Commercial property investment funds have become increasingly downbeat about the Japanese market, new figures show.

Commercial property investment funds have become increasingly downbeat about the Japanese market, new figures show.

Statistics published by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (Rics) showed that the market for the commercial property asset class became more active across 70 per cent of the world in the last three months of 2009.

Despite this, surveyors have remained downbeat about the Japanese, US, German, Italian and UAE property sectors.

Simon Rubinsohn, chief economist at Rics, claimed that its Global Commercial Property Survey has shown that property investment funds have turned around their performance recently.

He stated: "This is key to ensuring that the recovery proves sustainable. The strength of the results contained in the survey for Latin America and Asia are a reflection of the unfolding economic recovery."

Recent research by JP Morgan Asset Management found the Asian treasurers are focusing on diversifying counterparty risk, with the number of these allowed to invest in pooled funds falling.