Jones Lang LaSalle CEO: hesitancy in global realty mkts persists
Reuters | 12:13 PM,Sep 15,2011By Henry Foy MUMBAI (Reuters) - Jones Lang LaSalle Inc, one of the world's largest real estate service companies, sees continued hesitancy in global real estate markets, its CEO said on Thursday, but is confident the Asia Pacific region will fuel growth. The Chicago-based company posted slightly better-than- expected second-quarter earnings in late July but cautioned that the rebound in global commercial real estate over the last year may be dissipating. "There has been little change (since July)," Colin Dyer, global CEO, Jones Lang LaSalle, told Reuters in an interview. "The hesitancy comes from a fear of the global situation. That hasn't changed." JLL will likely make two acquisitions in Asia Pacific over the next six months to expand its product offerings, a senior executive said, as it competes with global rivals such as CB Richard Ellis and DTZ Holdings. "We have two discussions going on, and I would be surprised if we hadn't acquired new business here in Asia Pacific," Alastair Hughes, CEO Asia Pacific, told Reuters. JLL this year acquired South Africa's Bradford McCormack & Associates as it looked to expand its share of business flowing to emerging markets. The Asia Pacific region has been targeted by global firms as the biggest growth area for real estate portfolios in the coming years, as investors look to leverage economic growth that far outstrips that of developed markets. JLL's India business is expected to contribute close to 5 percent of the company's global revenues this fiscal year and is on target to contribute 6-7 percent by the end of the next fiscal year, Dyer said. "The whole Indian business is growing faster than Asia, which is growing faster than the rest of the world," Dyer said. "So it is taking up share as we predicted it would." Regional titans China and India are seen driving up real estate portfolio values by 60 and 43 percent respectively by 2013, a survey of global firms said in March. A separate survey said investors had earmarked $104 billion for commercial property in Asia in the current calendar year, up 45 percent from mid-2010. The company's revenue rose 26 percent in Asia from a year previously to $214.5 million in the second quarter, contributing over a quarter to its $845.3 million global revenue. (Editing by Aradhana Aravindan)
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