience, global marketing reach and access to top real estate professionals in virtually any market worldwide.