HONG KONG (AFP) — There could have been no worse time to hold an expo on the Asian property market this year than November.
As the impact of the global financial crisis on the region unravels -- in the form a slumping stock market, company bankruptcies, steep falls in flat prices, and job cuts -- even the most daring of property investors have taken a step back.
It was against this backdrop that the Asian version of an international real estate summit held annually in Cannes, France, was held last week in Hong Kong.
The number of exhibitors at the MIPIM Asia conference -- developers, banks, fund managers, architectural firms, hotel groups and construction companies, mostly from Asia -- dropped to 190 from last year's 236, organisers said.
