OLD Mutual Properties MD Ian Watt will chair the Retail Real Estate World Summit being hosted by the International Council of Shopping Centres in Istanbul, Turkey from April 20 to 22 next year.

The council, the global trade association of the shopping centre industry, has about 44000 members in 80 countries.

Watt says the summit will be of great significance to South Africans active in the property market.

"It will examine the role of shopping centres in creating work and in uplifting communities. It will also discuss how city centres can be repopulated and how the movement of people from existing city centres can be arrested," he says.

The conference will also discuss cost-effective construction and how to get the most out of existing infrastructures.

Mar 17 2004 07:36:07:000AM Business Day Reporter Business Day 1st Edition