Property investment funds look to ramp up staff in Asia-Pacific next year as optimism returns, study finds

Name: French colonial-era ‘tube houses’ remain popular in Vietnamese capital
Uploaded: 2021-12-16T23:30:18.000Z
Duration: 2 min 49 s
Description: French colonial-era ‘tube houses’ remain popular in Vietnamese capital

Nine out of 10 real estate funds plan to increase or maintain the same headcount, according to the joint survey by PwC and the Anrev

The study underscores how sentiment has been improving across a region that has largely managed the Covid-19 pandemic well

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Finding the right talent for functions such as portfolio management was described as ‘more challenging’. Photo: Robert Ng

Cheryl Arcibal

Published: 7:30am, 17 Dec 2021Updated: 7:37am, 17 Dec 2021

Most real estate funds that operate in Asia-Pacific will maintain or increase the number of staff they employ in the coming year, according to a joint study by accounting firm PwC and the Asian Association for Investors in Non-listed Real Estate Vehicles Limited (Anrev).

A follow up to a survey conducted in 2017, the latest study found that 42 per cent of respondents are planning to increase their headcount in 2022. Adding in those that intend to keep their current staffing levels, the number increases to 88 per cent.

“The hiring [plans] captured in this survey indicate a positive outlook for Asia-Pacific business in 2022 and beyond,” said Paul Walters, a partner at PwC.

The study underscored how sentiment has been improving recently across a region that has, in general, managed the Covid-19 pandemic relatively well. China, for example, was the only major economy to grow in 2020, albeit at a rate of only 2.3 per cent, its slowest in decades.

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French colonial-era ‘tube houses’ remain popular in Vietnamese capital

The survey attracted the participation of 31 fund managers spread across the globe with significant operations in Asia-Pacific. Their funds represent more than US$1 trillion of property assets under management globally.

The survey was conducted between August and September, two months before South Africa reported the discovery of the Omicron variant of the coronavirus, a strain that is responsible for the surge in infections in the US, Europe and several parts of Asia and the reason for the reinstatement of some lockdown measures.

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