Roll Call: Reuters to the Rescue

Nina from Reuters sent me this email regarding the REUTERS GLOBAL REAL ESTATE SUMMIT which began today.

REUTERS NEWS ADVISORY

For News Week of June 23, 2008



ATTENTION: Real Estate, Business and Finance Reporters



REUTERS GLOBAL REAL ESTATE SUMMIT BEGINS MONDAY, JUNE 23, 2008 IN NEW YORK , LONDON , DUBAI , SINGAPORE AND MOSCOW



Continuous Coverage Available on Reuters.com



New York – Top real estate executives from around the world will visit the Reuters New bureaus in New York , London , Dubai , Singapore and Moscow on June 23-25 to participate in the annual Reuters Global Real Estate Summit – the first to be run concurrently across these five regions. During closed on-the-record sessions, summit speakers will discuss and assess the outlook for the industry hit hard by a weakened economy. Exclusive stories from the summit will be posted online at www.reuters.com/summits.

If global real estate was at a turning point in mid-2007 after a golden era of sizzling returns and unprecedented cross-border investment, the big question at this year’s Global Real Estate Summit is how far will markets fall?

Will real estate – with its dependence on debt funding -- see out the credit crunch? Or will some property firms have to restructure, or even go under, unleashing a wave of forced selling?

To what extent will weaker consumer spending, jobs cuts, and slower economic growth make things worse by squeezing tenant demand for retail, office, and industrial properties and hitting rents? Will markets that have so far escaped the downturn be dragged down along with the UK , where property values are 17 percent below peak levels?

How much bigger can the discounts to NAV get on US, Asian, and European REITs, and when might property derivatives signal an end to the general malaise?

Most importantly, will debt markets recover, enabling property investors to refinance their assets or cut deals at a time when transaction volumes have slumped? To what extent in the interim will sovereign wealth funds and other cash-rich players, as well as distressed debt buyers and mezzanine finance providers, help to plug the gap?

Expect to see these and other topics in a package of stories, pictures and videos produced at the Reuters Global Real Estate Summit during each summit which can be seen at: http://www.reuters.com/summit/GlobalRealEstate08





Reuters guests will include:



* CB Richard Ellis Europe, Middle East and Africa President Mike Strong;

* Prupim Asia Chief Executive Alex Hambly;

* AMP Capital Investors Head of Property and Chief Investment Officer Andrew Bird;

* DekaBank Member of the Board of Management Matthias Danne;

* Cushman & Wakefield Executive VP of Capital Markets Group Scott Latham;

* ETA Star Executive Director Abid Junaid;

* Palatium Capital Partners LLP Joint Chief Executive Neil Lawson-May;

* Marathon Asset Management Managing Director Scott Schwartz;

* Macquarie Global Property Advisors CEO of Asia Investments Simon Treacy;

* Lippo Group Chairman Stephen Riady;

* LaSalle Investment Management Regional Director David Edwards;

* Citigroup Head of Global Real Estate Investment Banking James Brent;

* AFI Development CEO Alexander Khaldey;

* Lim Advisors Director of Property Peter Churchouse;

* SL Green and Gramercy Capital CEO Marc Holliday;

* ING Real Estate Country Manager for Singapore and South East Asia Richard Price;

* Land Securities Managing Director of London Portfolio Mike Hussey;

* AMB Property CEO and Chairman Hamid Moghadam;

* Citigroup Property Investors Asia CEO David Schaefer;

* Union Properties CFO Zaid Ghoul;

* RREEF Alternative Investments Managing Director and Global Head Chuck Leitner;

* Nakheel CFO Kar Tung Quek;

* J.E. Robert Partners President and COO Michael Pralle;

* British Land CEO Stephen Hester;

* UOL and Hotel Plaza CEO Lian Kheng Gwee;

* SEGRO CEO Ian Coull;

* Union Properties CFO Zaid Ghoul; and

* ING Real Estate Investment Management UK CEO Robert Houston.



Reuters Summits bring together top executives from key industries in exclusive sessions with Reuters News global teams of specialist journalists. During the course of Reuters Summits, exclusive news stories and video interviews are posted on Reuters.com, providing valuable insight into specific companies, business sectors, and economies.

I will keep you posted.