RICS Business Valuation Conference examines shifting landscape of business valuation and corporate regulations in Hong Kong

HONG KONG, CHINA--(Marketwired - Dec 1, 2017) - RICS (Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors) hosted more than 200 institutional investors, corporate executives and business valuers to examine the challenges and opportunities around business valuation in Hong Kong at the RICS Business Valuation Conference 2017. The event took place today at the Conrad Hong Kong.

RICS organised the conference to address the increasing concerns for fair value measurement for corporate entities and intangible assets, and to evaluate the regulatory framework and business valuation industry in Hong Kong.

Renowned speakers and panellists from leading corporate finance and valuation firms and statutory bodies led presentations and discussions focused on the practices, regulations, risks and liabilities of business valuation and corporate regulation. Industry leaders analysed financial reporting, competitor benchmarking, and addressed the need to establish and uphold an international business valuation standard.

"The process of fairly valuing businesses is becoming more difficult largely due to the increasing complexity of corporate structures and businesses' diverse tangible and intangible assets," said Mr Will Myles, Regional Managing Director, Asia Pacific, RICS. "Business valuation practices must adapt. The industry must set concrete benchmarks for evaluating a business' economic worth."

Mr Paul F. Winkelmann, Chief Executive Officer, Financial Reporting Council, delivered the keynote presentation, 'Ensuring comparability and consistency of financial reporting'. "The next stage in the process is to form a professional body in Hong Kong that represents all valuers, issues standards and enforces them in the public interest." said Mr Winkelmann.

Mr Michael Duignan, Senior Director of Corporate Finance, Securities and Futures Commission (SFC), outlined the SFC's recent cross-divisional approach to monitoring corporate transactions. "At the SFC, we are now taking a closer look at corporate transactions involving valuation computations. We welcome efforts to instil more rigour, reliability and accountability in the business valuation process, as it plays an important part in ensuring market transparency," said Mr Duignan.

To enhance business valuation quality from an industry perspective, Mr Steve Choi, Global Director of Business Valuation, RICS, said, "The Certified in Entity and Intangible Valuations (CEIV) credential is designed to enhance consistency and transparency in the fair value measurement process. Key components of the new credentialing programme include ongoing quality oversight and compliance with a Mandatory Performance Framework that helps define 'how much' work is necessary to provide supportable and auditable fair value measurements."

RICS, as a leading global professional body, commits to promoting and enforcing the highest professional standards in the valuation, management and development of land, real estate, construction and infrastructure.

Being a globally recognised organisation, RICS is positioned to gather key stakeholders in capital markets and from leading organisations around the globe to cooperate in order to develop solutions that deliver confidence and enhance transparency across the industry.

RICS professionals have been collaborating with regulators in major financial centres in the US, UK, and Hong Kong to support the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in advancing business valuation standards to protect investors' and the public's interest. Together, with today's professionals and the expertise of those international professional bodies, RICS plans to develop a blueprint for a more transparent financial environment in Hong Kong and across the globe.

RICS accredits 125,000 qualified and trainee professionals worldwide. The association works at a cross-governmental level, delivering a single, international standard that will support a safe and vibrant marketplace across all business sectors.

To download event photos from https://goo.gl/jgdoJz
Details of the Conference are available from rics.org/bvconf

About RICS

Confidence through professional standards

RICS promotes and enforces the highest professional qualifications and standards in the development and management of land, real estate, construction and infrastructure. Our name promises the consistent delivery of standards - bringing confidence to the markets we serve.

We accredit 125,000 professionals and any individual or firm registered with RICS is subject to our quality assurance. Their expertise covers property, asset valuation, real estate management; the development of infrastructure; and the management of natural resources, such as mining, farms and woodland. From environmental assessments and building controls to negotiating land rights in an emerging economy; if our members are involved the same professional standards and ethics apply.

We believe that standards underpin effective markets. With up to seventy per cent of the world's wealth bound up in land and real estate, our sector is vital to economic development, helping to support stable, sustainable investment and growth around the globe.

With offices covering the major political and financial centres of the world, our market presence means we are ideally placed to influence policy and embed professional standards. We work at a cross-governmental level, delivering international standards that will support a safe and vibrant marketplace in land, real estate, construction and infrastructure, for the benefit of all.

We are proud of our reputation and work hard to protect it, so clients who work with an RICS professional can have confidence in the quality and ethics of the services they receive.