The following is the speech of Dr.Sopon Pornchokchai, President, Agency for Real Estate Affairs and Thai Appraisal Foundation who is also the Chairman of the Organizing Committee of the 2016 ARENA Convention and Expo of the ASEAN Real Estate Network Alliance reporting to the assistant governor of the National Housing Authority in liue of Pol.Gen. Adul Sangsingkeo, Minister of Social Development and Human Security who is the Chairman of the Opening Ceremony of the ACE on Friday, August 26, 2016 at the Arnoma Hotel, Rachadamri, Bangkok, Thailand.

Dear Mr.Chairman

It is an honor that you come to our opening ceremony of the ACE or the ARENA Convention and Expo 2016 which is hosted by the Thai Appraisal Foundation together with co-hosts from associations in this region.

ARENA stands for the ASEAN Real Estate Network Alliance which is established by 8 associations including the Cambodian Valuers and Estate Agents Association, the Real Estate Brokers Association of Indonesia, the Malaysian Institute of Estate Agents, the Myanmar Real Estate Services Association, the Philippine Association of Real Estate Brokers, the Institute of Estate Agents Singapore, the Thai Appraisal Foundation and the Vietnam National Real Estate Association.

We also have co-hosts including the REI or Real Estate Indonesia which is the only real estate developers association of Indonesia, the Asian Real Estate Association of America based in the USA.  In Thailand, we have co-hosts including the Home Builders Association, the Thai Home Builders Association which is another association, the Property Management Association of Thailand, the Thai Real Estate Brokers Association, the Real Estate Sales and Marketing Association, the Valuers Association of Thailand and the Real Estate and Partnerships Trade Association.  In addition, the Housing Business Association which is a leading developers' association in Thailand is also our sponsor.

Mr.Chairman.

Allow me to thanks all the hosts, co-hosts and sponsors, the speakers, coordinators, all my colleagues and particularly you who generously come to our opening cenremony of this event.

Kindly allow me to introduce the Thai Appraisal Foundation of which I was a founder and Chairman in 2001 and currently the President.  We have some 800 members who are appraisers, assessors, valuers, developers, financiers as well as some interested persons.  Our current and the third Chairman of the Association is Prof. Niput Jitprasonk who is also the Chairman of the Thai Real Estate Business School which is an international real estate education institution.

Our Foundation's principle is that Knowledge Is Not Private Property.  I repeat, Knowledge Is not Private Property where we should share for the development of the professionals, the profession, and the public at large.  Because of sharing, our foundation is one of the most active real estate organizations in Thailand where we have monthly forum for already 170 consecutive months, we have bi-monthly journals, and free education and publications to the public.  In our website, the thaiappraisal.org contains a lot of files and information for free download.  In addition, we set up the standard construction costs every quarter as well as standard capitalization rate every year for valuers and the public to uses for preliminary calculation.  In brief, our Thai Appraisal Foundation is a non-profit seeking organiztion.  Actually, the Foundation is a loss-seeking organization so that we can contribute more for the society.

Last year of this month in August, we were invited by the Philippine Association of Real Estate Brokers or PAREB to join this event which was very successfully hosted by the PAREB.  Our Thai Appraisal Foundation decided to volunteer to organize this event in Thailand and we were endorsed by the rest.  For us, we do not want to organize this alone so we invite other associations in Thailand to join us.  That is why we have a large group of co-organizers and sponsors.  For all other associations, they have no need to contribute in monetary term but just them their executives to join us and networking with others.

Dear Mr. Chairman of the Opening Ceremony.

In my mind, our ASEAN Association of real estate professionals should not have only one association from each country.   This would create segregation and inequality among professionals.  There are more than one organization in each country to join.   The association should be the platform to put together those regulators, educators, brokers, valuers, property managers as well.  In an annual meeting, it should be a meeting for all professionals, regulators, and educators and the like.

We need democracy at all level of cooperation.  No imperialism nor exploitation.  Big associations, big firms should not dominate the profession.  Professionals should unite.  At present, there is no single regionally-accepted organization which brings all of the organizations together.  In the past, we have AAPH or the ASEAN Association for Planning and Housing but it then disappeared.  Another real estate–related international organizations with which we should have some affiliation is FIABCI (International Real Estate Federation).

Don't allow the prejudices of some leaders or big brothers to obstruct the coordination and development of our real estate professionals.  We need democracy.  All men are created equal.  Let real estate professionals unite together without exploitation by imperialism.  Let all have opportunity.  Creativity will then be seen like all flowers are beautifully bloomed at the same time which blesses the whole society.

Thank you very much and now it is the time for Mr.Chairman to addesss at our ARENA Convention and Expo. Please, Sir.