Department of Real Estate & Construction
RECO6069 Coursework (2023-2024)
1
Real Estate Investment – Coursework
The task
An overseas family office with HK$5B in AUM, called BOVID, considers investing in real
estate in Hong Kong after reading the following market reports:
https://www.cushmanwakefield.com/en/greater-china/insights/hong-kong-talent-housing_xfffe_report-2023
https://www.jll.com.hk/en/trends-and-insights/research/the-vibrant-investment landscape-of-the-logistics-and-industrial-sector
BOVID is particularly interested in two specific sectors: serviced apartments and self storage
facilities. It has therefore set up two research arms to investigate each sector separately.
You are asked to join one of the arms, conduct investment analysis on one or more properties,
and assess their investment viability. BOVID wants to know not only yes/no, but also ‘why
yes/no’ and how to turn no to yes and vice versa. It would like to get a fresh investment
insight into each of the sectors.
BOVID also has the following requirements:
The goal is to preserve and grow its wealth over the longer term. It plans to allocate
not more than HK$300M for this task (leverage is allowed but not the focus of this
task). ESG consideration is a plus but not a must.
It prefers direct investment in real estate (not REIT). It understands that continued
management is required after purchase. An operation plan from acquisition through
disposition is often needed.
It does not want to engage in land development or redevelopment, which is too risky.
However, it is happy to consider value-add strategies such as renovation and
repositioning of existing assets.
You are not expected to search for the ‘best’ property, as this will be the job of a
property agent later. Rather, you may simply pick properties based on sensible
criteria such as clientele, law and regulations, and competitors in the sector (and data
availability). The properties you picked must be real, though they do not have to be
on the market right now.
You can propose to purchase a whole building or part of it. The minimum size of
properties for each sector is 15,000 square feet.
Department of Real Estate & Construction
RECO6069 Coursework (2023-2024)
2
Deliverables
Form a team of not more than six members, and register on Moodle by the second
week of the semester. Students without a team by the deadline will be assigned
directly by the Department.
Each team submits an investment proposal comprising i) a two-page summary, ii)
PowerPoint slides, and iii) Excel spreadsheet to Moodle by November 10, 2023.
The summary is the key document to the investor and constitutes 30% of the
course grade. You can use tables and graphs in the summary, as long as the
page limit is observed.
The slides should contain relevant material for you to explain the investment
analysis to the investor in 15 minutes.
The spreadsheet should store, in a user-friendly manner, all the underlying
data and calculations used in the analysis.
All submissions will be uploaded to Moodle for sharing with the class.
Each team presents the slides to the class on November 15, 2023. All members must
show up and present. The quality of the slides and spreadsheet, individual
performance of presentation and handling questions, and individual contribution to
the task would all count towards 40% of the course grade.
Some students will be pre-assigned to ask questions in Q&A, while other
students are welcome to raise questions in Q&A too.
To assess individual contribution, complete the Peer Assessment form on
Moodle by November 20, 2023. Members contributing a lot to the task should
be rewarded, while those with minimal contribution should be given a lower
grade or even failed.
Assessment criteria:
Are you able to i) understand investment requirements, ii) collect and process
relevant data, iii) conduct relevant analysis to solve real-world problems, and iv)
communicate and explain ideas within space/time limits
When you borrow others’ words, ideas, data, etc., remember to acknowledge them
by proper citation. For example, when you copy a graph from another report, the
source should be cited immediately below the graph. Otherwise, the consequence
could be grade deduction or even disciplinary action.
