The Urban Land Institute (ULI) has designated Khoo Teng Chye to be its chair for the Asia Pacific region.
The ULI is a non-governmental organisation that aims for the built environment to have a positive impact on communities around the world. Khoo will head its efforts in the region focusing on three priorities: decarbonising the real estate sector and targeting net zero; educating the next generation of diverse real estate leaders; and increasing housing attainability.
“Being a ULI member is more important than ever as we collaborate to navigate some of the key challenges facing real estate,” Khoo said.
“Pushing net zero to the top of our agenda is absolutely essential to ensure that we are creating sustainable and resilient cities but, as an industry, we need to consider all of the environmental, social and corporate governance (ESG) factors to truly have a positive impact on society.”
In addition, ULI will be working on building a presence in the Asia Pacific region in capital markets, technology and innovation.
Khoo added: “We have ambitions to grow ULI’s membership throughout the Asia Pacific region, including in new markets such as Indonesia and Vietnam. In order to do this, it is vital that we are staying ahead of the curve in terms of providing programming that looks at future investment opportunities and considering ‘big picture’ topics like the influence of PropTech.”
Khoo is also a professor at the Faculty of Engineering and the School of Design and Environment at the National University of Singapore.
He was the previous executive director for the Centre for Liveable Cities under Singapore’s Ministry of National Development. His other past appointments include chief executive of the Public Utilities Board, Singapore’s national water agency, and chief executive officer/chief planner at the Urban Redevelopment Authority of Singapore.
