Dr. Mark Mobius, one of the leading world experts on investments and a regular commentator on Bloomberg and CNBC, is set to deliver the keynote address during the prestigious annual Pacific Region Investment Conference to be held this October 8 and 9 this year at the Grand Ballroom of The Renaissance Hotel, Makati City. The conference is organized by the Asia Pacific Association for Fiduciary Studies (APAFS).

Known for his extensive research and in-depth experience in investing in emerging markets, Dr. Mobius is currently the Executive Chairman of Templeton Asset Management Ltd. and lead portfolio manager of several Templeton Emerging Markets Funds. Among his many recognitions, he was named one of the “Top 100 Most Powerful and Influential People” by Asiamoney magazine in 2006. He received his PhD in Economics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

According to Dan Roland, Executive Director of APAFS, “Emerging markets is an asset class that has gained a lot of attention recently for its performance.  More of our institutional funds are looking at the impact this mandate may have on their portfolio.”

The annual Pacific Region Investment Conference (PRIC) will be held in Manila for the fourth time. It is a highly-esteemed investment conference where financial executives and professionals as well as regional pension fund and institutional investors converge to learn from world-class experts and gain regional understanding of current economic issues.

APAFS Chairman, Gerard Cruz added, “Having Dr. Mobius speak about emerging markets is like having Bill Gates speak about the future of computer systems.  Powerful people pay to listen to his advice, we are fortunate to have him address our group”.

For updates, inquiries and interested parties, log on to www.apafs.org.

MoneySense magazine is this event’s media partner.

The Philippines, having a strong real-estate industry with an increase in expenditures of private real estate developers in terms of construction and developments of residential and commercial high-rise buildings, plus the
influx of remittances by Overseas Filipino Workers, a booming tourism, and a growing number of offshore businesses, sees the current times as a good opportunity in having a bill on Real Estate Investment Trusts
(REITs) in the country.

Authored by Sen. Edgardo Angara, a bill on Philippine REITs has already been deliberated upon in the Senate and House of Representatives since January of 2009. The said bill has already been implemented and
benefited countries like Australia, Belgium, Bulgaria, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands and also around Asia such as Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Singapore, Taiwan, and Thailand.

As such , the REITASIAPACIFIC – Philippines 2009 Conference on September 30, 2009 at the Heritage Hotel Manila, and organized by The Pinnacle Group International, will discuss the future of REITs in the Philippines – how will it affect the equity market of the country, possible risks involve, the valuation of offshore and domestic IPOs, and identifying potential problems on the taxation, among related matters.

Delivering the key note speech is REITs author himself, Sen. Angara. Private and publicly listed real estate developers, legislators, regulators, and investment analysts will also be present to tackle further relevant issues on REITs.

The conference is supported by The Philippine Stock Exchange Inc., Asia Pacific Real Estate Association, and Money Market Association of the Philippines.

To know more about this event, please contact: Eric Khoo, AV P, head of sales project head (+65 6846-2703, [fax] +65 6747-6131, eric.khoo@tpgi.org); Ed Gallinero, conference head (+65 6846- 2711, [fax] +65 6747-6131, ed.galliner@tpgi.org; Jen Mansilla, conference executive (+65 6846-2709, [fax] +65 6747-6131), jen.mansilla@tpgi.org.

For marketing and media opportunities, please contact: Angel Rellama, senior marketing executive (+65 6846-2713, [fax] +65 6747-6131, angel.rellama@tpgi.org).

J. Randell Tiongson, President of the Registered Financial Planners Institute of the Philippines, will give a free seminar for bloggers on personal and practical finance. Randell will be talking about the various financial instruments that you can invest on so that you can break out of the “rat race”. Note that this is a free activity. All you have to do is to sign-up by either leaving a comment on this post or by e-mailing me at oplecarlo@gmail.com. The event will be on next Saturday, June 27, 2PM-5PM at the Victory Center, Promenade, Greenhills, San Juan.

Please check this very interesting forum from Philamlife.