Bangkok  - The global financial crisis caught up with Bangkok's property market last month when demand stagnated and large companies started to scale down their expansion plans, Jones Lang LaSalle, a professional real estate service company, said Tuesday.

"Impact of the global economic meltdown has become more evident since the global financial crisis erupted in October," said Yupa Sathienpabayut, Head of Markets at Jones Lang LaSalle.

"Occupiers that were actively looking for office expansion opportunities over the first three quarters of the year are now rationalizing their growth and occupancy plans," she added.

While new demand from business expansion has contracted, demand for office space from new business setups has completely dried up.

Over the third quarter of 2008, Jones Lang LaSalle was involved in office leasing transactions totalling over 10,000 square metres of space across Bangkok, most of these transactions involving lease renewals and relocations.

"Most of these companies are looking for ways to minimize occupancy costs through renegotiation of lease terms with landlords, relocation to a more affordable building or downsizing," said Yupa.

The only good news was that so far there were no reports of multinationals shutting down their Bangkok offices, she said. (dpa)