This second exclusive report from MIPIM industry news partner Reuters Real Estate is a compilation of key stories filed by Reuters reporters from MIPIM 2009, along with other EMEA property market stories.

"Despite forecasts for further price corrections this year, small glints of optimism are penetrating the smog of uncertainty hanging over the sector," resumes the report.

Read on for the full low-down...

Over 500 people packed into La Salle Esterel in the Palais on Wednesday afternoon to hear three of the world’s most renowned architects – Zaha Hadid, Thom Mayne and Wolf Prix – declare that design conservatism is defunct in the current economic climate.

The time of the ordinary-will-do mentality has gone, Prix said. “When money no longer controls your culture, there’s room for new ideas to establish themselves.”

“Clients are more open to new ideas now,” Mayne said. “The Bush era, the age of recalcitrance, is over. There seems to be common agreement among clients that the best solution is no longer just to regurgitate a 19th century design.”

Hadid said: “Increasing the density of cities is the only viable solution at the moment. And cities that want to establish themselves as world cities increasingly want to do it through architecture.”

This and more only in The News, MIPIM's official daily!

London is doing more than any other Olympic host city to ensure the 2012 games provide a viable economic legacy, London mayor Boris Johnson said in his MIPIM keynote address yesterday.

As the new stadium takes shape — several months ahead of schedule — the Westfield shopping mall at the entrance to the Olympic site is also coming out of the ground, to be anchored by the biggest John Lewis store apart from Oxford Street.

Johnson said that, in total, the Olympic site would provide 117,000 m2 of commercial floor space, with excellent transport links. He pointed out that the site would be served by 10 different rail and underground lines, including High Speed 1, which leads to the Channel Tunnel.

“Ever since the games were awarded to London, our focus has been on ‘getting the legacy now’,” Johnson said. And the economic downturn has made this even more imperative. “We are using the games as a contra-cyclical tool to create jobs,” he added.

The mayor made it clear that harnessing private capital was the key to delivering the Olympic legacy, and he pointed to the transformation of London’s Millennium Dome as an example of the benefits that private sector participation can bring.

This and more only in The News, MIPIM's official daily!

Pramerica Real Estate Investors, the real estate investment management business of Prudential Financial of the US, has recently opened an office in Istanbul.

The company already specialises in a broad range of investment services in the US, Europe, Asia, and Latin America. Of its worldwide portfolio of €31bn ($40bn), €6.5bn is in Europe.

“We see a great deal of development potential in Turkey and can still see expansion there,” said managing director and CIO Thomas Hoeller. He said that this was irrespective of Turkey’s entrance to the EU, but that the country is making all the right reforms to be in the Union. Pramerica is at present involved in a 45,000 m2 retail development and a large mixed-use scheme. It would be interested in more opportunities in retail, offices or residential.

Hoeller also said that there are high levels of interest in Pramerica’s mezzanine finance packages. This was unlocking development opportunities for clients where Pramerica could fill funding gaps created by lower rates of bank lending.

For Hoeller, who is at his 17th MIPIM, “this is an opportunity to meet a lot of people in one place without the need to get on a plane. It is very concentrated”.

This and more in The News, MIPIM's official daily!

MIPIM's 20th anniversary edition's special focus on France included the presence of two political fugureheads yesterday: Patrick Devedjian, the Minister in charge of France's economic recovery plan, and Alain Juppé, former Prime Minister and Mayor of Bordeaux, both underlined the importance of the real estate industry.

Devedjian unveils Hermitage Tower

Despite a heavy agenda as minister in charge of France’s economic stimulus plan, Patrick Devedjian made a point of being present at the unveiling of the model of the Hermitage Plaza Tower at La Defense. Designed by architect Sir Norman Foster (also present), with Hermitage group as investor, the 323 metre-high, 93-floor tower will have a total floor area of 250,000 m2. It will be the first high-rise building operation in France to offer a mix of uses including residential, offices, retail, and hotel. Completion is planned for 2013.


‘Up-beat’ Bordeaux Metropole at MIPIM to crush the crisis

Alain Juppé, former Prime minister, mayor of Bordeaux, and vice-president of Bordeaux Metropole, defied the prophets of doom yesterday with an up-beat market assessment.

“Everyone tells me about the crisis. It was important to prove the contrary by coming to MIPIM. We have to think of the future and prepare postcrisis times, and the number of people present on Bordeaux Metropole stand listening to our projects for the next 15 years prove that enthusiasm for real estate and urban development is not dead,” he said.

Juppé was speaking at a presentation of the urban development operations and up-and-coming districts for the future of Bordeaux Metropole. He added that the region will be enhanced by the proposed LGV line by 2015.

According to Observatoire de l’immobilier d’Entreprise, the level of take-ups and projects in corporate real estate in the Bordeaux conurbation was particularly strong in 2008.

This and more in The News, MIPIM's official daily!

Dmitriy Kozak, the Russian Federation’s deputy prime minister, spoke at MIPIM yesterday of the significant presence of the Russian regions at this market and of how MIPIM is a key component in solving the country’s current crisis.

Talking on the Russian Regions’ stand, Kozak highlighted the major role the Russian regions have to play in helping the overall Russian economy, particularly their vital contribution to the country’s economic recovery. Kozak referred to a package of measures being put in place by the Russian government to stimulate the economy. Some of these measures are specifically aimed at the real estate industry, seen as a particularly important driver of key elements of the economy.

Kozak was also at the market to outline the investment opportunities offered by the 2014 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games in Sochi.

This and more in The News, MIPIM's official daily, only in Cannes!

French investors are holding out for prime deals, according to speakers invited by the weekly magazine Le Point to yesterday’s MIPIM Property Talk, titled Identifying The Opportunities In The Current Challenging Economic Context.

“The level of take-up in (Paris region) Ile-de-France, for example, should continue to slow down in 2009, decreasing by an additional 20%-30%. That will bring us back to 2002-2003 levels,” said Philippe Zivkovic, chairman of BNP Paribas Real Estate.

“The demand is still there for green, sustainable, high-quality office buildings that are located close to a transport hub and that are reasonable in size and in rent [around €350 ($446) per m2],” said Benoit du Passage, CEO of France and Southern Europe at Jones Lang LaSalle.

The speakers agreed that two types of investors are showing interest in the French market: opportunistic investors looking for a high yield; and core investors, who will accept no compromise on the quality of the projects.

“We are long-term investors,” said Meka Brunel, European managing director of SITQ. “It allows us to find opportunities. Look how long — more than 20 years — it will take Semapa to turn the north-east side of Paris into a city district.”

Everyone, however, agreed with Mathilde Lemoine, chief economist at HSBC France, who forecast that the summer of 2009 would be the turning point for the market.

This and more in The News, MIPIM's official daily, only in Cannes!

London landlord The Crown Estate is exhibiting for the first time at MIPIM as it plans the regeneration of a key part of London’s historic centre.

The organisation — technically a statutory corporation and unique in the world — owns a large slice of London’s West End. Having spent the last few years transforming Regent Street into a world-class retail destination, it is now turning its attention to the enhancement of the area known as St James’s, which includes such legendary names as Jermyn Street and Piccadilly.

“The Crown Estate can’t borrow,” said David Shaw, head of Regent Street strategy and development. “However, we can do things in partnership. This is the first occasion for us to tell the story of St James’s.”

The Crown Estate expects to develop St James’s over a decade-long timeframe. “While we were in a bull market, people were knocking on our door,” Shaw said. “But in today’s market, we felt needed to be here to explain our plans.”

The Crown Estate’s head of urban asset management, James Cooksey, added: “We are looking at being long-term strategic holders, but at the same time active managers.”

This and more in The News, MIPIM's official daily, only in Cannes!

Property investment, management and development group Hongkong Land is using this year’s MIPIM to showcase its Marina Bay Financial Centre (MBFC) scheme in Singapore’s new Central Business District.

Centrally located on prime waterfront space, MBFC is being developed in joint venture with Cheung Kong Holdings and Keppel Land. Phase 1 of the integrated development comprises 154,000m2 of grade-A office space, high-end residences and complementary retail facilities in three towers. It is scheduled for completion in 2010 and the commercial space is already 60% pre-let, with the Development Bank of Singapore and Standard Chartered Bank relocating their global headquarters here. Phase 2, scheduled for completion in 2012, will provide a further 120,000m2 of offices plus retail and residential space.

According to Robert Garman, executive director at Hongkong Land, the successful pre-let of so much space is an indication of the continued strength of Singapore to attract inward investment and in particular the popularity of commercial developments with large floor plans, as pioneered on the successful One Raffles Quay scheme.

“We are in very healthy shape,” Garman said. “Obviously global events have an impact, but Singapore does not have an over supply of available land, and development activities are tailored to suit market conditions.”

This and more in The News, MIPIM's official daily, only in Cannes!

Welcome to MIPIM Blog, the official source for the hottest industry news emerging from the 20th edition of the world's property market, which kicks off today in Cannes, France. Read on below; and don't forget to subscribe to the blog's RSS feed for the latest news, as it happens!

In spite of the stalled European distribution markets, ProLogis has struck a number of substantial leasing deals across the continent.

In southern France, ProLogis has leased 38,560 m2 at ProLogis Park Clesud, near Marseille, to the French distribution operator Point P, a subsidiary of the Saint-Gobain Group. It will use the site for the regional distribution of building materials. “Clesud serves as an important hub for distribution because of its location and access to multimodal transportation, with the majority of demand coming from the manufacturing and logistics management industries,” said Ranald Hahn, managing director for ProLogis in southern Europe.

The 224,000-sq m facility, comprising nine buildings, enjoys direct rail access as well as rapid access to the A54, A9, A7 and A8 autoroutes, and is approximately 20 minutes from the Marseille-Provence International Airport. In Germany, the firm has leased 39,300 m2 at ProLogis Park, Hunxe to LGI Logistics Group International, a subsidiary of the Willi Betz Group. The site, in the Rhine region, is less than 40 km from the Netherlands border, and will be the primary European distribution centre for HP printers. Christian Bischoff, regional director for ProLogis in northern Europe said: “Western Germany continues to serve as a strategic location for distribution. Given its modern transportation infrastructure and centralised location, supply chain participants benefit from the region’s access to major markets in Germany and the surrounding countries.”

This and more in The News, MIPIM's official daily, only in Cannes!

Tokyo comes to MIPIM ahead of its bid for the 2016 Olympic Games — and the Japanese capital’s bold proposals for the Games do not aim at zero carbon, so much as ‘carbon-minus’.

The Tokyo Metropolitan Government’s (TMG) 10-year plan to transform the city into a 21st century showcase of urban sustainability has given rise to an ambitious pledge to make Tokyo a carbon-minus city to help secure the Olympic Games.

The Olympic bid prioritises the use of existing facilities wherever possible. Where new and temporary venues are required, they would be implemented with high-efficiency passive designs, incorporating energy conservation technology, as well as solar, wind and other renewable energy sources. The use of low- to zero-emission vehicles are another feature of the plan.

The proposals are centred on a 100,000-person stadium, which would include a roof covered with solar panels. After the Games, the stadium would be reduced in size to become an 80,000-seat athletics arena. Located on an island in Tokyo bay, the stadium would be connected to other facilities by a series of green corridors.

This and more in The News, MIPIM's official daily, only in Cannes!

Bahrain Bay Development, the $2.5bn waterfront community located in the heart of Manama, is returning to MIPIM this year having secured a total of 16 third-party developers, each of which has purchased a site within the project.

Positioned off the north-eastern shore of Manama, Bahrain Bay is a landmark development designed around neighbourhoods of residential, commercial and retail spaces. The scheme is based upon the unique concept of an island connected by two bridges, which form an inner harbour.

The masterplan was designed by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill. Since September last year, the three anchor developers — Arcapita, The Four Seasons and CapitaLand — have been joined by experienced investors, such as Al Jomaih Investments, Cooperation Investment House, Khaleej Capita and Reliable Investment.

A number of developers are already progressing through the initial stages of their individual projects, with several others set to start construction before the end of the year. Bob Vincent, CEO of Bahrain Bay, said: “Despite the challenges we all face in today’s financial environment, we remain confident of the success of Bahrain Bay. Thanks to the support of our third-party developers, the scheme continues towards its goal of becoming a high-quality mixed-use development.”

This and more in The News, MIPIM's official daily, only in Cannes!

On the eve of MIPIM, industry news partner Thomson Reuters has published an exclusive report, sourced from Reuters Real Estate's coverage of Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA).

"As the global financial storm enters its second year... property markets in Europe and the Middle East continue to be wreaked by a weakening demand and plunging prices," says the report. "But amid the widespread gloom, some longer-term property investors and opportunistic buyers are now preparing to enter the market, enticed by prospects of snapping up rare prime buildings in major cities such as London to Paris, or hefty returns from distressed debt and assets."

Get up to speed for MIPIM now by reading this insightful news review...