Technology companies have become a key office occupier group in the region, and they are frequently the earliest tenants to pre-commit to newly constructed buildings, according to JLL’s report “Technology firms transform Southeast Asia”.

“Given that technology firms will become a key source of office occupancy, this is an opportunity for real estate investors and developers to create space that will meet this need,” says Regina Lim, Head of Capital Market Southeast Asia Research, JLL. “Last year, the tech sector attracted over US$6 billion in funding, and the industry’s growth will contribute significantly to future office leasing volume, which we estimate will rise at six per cent annually amid a GDP growth rate of around five per cent.”

Southeast Asian economies are forecast to expand at five per cent annually until 2020, exceeding the global rate of 3.5 per cent. The region’s internet economy could be worth more than US$200 billion by 2025, with e-commerce seen as the fastest-growing segment. Along with an expanding middle class, this segment is predicted to rise at 30 per cent in the next five to 10 years to reach US$88 billion by 2025, based on a Google-Temasek study.

The project will open for bookings on September 28-30, managing director Tritecha Tangmatitham said on Monday.

CP Land and Magnolia Quality Development Corporation (MQDC), the group’s two property players, each brings in half of the amount.

CP Group is involved in eight types of business activities in Thailand and overseas: agriculture and food processing, retail, telecom and communication, e-commerce and digital, auto, finance, property, and medicine manufacturing.

Agriculture and food processing, retail, telecom and communication are the main drivers of group revenue, generating Bt1.3 trillion in total income last year.

Rise in property sales

MQDC expects its total sales to reach Bt20 billion this year while CP Land estimates a double-digit rise in its 2018 revenue from the end of last year.

“Our business model places equal importance on recurring income and residential sales for sustainable growth,” said CP Land’s president Sunthorn Arunanondchai.

Visit Malaisirirat, MQDC’s chief executive officer, said the company expects its 2018 revenue to reach Bt20 billion in view of the completion and unit transfers of several residential projects, including Icon Siam and Wizdom 101.

“Our business strategy will keep us on the path of sustainable growth. We will launch five to ten residential projects annually to drive our business,” Visit said.

CP Group is a Thai conglomerate controlled by the Chearavanont family, the major shareholder.

Dhanin Chearavanont, founder of CP Group, formed the property company in 1983 in partnertships with Prasert Phungkumarn, Weerawat Karnjanadul, Asa Sarasin, Min Thernworn, and Sunthorn Arunanondchai, the incumbent president of CP Land.

The company plans to develop an average of five to ten residential projects a year in Bangkok and the provinces, Sunthorn said in a recent interview with The Nation.

“We are also keen on office, meeting/exhibition, and hotel developments in view of Thailand’s status as the hub of the Asean Economic Community (AEC) and its expanded tax-free policy on more goods and services,” he said.

Projects in the pipeline, in this aspect, include an office building at North Park Bangkok and an exhibition centre in Hat Yai district of Songkha province at a combined cost of Bt1.3 billion.

A Bt1.2 billion budget is set for four residential projects in Prachinburi, Rayong, Buriram and Chon Buri’s Sriracha district while another Bt600 million will be invested in three hotels, offering a total of 400 rooms, in Buriram, Rayong and Khon Kaen.

Suwatana Kmolwatananisa, Industrial Estate Authority of Thailand’s (IEAT) deputy governor for corporate strategy and development, said CP Land has teamed up with China’s Guangxi Construction Engineering Group to develop a Bt60-billion industrial estate in the Eastern Economic Corridor (EEC) for Chinese-speaking investors. The project will create at least 20,000 jobs within six years, she added.

She added that CG Corporation, led by CP Land, will set up CPGC Industrial Estate for the government’s targeted industries in Rayong province.

Shareholders in the joint venture comprise CP Land (50 per cent), Guangxi Construction Engineering Group (48 per cent) and Guangxi Construction Engineering Yian (Thailand) (2 per cent). It is registered with a capital of Bt2 billion, to be raised to Bt3 billion in the near futrue.

CPGC Industrial Estate will be situated on a 3,068-rai site in the Nikompattana and Bankhai districts of Rayong. A 2,205-rai plot will be allocated for manufacturing facilities, 443 rai for utility systems and 307 rai for greenery and buffer areas. About Bt10 billion is earmarked for utility work.

“The project is aimed at Chinese-speaking investors from Hong Kong, Taiwan and mainland China. We expect to fully sell out the areas in six years,” she said.

CP Land president Sunthorn said the project will be developed in three phases, starting with the development of 1,000 rai next year, scheduled for completion in 2019. It will be followed by the second and third phases of 700 rai and 500 rais, to be completed in 2020 and 2021.

The project will be financed by the joint venture’s capital and borrowings. A two-year feasibilty study is underway on the establishment of a power plant at the estate, he said.

“Our business strategy for sustainable growth mainly focuses on developing residential buildings for sales as well as other property projects that will generate recurring income to the company,” he said.

MQDC

Magnolia Quality Development Corporation (MQDC) is managed by Dhanin Chearavanont’s daughter Thippaporn  Ahriyavraromp who is also the chief executive officer of DT Group of Companies(DTGO).

Thippaporn entered the real estate business with the founding of DTGO in 1993, offering a range of services to international clients including architectural design, construction management, material-sourcing and project development.

In 2003, the company set up an affiliate in China – DT Plans (Shanghai) Consulting Co Ltd, involved in construction, design, and building consultancy in the country.

DTGO turned its sights back to Thailand in 2006 with the establishment of Magnolia Quality Development Corporation Ltd (MQDC),focusing on commercial buildings and residential projects for the middle and upper-income markets.

MQDC’s residential properties currently come under three brands: Magnolia, Aspen, and Whizdom.

In 2014, MQDC collaborated with China’s Greenland Group to develop residential projects in Thailand.

Two years later, it teamed up with Siam Piwat for a Bt50-billion mixed-use project – ICONSIAM. The integrated complex, to be completed in October, houses retail outlets, a hotel, and residential buildings.

The company launched its own and largest mixed-use development last year. The Bt90-billion the Forestias comprises retail outlets, office buildings, an innovation centre, residential buildings and a green area among other facilities.

Earlier this year, Tanyatip Chearavanont, 26 – a fourth generation member of the Chearavanont family, set up One.Six Development Corporation Co Ltd. The property company is 75-per cent held by Tanyatip with Chawin Athakravisunthorn taking the balance of 25 per cent.

It has formed a joint venture firm with MDQC, with the latter holding the majority stake of 75 per cent, for the development of the new company’s first condominium project, the Bt4.8-bn the Strand Thonglor.

“We focus on residential and commercial properties when opportunity arises for business expansion,” Thippaporn said.

According to a recent survey by The Nation, most property firms are reaching out to prospective buyers with special offers this month.

For example, Ananda Development Plc launched its latest campaign, Ananda Knock Price, which allows buyers to pay monthly instalments of only Bt999 for up to two years for any of the units in its 10 condominium projects. The campaign runs from September 7-9. “This campaign is expected to boost our sales in the third quarter of this year,” company CEO Chanond Ruangkritya said recently.

SC Asset Corporation Plc also launched its latest campaign, Majestic Residence, which offers price discounts of up to Bt6 million for a luxury single detached house under the brands Grand Bangkok Boulevard and Grand Boulevard. Starting prices for the homes range from Bt22.9 million to Bt60 million per unit.

Positioning itself as the first and only player in the real estate industry to sell properties via e-commerce, AP (Thailand) Plc’s service and consultancy firm Bangkok Citismart Co Ltd has joined hands with Shopee, the leading e-commerce platform in Southeast Asia and Taiwan. Seven of AP’s city-centre condominium projects are available for sale on the platform. They include some of the best units from Life Sukhumvit 62 and Aspire Sathorn-Ratchapruek, which come with discounts of up to Bt300,000. Also on offer are a number of special resale units from Life Asoke, Rhythm Ekkamai, Life Ladprao, Life Asoke Rama 9 and Life One Wireless. The online shopping privilege is available exclusively to customers of Bangkok Citismart and Shopee under the Shopee 9.9 Super Shopping Day campaign on all Shopee online platforms throughout September.

Origin Property Plc is highlighting its Origin Shock Price campaign at Siam Paragon on the September 9 weekend by offering a discounted price of up to 30 per cent for its 20 residential projects nationwide.

AP (Thailand) Plc has launched its latest campaign, AP Prom Pay, for its single detached house project under the brand Centro and the City, at prices ranging from Bt4.99 million to Bt30 million. They will offer monthly instalments for homebuyers for the first three years. The company is also offering a price discount of up to Bt500,000 and free transfer fee for its townhome project under the brand Pleno. Both campaigns will close at the end of this month.

    The project offers a starting price of Bt2.19 million per unit.

Construction of the project will start this year for completion in 2020, Sena Development Plc’s vice chief executive officer Kessara Thanyalakpark said yesterday.

It has also affirmed the ratings on ANAN’s existing unsecured subordinated perpetual debentures (hybrid debentures) at “BB+”. At the same time, TRIS Rating assigns the rating to ANAN’s proposed issue of up to Bt2,000 million in hybrid debentures at “BB+”.

The rating on ANAN’s hybrid debentures is two notches below the company rating. This rating differential reflects the subordinated nature of the hybrid debentures and the option of the issuer to defer coupons on a cumulative basis.

He added that this is a part of its business plan to issue debenture worth atotal of Bt3 billion this year and next.

The company also expects its total revenue to reach Bt2.4 billion at the end of this year after announcing Bt1.4 billion in revenue and Bt150 million in net profit in the first half of this year, he said.

Occupying a gross floor space of 222,000 square metres, the Bt9-billion complex will officially open this month.

Thanapol Sirithanachai, president of Golden Land Property Development Plc, said that as a leading full-service property development company, the company specialises in residential and commercial property development with a portfolio made up of such large property projects as Park Venture, Sathorn Square, FYI Center and Golden Land towers, totaling 500 billion square meters of office space.

“Samyan Mitrtown is a major property project set on a location of high potential in the city center at the corner of Rama IV and Phya Thai roads. The project is in close proximity to key spots including Chulalongkorn University, Siam Square, and the Samyan community. The plus side is the easy mobility thanks to the project directly connecting to the next-door Samyan MRT station. The company invested Bt300 million to create a bridge that connects with the project with the MRT station in the basement. Getting around by car is highly convenient as the project is close to the entrances and exits of Srirach Expressway and Chalerm Maha Nakhon expressways,” he said.

The Rama IV Road area is set to be Bangkok’s next business hub thanks to the large-scale investments in the public transport system by the state private sectors. Samyan Mitrtown will be among the first projects that brighten up and reinvigorate the Rama IV area.

Samyan Mitrtown’s retail area accounts for 30 per cent of the project, an ideal size for a mixed-used development. The project has 36,000 square meters of leasable area including the retail area spanning B1 level to the 4th floor; a multi-purpose hall on the 5th floor; and a big rooftop garden.

While aligned with Retail 4.0, Samyan Mitrtown has been tailored to the lifestyle needs of the new generation. They are coming here not for shopping alone, but to live their lives thanks to the retail zone that’s open 24 hours a day and complete with restaurants, coffee shops, a fitness center and a learning center – open around the clock – for use by school students, university students and the general public taking time out to enjoy reading, do homework and join a meeting.

The retail area of Samyan Mitrtown stands out with the “Urban Life Library”, a repository of food and learning opportunities catering to different lifestyle choices: dining, relaxing and learning. Due to its close proximity to several education institutions, the project will be a new destination for school students and university students to explore new experiences.

The retail area is divided into three sections, which are the Eating Library (43 per cent) offering new experiences related to the art and science of dining with a wide variety of cuisine; the Learning Library (29 per cent), the area for creating new learning opportunities and for skills-sharpening classes; and the Living Library (28 per cent), tailored to the needs of modern urban lifestyles.

With the perfect combination of facilities and components, Samyan Mitrtown is an interesting project from the perspective of either consumers or tenants.

At present, space reservations account for 40 percent of the overall leasable space, with the spaces available for the main tenants already fully booked. Spaces for small-scale tenants’ reservations will be available for booking later this year,” said Mr. Thanapol.

The retail area of Samyan Mitrtown has been tailored to the needs of up to 7,000 users both in the office tower, condominium and hotel when fully leased. The area will be able to manage a crowd capacity of 700,000 per month.

The “Samyan Mitrtown” project was developed by Golden Land Property Development Plc under a partnership with TCC Assets (Thailand) Company Limited through the incorporation of a company named Kasemsubbhakdi Co Ltd in which Golden Land holds 49 per cent of its registered shares of Bt3 billion and TCC Assets holds the remaining 51 per cent.

This is a large commercial project with a capital investment of Bt9 billion with a 10 year breakeven period. Golden Land has been granted the right to develop the 13 rais site by Chulalongkorn University under a 30-year lease period.

The project, located on Pradit Manutham Road, has only 25 units on an overall plot of 45 rai (7.2 hectares), chief executive officer Naris Cheyklin said at a press conference on Monday.

“We are confident the demand for luxury residences is still strong,” he added.