Expo Real attracts 35% more foreign companies

Exhibitors from Eastern Europe, the Russian Federation and the Gulf region are helping to drive up the attendance figures for Expo Real 2006. A total of 1,630 companies from 39 countries will exhibit at the 9th international commercial property exposition in Munich from 23 to 25 October.

This corresponds to a growth of 15% compared with the 2005 edition of the major European real estate fair, the organisers said. About 400 of the exhibitors this year come from outside Germany. This is equal to a 35% increase in the number of non-German companies taking part compared with last year.

The amount of space has also been increased by 20% compared with 2005. The exposition will cover five halls, a total of 52,000 m2, on the grounds of the New Munich Trade Centre.

The growth is mainly due to the increased demand from foreign countries, especially from the eastern and south-eastern European markets, the Russian Federation and the Gulf region. International exhibitors are occupying more than one third of the exhibition space this year. . Over 18,000 visitors from 60 countries are expected to attend Expo Real 2006.

This year's fair is being opened by Moscow mayor Yuri Luzkhov, Bavarian Economics minister Erwin Huber and Eugen Egetenmeir, a board member of Messe München, the organiser of the trade fair. Aside from the individual exhibitors, there are several keynote debates taking place during Expo Real.

The first debate is entitled 'One year after the election: The German investment market'. It is moderated by Ulrich Reitz, head of the Frankfurt office of Capital and the panellists include Arnold de Haan, ceo of the Dutch-based Multi Corporation, Eckart John von Freyend of German real estate company IVG and John van Oost, managing director of IXIS Capital Partners in London.

The focus on Germany continues with a discussion on which international investors are operating in the German market. Later on Monday there will be a discussion on REITs. The panellists for that event are Peter Mitchell, ceo of Asian real estate association (APREA), Nick van Ommen, ceo of the European Public Real Estate Association (EPRA), and Steven A. Wechsler, ceo of the National Association of Real Estate Investments Trusts (NAREIT) in Washington. They will discuss whether REITs are 'conquering the world'.

Tuesday's events include discussions on how to rate cities, corporate governance and transparency in the real estate industry, and the future prospects for the residential real estate market.

Bill Kistler, president of the Urban Land Institute Europe, leads a discussion on Wednesday on 'Cinderella cities', with the panellists being asked to comment on whether secondary cities are becoming more important for real estate companies.

PropertyEU is presenting a daily media show and filing its daily newsletter from Expo Real. The media show takes place at the PropertyEU stand (Hall C3, stand 420).

To find out more about the events at Expo Real, go to www.exporeal.net.