Urban development is the main theme for second Congress on Housing and Finance
in Latin America

The second round of conferences organized by the Planner Group and the International Centre for Real Estate (ICRE)will address the analysis of experiences and initiatives relating to cities. [Madrid 21/11/2005 ] The second Congress on Housing and Finance in Latin America organized by the Planner Group and the International Centre for Real Estate of the IESE,will take place this
coming 5th and 6th of April in the Salón Inmobiliario de Madrid.

The first time this congress was held it enjoyed support from ministerial officials from countries such as Brazil,Peru,Chile, Mexico and Argentina.This second Congress is intended to stimulate debate and exchange of experiences relating to housing policy,involving public officials and businessmen from the Latin American community.

The key objective of this second congress will be to analyze experiences arising from developments in city environments, starting with a study of concrete initiatives including the renewal of run down areas,revitalization of city centers,consolidation of urban expansion areas and the provision of infrastructure.

The sessions will feature an analysis in each case of the collaboration between public administrations and private companies.This will allow experts to demonstrate on the one hand the public policies that they have inspired and on the other,the financing mechanisms used and private sector participation achieved in the development.“During the first congress,we managed to attract participation by some heavyweight representatives from institutional,finance and real estate business sectors from those Latin American countries which are either most active in this field of have the greatest potential,and this provoked debates of a very high standard,” stated Luis Leirado Campo,Director General of Tinsa,the company that sponsored the first conference. This year the conference has attracted participation by local entities and institutions both from Spain as well as from Latin America and the Caribbean.The organizers have also invited the top people from the local housing administrations of the major cities of Latin America,Spain and Portugal.“The Salón Inmobiliario de Madrid is an excellent location for exchanging experiences,creating innovative ideas and building the basis for future cooperation ”,added Luis Leirado.

The conference is aimed at senior executives in public administration and public companies,real estate businesses, senior managers of financing institutions,university academics or post graduate institutions and communications professionals.