In the wake of 2008’s global financial crisis, performance in the Asia Pacific region managed to outshine North America and Europe in 2009, but some parts of the region did better than others. As recovery in Asia begins to take hold, shifts are beginning to occur in the commercial real estate market, while efforts to revive faltering economies — from government stimulus packages to regulatory changes — have yet to be fully realized, especially with some markets more dependent on global economic recovery in order to return to a state of growth. Still, Asia’s strengths during this crisis may outweigh its weaknesses, further enabling the region to help lead the global recovery.

It is impossible to discuss the events of 2009 without looking further back, to September 2008, when the financial markets collapsed and various high-profile names disappeared, were subsumed by larger high-profile names, or became zombie institutions kept in motion by infusions of ever gr