(October 8, 2003) Die 6th International Commercial Real Estate Exposition in Munich has again broken its own record for exhibitor and visitor numbers. On the three days of the fair, from 6 to 8 October 2003, EXPO REAL 2003 attracted around 16,000 trade visitors. This is a rise of eight percent over last year. Despite the tougher business climate in Germany and in the euro economic area, EXPO REAL was also able to increase the number of exhibitors it attracted by eight percent, to 1,279. The discussion and information events on current themes, organised as part of the fair´s accompanying programme, were particularly well attended.

"With the increasing internationalisation of the real estate business, it is important to further broaden the international scope of EXPO REAL by attracting more exhibitors and visitors from abroad. And we have been doing just that. The figures for international participation in the fair demonstrate the success of our strategy," said Eugen Egetenmeir, of the Board of Management of Messe München. The trade visitors attending EXPO REAL 2003 came from 63 countries (last year: 46 countries). The number of non-German visitors among them leapt by 25 percent. And once again, the number of exhibitors from abroad also rose. This year 253 of the exhibitors came from outside Germany - from 30 different countries - as compared to 217 foreign exhibitors from 24 countries last year. When compared to the overall growth, this represents a rise of 16 percent.

Barry D. Green, a partner of the US firm Goulston&Storrs, exhibiting for the first time at EXPO REAL, gained a very positive impression: "We are thrilled with our return on investment from exhibiting at EXPO REAL. This is clearly the place to conduct business and to connect with international investors. EXPO REAL has helped us to move business forward and establish new contacts in a highly efficient manner." Many companies from Eastern Europe, Scandinavia and also China were at the fair for the first time. Vincent Lo, the Chairman of the Shui On Group of Hong Kong, said: "I believe the fair is most unique with regard to networking with international potential business partners and to exploring new opportunities for new markets. For us this is the first time and EXPO REAL is an exploratory exhibition. China will be an attractive market for the world and we used the last few days to go into further very useful discussions with our business partners."

The exhibitors who regularly take part in EXPO REAL were also very positive in their comments: "Many investors from abroad showed a great deal of interest in German investment capital. The high number of international visitors at EXPO REAL has tremendous benefit for the German real estate market despite the difficult economic climate at present," was the summary of Prof. Willi Alda, Chairman of the Management Board of Deka Immobilien Investment GmbH. Equally satisfied with the fair was Udo Berner, Chairman of the Management Board of Bilfinger Berger Projektentwicklung GmbH: "We are very pleased with the quality of visitors to this fair. Each year EXPO REAL covers an ever wider spectrum, also because of the increasing numbers of foreign exhibitors."

For the EU accession countries in Central and Eastern Europe, EXPO REAL was a platform for making contact with commercial and industrial investors. For the first time exhibitors came to the fair from Bulgaria, Croatia, Slovenia and the Slovak Republic.

At EXPO REAL 2003 the spotlight was on current themes in the sector such as real estate in changing markets, empty office space, optimising real-estate portfolios, new business strategies and the presentation of new projects. "The Ruhr district not only had the biggest stand, but we had the most high-quality projects to show. We need the image of the Ruhr that is presented here, an image of a positive, forward-looking region," is how Hanns-Ludwig Brauser, Managing Director of Projekt Ruhr GmbH, summed up his company´s experience.

The core business of the event was networking and communication between the participants. This was confirmed by Rupert Hackl, Munich Branch Director of Eurohypo AG: "Our goal was to fulfil the high expectations of the market participants. We reached this goal, and the overall positive mood gives cause for optimism. EXPO REAL is an outstanding communications platform." Martin Drummer, CEO Germany at CB Richard Ellis GmbH also reported making excellent contacts: "The event was a great success, in particular because it has grown so large. EXPO REAL has thus now achieved quite a different status. Here is where all the key players in the sector come together. It is a forum for lively exchange at an international level."

A specific example of this was cited by Randall C. Mundt, President and Chief Investment Officer of Principal Real Estate Investors: "We were delighted to be able to sign a new strategic alliance with the Commerz Grundbesitz-Spezialfondsgesellschaft at EXPO REAL. With its increasing international participation, EXPO REAL has grown beyond the German real estate community and it is getting better and better each year." Dietmar Müller, Spokesman for Commerz Grundbesitz Investment Gesellschaft, agrees: "The ultimate goal of course is to conclude business deals, and to make new business contacts across Europe. Once again it has been shown that EXPO REAL is not just a fair with a special atmosphere. It is also a proper working fair that is well worth every euro invested in it."

In 2004, the 7th International Commercial Real Estate Exposition EXPO REAL will take place from 4 to 6 October in Munich. In addition, from 21 to 23 April 2004, Messe München GmbH is also organising EXPO REAL CHINA at the Shanghai New International Expo Centre (SNIEC). This will be the first international commercial real estate exposition in China. The range of contacts and the accompanying programme at EXPO REAL CHINA offer Chinese and international decision-makers from the sector a superb business-to-business platform for entry into the Chinese market, and for consolidating existing business contacts.

EXPO REAL 2003
EXPO REAL presents the entire value-added chain in the commercial real estate sector, and functions as a 'working fair', with the emphasis on communication between the suppliers and users of commercial real estate. Project presentations, exhibitor forums and an extensive accompanying programme offer a review of the latest trends and innovations in the commercial real estate market. The fair is aimed at all decision-makers across the sector. Since its premiere in 1998, EXPO REAL has developed into one of the leading trade fairs in Europe. This is demonstrated in the rapid increase in visitor and exhibitor numbers, and in the strong rise in interest from abroad. Exhibitor and visitor statistics for EXPO REAL are independently audited by the Gesellschaft zur Freiwilligen Kontrolle von Messe- und Ausstellungszahlen (FKM) , a society for the voluntary control of fair and exhibition statistics.

For further information, please visit www.exporeal.de

Contact
Ebba Schiel
Head of Project Communications, Capital Goods
and
Christina Müller
Press spokesperson, EXPO REAL
Tel.: (+49 89) 949 206 62
Fax (+49 89) 949 206 69
E-Mail: mueller.christina@messe-muenchen.de

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