While the Asian financial crisis of 1998 may be a distant memory, the current economic malaise in Europe is a startling reminder of what could happen if the European Union does not manage the situation and allows the crisis to wallow. Inaction by country governments and the bloc has more often created greater tension than any concrete solutions — remember the painful outcomes for Malaysia, Indonesia, South Korea and Thailand and the subsequent changes in regimes. To complicate matters, sluggish growth in the United States and a manufactured slowdown in China have started to bite growth prospects for the Asia Pacific region and have consequently resulted in a slowdown in real estate transactions.

The “Asia Pacific Exports to China, the Euro Zone and the United States” chart below right shows the importance of Europe as a trade partner for the Asia Pacific region, and the current debt crisis in Europe is affecting the export-led industries in Asia. Given the euro zone mem