“We plan to develop an average of two new projects worth an average of Bt7 billion a year from this year until 2022, with the first two projects to be launched this year,” he said of the plans by the joint venture, KPN-Keppel Alliance Co Ltd. The two projects, in Sukhumvit Soi 19 and Soi 28, are worth a total of Bt7 billion.

The Sukhumvit Soi i9 project, worth Bt2.5 billion, is due to be launched in the second quarter of this year. The launch of the project in Sukhumvit Soi 28, worth Bt4.5 billion, has been delayed from the third quarter to the final quarter. The company had to revise its design to match with the demands of the local community and have an environmental impact assessment (EIA) for the project cleared, Rawee said.

Under the business plan, the company needs to acquire the new land for the development of residential projects in Bangkok at a cost of up to Bt4 billion a year. This would enable it to develop 14 condominiums worth more than Bt35 billion from this year to 2022, he said.

Keppel Land’s president of regional investment, Sam Moon Thong, said that the company sees strong demand for residential projects in Bangkok, prompting it to expand its investments in Thailand. The company had withdrawn form the Thai market in 2016.

“We believe that our new business model, with the setting up of a joint venture firm with a local partner in Thailand, would work out better than the investment result we achieved when we first entered the Thai market on our own in 2000,” he said. “This is because our local partner will help us to manage and develop the projects.”

Keppel Land is a subsidiary and property arm of Keppel Corporation Group, which is a multibillion-dollar operation providing solutions for sustainable urbanisation while meeting a growing need for energy services, infrastructure, clean environments, high quality homes and commercial developments, and connectivity.

Keppel Land has expanded its investment in several countries in Asia, such as China, Vietnam, Indonesia, Myanmar, the Philippines, and Thailand.

“When we expand our investment in overseas markets we expect a return on investment averaging in the double digits, including for our investment in Thailand,” Moon Thong said.

Rawee said the company also expects its annual business growth to be in the double digits under the joint venture with Keppel Land.

KPN Land expects its total revenue to reach Bt2.5 billion in this year, Rawee said. Most of the company’s new residential projects to be launched by 2022 would be developed under the joint venture with Keppel Land, he said.

“We will propose that all of the land for the development of condominiums be considered as projects for the joint venture. If the joint venture firm is interested in a particular site, then that project would be develop by the joint venture.

If not, KPN Land would undertake the development on its own,” he said.

  The company recorded Bt38.6 billion in presales as of the end of 2017, the company’s chief financial officer Wanchak Buranasiri said in a press release yesterday.

The company plans to launch four new residential projects worth a total of Bt12.7 billion in the first quarter of this year – three single detached house projects, and a condominium, he said.

LPN Development Plc will launch 14 projects worth Bt18 billion while Property Perfect is set for the introductions of 25 residential project, worth a total of Bt35.8 billion.

LPN Development Plc’s chief executive officer and managing director Opas Sripayak said the company targeted presale to reach Bt20 billion this year.

The company also expects a total revenue of Bt12 billion this year or up 25 per cent from its total revenue of Bt9.6 billion last year, he added.

Opas says year 2018 is the year of change, following a year of shifts last year, and the company will focus on two businesses: condominiums , single detached and townhouse projects, as well as service provision.

The company will also restructure its management team with outside recruitments to boost its business operations. It will also invest in information technology and rebranding its products.

“We expect strong growth of 40 per cent in revenue from our residential projects from 2018 to 2020, and a 20 per cent expansion in revenue from the service businesses for the same period,” he said

Meanwhile, the company expects presale to achieve Bt20 billion this year , comprising Bt17 billion from condominiums, and Bt3 billion from single detached house and townhouse projects. These will be booked to the company’s total revenue of Bt12 billion – Bt10.5 billion from condominium projects and Bt1.5 billion from single detached house and townhouse projects, he said.

Currently, the company has a backlog of sold properties worth Bt7.4 billion, waiting for transfer to buyers, of which Bt5.9 billion will be booked to its total revenue this year, Opas added.

Peoperty Perfect Plc’s chief executive officer Chainid Adhyanasakul said the company expects a presale total of Bt22.4 billion this year and revenue of Bt24.03 billion. It hopes to achieve Bt30 billion in revenue in the year 2020.

Despite high levels of investor interest, transaction volume in 2018 is, however, unlikely to match 2017 as fewer investment grade hotel assets are being put up in the market this year, according to property consultancy JLL.

Data from JLL’s Hotels and Hospitality Group shows 12 hotel assets were sold last year with a combined value of Bt17 billion. This is a 70 per cent jump from 2016 and is 39.7 per cent higher than the five-year average annual volume recorded between 2012 and 2016 of about Bt12.2 billion.

The project will be developed by a joint venture firm between AP (Thailand) Plc and Mitsubishi Estate Group, according to a company statement yesterday.

In addition, the company reported strong annual pre-sales of Bt34.9 billion, an increase of 39 per cent.

Projects launched increased by 105 per cent over the 2016 launches, again reaching an all-time record of Bt42.5 billion, and comprising 11 condominium projects worth Bt36.6 billion.

This put Ananda in the position of the largest launcher of condominium projects in 2017 in Thailand, according to a company press release.

The company also released a business plan for 2018. It expects transfers to grow by 152 per cent year-on-year and delivering the results the company expected as part of its “4 in 4 roadmap, 4 times bigger in 4 years” during which it expects to grow transfers over 400 per cent in the next 4 years from Bt15.1 billion in 2017 to Bt70 billion in 2021.

The residents sent a letter to the Singapore embassy requesting assistance in the dispute. They want Keppel Land to make design changes to the K5 Condominium project in Sukhumvit Soi 28 so that the structure conforms with Thailand’s Construction and Building Act.

“Since the company started a public hearing on the environmental impact assessment (EIA), we have asked it four times to revise the design to match with the landscape of the neighbourhood between Sukhumvit Soi 28 and Soi 30,” said Manit Sriwanichbhum, a representative of the local residents who will be affected by the project if construction proceeds as planned.

“That was after we saw that the project’s design did not follow the rules laid down in the country’s Building and Construction Act. But the company did not redesign the project and is going ahead regardless with the existing design for home sales intended for the overseas market.

“As a result, we have asked the Singapore government, with the contact with the Singapore embassy, to intervene when private companies from that country expand their investments in Thailand without adhering to Thailand’s planning laws.” He said the community’s input had been disregarded when residents spoke of their concerns at the public hearing for the EIA.

As the company did not amend the design of the project, the residents were forced to take the matter to the Singapore embassy, he said, adding that this action may finally sway Keppel Land to address the concerns raised by raised by the community.

The Nation yesterday has asked the management of KPN Land Co Ltd for a response to the demands of people in the Sukhumvit 28 community. But the management of KPN Land Co Ltd, a partner of Keppel Land Ltd on two luxury towers in Sukhumvit Soi 19 and Soi 28, declined to comment. The Sukhumvit projects are worth about Bt2.2 billion.

However, Keppel Land Ltd, which holds a 49 per cent stake in the joint venture firm and KPN Land Co Ltd, with 51 per cent, set up the joint venture to develop the two freehold condominiums projects since November 2017. The joint venture company is in the process of applying to get an environmental impact assessment and construction licence under a plan to start construction on both projects in the third quarter of this year.

The first site covers about 1,600 square metres in a prime residential enclave in Sukhumvit Soi 19.

The second project, covering 3,200 square metres, is in a well-established residential district in Sukhumvit Soi 28. It will yield about 265 units spread on about 30 floors, with a net saleable area of about 16,000 sq m.

Prakai said the investment plan includes developing the Club Med Kraabi Resort and Residences worth Bt3.8 billion on 100 rai in Krabi province. Three mixed-use projects combining hotels and residences are planned for Krabi, and Phuket from this year until 2021.