Germany: Country of Honour at MIPIM 2012

PARIS, Jan. 23, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- For its 23^rd edition, the World's Property Market will place Germany centre stage. The presence of such leading German personalities as Joschka Fischer, the country's former Foreign Minister, and Reinhard Schafers, German Ambassador to France, will be among the highlights of the event-rich programme.

"Buoyed by the strongest economy in the eurozone, Germany has been particularly resilient in the current economic climate," says Filippo Rean, Director of MIPIM. "We would like to acknowledge this performance by paying tribute to the expertise and know-how of German professionals operating across the entire real estate sector. As loyal MIPIM attendees for many years now, German investors also participate actively in globalising the sector as some of the most dynamic players away from their home turf."

MIPIM 2012 will reflect this trend by welcoming leading German investment companies and financial institutions that have been successful beyond their borders, including Corpus Sireo Holding, DEKA Immobilien GmbH-DEKABANK, Allianz Real Estate, ECE Projektmanagement GmbH & Co. KG, DIC Deutsche immobilien Chancen AG & Co. KGAA. Major investment players will also participate in the conference programme, including Bernhard Berg, Managing Director of IVG Institutional Funds GmbH, who will share his analysis on today's best investment opportunities with Jean-Michel Six, chief economist for Europe at Standard & Poor's.

German cities are considered a safe, stable market with a high level of real estate transactions in 2011. According to a study by BNP Paribas Real Estate*: "Germany continues its strong progression, with a total investment volume of euro 17.3bn during the first nine months of 2011, up 32% on the same period in 2010. Interest in the German commercial real estate remains high among both German and international investors." Cities such as Berlin, Dusseldorf, Francfort, Hambourg, Munich, Nuremberg, Stuttgart and the North Rhine-Westphalia region gathering on its stand Bonn, Dortmund, Essen and Cologne, will highlight their business attractiveness at MIPIM 2012. A conference session on 7^th March will also review the best investment opportunities in Germany in terms of sites and types of asset. On the previous day, another conference will showcase success stories involving cooperation between public and private partners in Germany.

The MIPIM exhibition area will further highlight these new urban developments in Germany. The major project Stuttgart 21 features the construction of a new underground station as well as housing, offices, a park and a library built on the 100-hectare site of the historic train station. The redevelopment of Frankfurt's 'MainTor District' (financial district) will be unveiled by DIC Deutsche Immobilien Chancen AG & Co. KGaA at the city's exhibition stand. Located along the Main, this currently isolated area will mesh more closely with the city through various public spaces by 2015. Several projects will be highlighted in the 'Investor Quest' programme that was successfully launched last year. This will offer an opportunity for a selection of active developers in Germany to defend their projects before a panel of investors. These "business angels" will then select the project with the greatest potential.

German know-how in sustainable construction will be highlighted in the new 'Building Innovation' pavilion, a showcase for innovative initiatives that add value to a property portfolio. The leading European technology conglomerate Siemens will share its expertise with MIPIM by unveiling its latest projects.

In another key German moment, the MIPIM Awards 2012 will honour German projects by offering them a special awards category. And MIPIM's opening night will have a decidedly German flavour at the Hotel Carlton on Tuesday, March 6^th from 7:30 pm.

* BNP Paribas Real Estate, Property Report: Investment in Western Europe. Q3 2011. October 2011

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