ARA Asset Management's Chinese New Year cocktail last Fri at Chjimes was attended by the Who's Who from industries such as real estate and finance.

L-R: Michael Smith, MD, Head of Asian Real Estate, Goldman Sachs (Singapore);
Eng-Kwok Seat Moey, MD and Head, Asset-Backed Structured Products, DBS;
Richard Stockton, MD, Co-Head Asia Real Estate Investment Banking, Morgan Stanley Asia (Singapore); Charles Neo, MD, Head of Real Estate, Gaming & Lodging, Asia, Deutsche Bank; John Lim, Group CEO, ARA Asset Management; & Mark Ebbinghaus, Global Head of Real Estate, MD, Wholesale Banking, Standard Chartered Bank

L-R: Tan Tiong Cheng, Chairman, Knight Frank, John Lim, Group CEO, ARA Asset Management

L-R: Greg Hyland, Regional director, Asia Pacific Capital Markets, Jones Lang LaSalle & Paul Yi, CEO, ARA Managers (Asia Dragon II)

WINE FLOWED FREELY, gourmet chefs dished out succulent roast beef hump and grilled chicken with fancy dressing.

Well-dressed ladies sashayed around the buffet spread, nibbling bite-sized portions of delicatessen such as smoked duck bruschetta.

Colorful dancers delighted everyone, while the likes of clay toy artisans and traditional candy makers added to the festive cheer.  

It was a cool Friday evening last week at Chjimes' historic Gothic-style chapel in Victoria Street (Singapore) where top brass realtors and bankers were among more than 300 guests at ARA Asset Management's Chinese New Year cocktail.

An Asian real estate fund management company listed on the Singapore Exchange, the ARA Group has assets under management of about S$19 billion, and is an affiliate of Hong Kong-based Cheung Kong Group.

ARA’s Group CEO, Mr John Lim, went around the ornate multi-purpose hall welcoming guests, including top guns from Knight Frank, Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, Jones Lang Lasalle, and several banks. 

While these are all people who do deals worth millions, or even billions, of dollars, not forgotten were nine undergraduates – they were invited as holders of ARA scholarships given out as part of ARA’s Corporate Social Responsibility programme.

Also playing hosts were C-level executives from ARA’s six public-listed REITs (such as Fortune REIT and Suntec REIT) and fund managers from its three private funds.

Unfortunately, we didn’t hear of any deals discussed that night but surely the renewed contact and confidence among the guests could pave the way for sweet deals in future, and strengthen business ties.

All photos courtesy of ARA.

L-R: Michael Smith, MD, Head of Asian Real Estate, Goldman Sachs (Singapore),
John Lim, Group CEO, ARA Asset Management,
Cheryl Seow, Senior Group Finance Director, ARA Asset Management, &
Bryan Lim, Executive Director, Real Estate, Asia, Goldman Sachs (Singapore)

L-R: Christy Anne Lim, Partner, Wong Partnership, Yeo See Kiat, CEO, ARA Trust Management (Suntec), Ng Wai King, Partner, Wong Partnership;
Susan Wong Bee Hua, Partner, Wong Partnership 

L-R: Wilson Kwong, CEO, Raffles Quay Asset Management,
William Bright, Director, Raffles Quay Asset Management,
Khor Yoke Kean, Director, Share Registration, Boardroom Corporate & Advisory Services,
Busha Kohsikaporn, Associate Director, KCS Corporate Services,
Daniel Cerf, CEO, ARA-CWT Trust Management (Cache)

L-R: Dominic Lim Kian Gan, Head, Loan Syndication & Distribution, Capital Markets, OCBC,
Richard Tan, Finance Director, ARA Trust Management (Suntec)

Christina Maynes, Snr VP, Moody's Singapore, and the CEO of ARA Trust Management (Suntec) Yeo See Kiat show their favorite animals made by a clay artisan at the cocktail.

L-R: Stephen Ray Finch, CEO, APN Funds Management (Asia),
Timothy Dowling, Director, Chatham Financial;
Moses Song, CEO, Special Projects and Director of Corporate Business Development, ARA Asset Management; and David Moritz, Managing Director, MacQuarie Capital (Singapore) 

L-R: Jafe Ng, Partner, Allen & Gledhill; Low Poh Choo, Senior Director, Finance Advisory, ARA Financial; Cynthia Wong, Deputy CEO, Raffles Quay Asset Management

L-R: MD of Financial PR Kathy Zhang, Denise Wong (FPR), Kamal Samuel (FPR), Fortune REIT CEO Anthony Ang, Sim Kih (NextInsight)

Singapore Management University undergraduates who have received ARA scholarships.