The solar panels will produce 7,000 watts to provide electricity for the bus stop, which includes a mobile phone charger using both USB and wireless systems, Sansiri Plc’s chief operating officer Uthai Uthaisangsuk said on Thursday.

The move is a part of the company’s “green business” concept.

This system is expected to reduce CO2 by 1,454 kilograms per year, equal to growing a 1.07-rai forest, and represents a decrease in electricity costs of Bt11,283 yearly.

The event has non-performing assets (NPA) for sale worth Bt132.528 billion in this event, with Bt92.528 coming from the NPA from commercial banks, with the next Bt40 billion from asset management firms, said Kitti Pattanapongpibul, chairman of Housing Finance Association, after the event’s grand opening on Thursday.

He said the banks and asset management firms have offered a discount of up to 50 per cent, as well as providing a 0 per cent interest rate for the mortgage loan.

“We expect sales at the event worth Bt3 billion and for deals made after the event being worth up to Bt10 billion,” Kitti said.

He added that the property market at this time has a supply surplus over demand, and that has forced an NPA price drop below the market price. This is the challenge homebuyers face while buying a residence at this time.

Executive director Marcus Burtenshaw also warned that tenants whose leases are expiring will face the problem of rising accommodation costs for the foreseeable future.

He said political uncertainty coupled with the US-China trade war has had a dampening effect on the Thai economy. The World Bank believes economic growth will fall to 3.5 per cent this year from 4.1 per cent the previous year.

Exports also contracted by 4 per cent in the first quarter 2019 – the first quarterly decline in three years – as the baht continues to appreciate against the US dollar.

Meanwhile, public investments in infrastructure, which have been identified as a major growth driver for the economy, slowed in implementation due to election-related delays. Nevertheless, low inflation, rising employment levels and rising recurrent fiscal spending are still boosting private investment and household consumption to close to their three-year high.

Knight Frank Thailand Research indicates that, in the second quarter, one new office building was completed outside the CBD. As a result, total supply in Bangkok increased by 46,000 square metres, to a total of 5,028,419sqm.

Despite slightly subdued occupier activity at the start of the year, market activity picked up considerably in the second quarter, as take-up increased to 67,083sqm from 37,974. A significant portion of the quarterly take-up occurred at the newly completed building, indicating tenants’ preferences for new supply. Although the take up is marginally lower Y-o-Y, it is still above the 10-year average of 51,997sqm.

Net absorption was positive at 5,910sqm in this quarter, increasing total occupied space to 4,575,121sqm. Despite the quarterly increase, total occupied space is still down Y-o-Y. Over the past 12 months, total supply increased by 30,190sqm, but total occupied space declined by 22,794. This suggests that annual demand was lower than supply.

Given the economic slowdown and lack of prime properties added to the CBD in the past year, current and potential tenants could be adopting a wait-and-see approach on any office relocation or expansion plans that they may have.

Overall market occupancy rate dropped to 91 per cent from 91.7 in Q2. Despite the slight decline, the market occupancy rate has remained relatively consistent. The rate has been within a healthy range of 91 per cent to 93 over the past five years, signalling a high level of stability in the market. CBD occupancy rates declined for three of the four areas sampled.

Only the Asok-Phrom Phong area, which also has the highest occupancy rate at 96.8 per cent, experienced no change in this quarter.

Outside the CBD, Asok-Petchburi has the highest occupancy rate at 93.8 per cent, despite having declined by 0.5 per cent Q-o-Q. The area maintains a high occupancy rate as a result of its close proximity to the CBD.

However, the company has maintained the expectation that demand will pick up throughout the rest of the year as a result of greater post-election political stability, albeit at a subdued level due to the current economic uncertainty and cautious outlook.

The office market response to the supply entering in the second half will be a key indicator of demand over the next few years. Given projections that supply will increase by 4.3 per cent annually from 2019 to 2023, occupancy rates will drop if demand lags behind supply.

If asking rents rise, it may occur at a slower pace as tenant bargaining power grows with increasing options of high-quality office space.

It notes fluctuations in the global economy, lower investor confidence and the government’s LTV measures introduced this year.

But Nexus also pointed out positive factors including the reduction of the policy interest rate, transfer fee and specific business tax, which is to boost demand in the last four months of 2019.

Managing director Nalinrat Chareonsuphong said this week the firm’s analysis of data in the property market indicated it has to cope with uncertainties for the remainder of this year.

The US-China trade war has caused the renminbi’s depreciation, which affects overseas Chinese investment, including in Thailand. The political chaos in Hong Kong has also affected investment sentiment in Thailand. And the baht’s appreciation has hiked property prices for foreigners.

However, Thais remain the main buyers of Thai property, while the global market might affect only 10-15 per cent of the overall property market here. Although it does not impact much on the property market, it definitely impacts on Thai capital market.

In addition to the global negative factors, there are some domestic factors including LTV measure and higher household debt are causes for concern.

Once the government announced the LTV measure to prevent speculation among real estate investors, mortgages shot up before it could take effect. The result was a drop in loan approvals in the second quarter. Unless this measure is eased, the sector might be unable to grow at the same pace as in the past few years.

Since LTV measure was effective, Nexus has found that residential property sector in all price ranges has been slowed because buyers have to reconsider their ability to retain mortgages. This is the reason mid- and large-sized developers have called for the government to alleviate such measure.

To cope with this issue, a lot of projects that were launched in second quarter have adjusted their marketing strategies.

However, the Bank of Thailand cut the policy interest rate by 0.25%, causing a positive effect for developers who can apply for loans with lower investment cost, while individual borrowers can retain mortgages at the lower rate.

Another positive factor is the new government is the same group as served in the previous military government, so they can carry on their investment policies including infrastructure, mass transit and the special economic zone.

“Although the market has some positive factors, the impact from negative factors is more solid,” said Nalinrat.

“Therefore, some measures to boost demand for the remainder of this year are advised. For example, a reduction of property transfer fee and specific business tax for the projects that are ready to transfer this year can help reduce cost for buyers who meet LTV conditions. The government can also give more discounts for such fees to help developers reduce their inventories, as well as consider privileges for the second-hand or resale market.

“In Bangkok, the second-hand market is not growing as much as it should, although buyers can get larger properties than in new projects at the same price and same location. If the government issues these measures, the market should be better.”

Nexus forecasts that developers will speed up release of their inventory according to real demand. Demand from foreigners might not be as high as the past two to three years, particularly from China and Hong Kong.

Developers tend to shift their investment into the long-term recurring income property businesses, for example, hotels, office buildings and investment in overseas.

Developers might sell off land that’s not generating income for them or switch from residential to recurring income-based projects.

The building is owned by Thunsrisiam Co Ltd, a merged organisation involving Mahatun Plaza and Srisiam Property Co Ltd, which operates Mahatun Plaza (Ploenchit) and Thai CC Tower (Sathon) buildings.

MS Siam Tower is a 38-floor office building with a panoramic views of the Chao Phraya river and the green space of Bangkrachao, known as Bangkok’s green lung.

“Currently, our project has been leased out 60 per cent, with major tenants including technology and food companies,” Korrawit Sawatyanon, Thunsrisiam’s general manager, said,

“It was constructed based on an environmental-friendly concept as proven by its LEED – Gold certification (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) from the US. This concept could effectively address the needs of tenants that require large space due to the flexibility of having knock-out panels in the building design. Organisations who require smaller space also have options as they can lease 100-square-metre offices in a premium building at a lower price.”

MS Siam Tower is efficiently located on a 7.1 rai plot of prime land with useable areas of approx. 43,000 sq m, including 40,000 sq m of office space and around 3,000 sq m of retail space. It has office floor plates of 1,200-1,300 sq metres with a ceiling height of 2.80 metres The project was completed in the first quarter of this year.

The absorption rate in and around Rama 3, meanwhile, was about 5 units per project per month and Minburi in Outer Bangkok zone has earned a ‘safe’ label with remaining units expected to be sold within 9 months – faster than the average rate. These areas were still seeing healthy demand growth and balanced absorption of stock, and oversupplying was still limited to specific locations. At the same time, property developers were exercising caution when launching new projects, and have been adjusting their planning to better suit the economic condition.

The company’s deputy managing director, business strategies and asset management Suwannee Mahanarongchai said that the tightening of regulatory measures by the public sector and the constant monitoring of the real estate market by the Bank of Thailand have resulted in stringent loan approval criteria by commercial banks. This strictness meant that the percentage of non-performing loans over the past 5 years stood at about 3 per cent, which was not high.

“Our view is that there is very little chance of a bubble crisis occurring in the real estate sector, in a manner similar to that in 1997. Nonetheless, the current situation of real estate has given rise to concerns about oversupply at some locations. Certain localities have seen a continuously increasing number of project launches over the previous 4-5 years, and the number of unsold units in the market increased accordingly. Developers have tried to rebalance their investments by placing emphasis on selling and transferring ownerships at projects that were completed from late last year until the first quarter of this year. As a result, sales figures from these projects outperformed the average figure for the past 4-5 years,” said Suwannee.

Based on surveys of the condominium market in Greater Bangkok by Plus’s research and development division, which took into consideration and made comparisons of data on demand, supply, time required to make sale, and the number of unsold units over the past 5 years, it was determined that only certain localities were experiencing oversupply.

A survey of the market over the first 6 months of 2019 discovered that 77,379 units of residential properties remained unsold, whereas the figure in 2018 was 79,671 units. Zone-based classification of figures, based on market surveys in the first half of 2019, reveals that 10,453 units remain unsold within the Inner Bangkok zone. These units are expected to take 12 months to be sold off (assuming no additional project launches within this zone). The locality whose property market was still balanced was the Phloenchit-Chitlom-Lang Suan area, with only 645 units remaining unsold, and they are expected to take 10 months to be sold off. The Middle Bangkok zone has 14,662 unsold unit and the expectation is for all the rooms to be sold off within 16 months (assuming no additional project launches within this zone). The absorption rate at the Rama 3 locality – where 1,981 units remained unsold – was 5 units per project per month. The absorption rate was an improvement of 17 per cent compared to the past 5 years’ average.

For the Outer Bangkok zone, 52,264 units remained unsold. The units are expected to take 21 months to be sold off (assuming no additional project launches within this zone). Demand growth was found at the Min Buri area where 8,690 units remained unsold; these are expected to be sold off within 9 months – faster than the average rate for the Outer Bangkok zone.

“Developers have been analysing data and making tactical revisions to reduce running the risk of oversupplying in the condo market. It has been observed that, overall, supply was being balanced with demand, in the zones with new products injection. It is believed that the market will reach a balanced condition in the long-term if developers exercise caution by placing emphasis on releasing their old stock and take the care to evaluate the situation in order to properly determine the correct timing for new project launches. The government’s recent relaxation of the LTV measure, by means of loosening the criterion for co-borrowing, should enable the property market to proceed into a brighter direction. The situation warrants monitoring and possible economic stimulus measures by the government in this latter half of the year must be watched for,” Suwannee said.

The agreement covers the purchase by GESAC of 56 rai and a three-year lease on a 4,700-square-metre ready-built-factory at WHA ESIE 1 where it can start production while its own plant is under construction on the purchased land.

GESAC’s total investment will be Bt2.5 billion over the next three or four years.

Established in 1989, GESAC is one of the Xiamen Tungsten Group’s core subsidiary corporations. It specialises in the manufacture and sale of various kinds of tungsten powder, cemented carbide and cutting tools.

“This double agreement is the perfect illustration of WHA Group’s ability to offer a total solution package to local and international investors,” said Jareeporn Jarukornsakul, WHA Group’s chairman and group chief executive.

“Our collaboration with WHA Group is a significant step in our company’s international development,” said GESAC general manager Jiang Tao. “WHA ID’s valuable expertise in industrial management and operations, great customer service and reliability, coupled with WHA ESIE 1’s excellent infrastructure with state-of-the-art utilities and power supply, were instrumental in our decision to establish our presence in Thailand.

“Being at the centre of the Eastern Economic Corridor makes it the perfect location for our operations.”

WHA Eastern Seaboard Industrial Estate 1 (WHA ESIE 1) is located in Chonburi and Rayong provinces.

Thirty kilometres from the Laem Chabang deep seaport and Sri Racha city, it has 8,003 rai (1,280 hectares) with easy access from Highway 3574.

Opened in 2006, WHA ESIE 1 now counts over 103 customers representing 164 contracts, for a total investment topping US$6.5 billion. As one of the corridor’s industrial promotion zones, it embraces automotive manufacture, plastics and polymers, metal fabrication, electronics, building materials, agricultural and consumer products and logistics.

The company’s president Sopon Racharaksa said this marks the coming together of two leading real-estate developers, adding that FPT now possesses a full range of capabilities across multiple-asset classes, giving it an added competitive edge with a bigger network of customer touchpoints and greater flexibility to optimise the use of its land and properties.

“We look forward to achieving synergies between both companies to extend our horizon of long-term sustainable growth. With enhanced access to the enlarged talent pool and reputable partners, we are confident of turning FPT into Thailand’s leading provider of integrated real-estate platform,” he said.

In addition to this, FPT recently announced the first nine months of the 2019 fiscal year (October 1, 2018 to June 30, 2019) hit a new high since the injection of new capital by Frasers Property in 2016. The nine-month revenue of Bt4.707 billion exceeded its past record, rising Bt2.419 billion or 106 per cent from the same period of the previous fiscal year. Net profit also grew to Bt1.038 billion, an increase of Bt474 million or 84 per cent year on year. The occupancy rate of FPT’s factory and warehouse spaces currently stand at 81 per cent, he said.

Apart from this, FPT is the sponsor and manager of Thailand’s largest industrial real-estate investment trust (REIT), Frasers Property Thailand Industrial Freehold and Leasehold REIT (FTREIT), which is focused on industrial and logistics properties in Thailand. Currently, FTREIT has assets worth over Bt36 billion.

In July 2019, FPT raised Bt3.269 billion in a private placement, which boosted its investor base, improved its free float, and more importantly, strengthened its balance sheet flexibility for future expansion.

He added that the companies are aligned on an ambitious plan to grow the Standard footprint to 25 hotels in the next five years. The plan is to open four in Thailand, namely Koh Samui, Phuket, Pattaya and Hua Hin, as well as one each in Milan, Paris, Lisbon, Bordeaux, Mexico City, Jakarta, Melbourne and Chicago.

Sansiri first invested in Standard International in November 2017, and since then, it is taken part in developing a growth plan that capitalises on global travel and lifestyle trends, Wanchak said.

The global hotel market is expected to double its growth rate with hotel revenues estimated to growth 7.8 per cent annually over the next five years. The lifestyle and boutique hotel segment, where The Standard is positioned, is the fastest growing segment in the industry. As such, Sansiri is confident in and has, in principle, approved Sansiri Inc’s acquisition of a 21.76 per cent stake in Standard International Holdings for an investment of US$40.45 million (Bt1.24 billion).

Amar Lalvani, CEO of Standard International, said The Standard was much more than just a hotel brand, because it also offers guests authentic experiences in design, art, music, fashion, food and nightlife, which differentiates it from other brands. He said the Standard blends its cultural DNA with the local community’s culture and lifestyle in each property it opens.

“Most boutique hotel brands get stuck, no matter how good their product is, given their inability to build the necessary global infrastructure to scale. Standard International has successfully put the pieces in place since the investment from Sansiri and now sits at the ideal inflection point from which to grow. We have a celebrated and proven brand, strong investor base, global infrastructure and a robust secured pipeline,” Lalvani added.

Wherever it is located, The Standard transforms local neighbourhoods, creates jobs and grows micro-economies by becoming a cultural and social anchor of the communities.

The first project with Sekisui Chemical is for single detached houses built under the modular system at Masterpiece Sukhumvit 77 worth Bt962 million while the second is for single detached houses at Lake Legend Chaeng Wattana with starting prices of between Bt19 million and Bt60 million.

Wongsakorn added that the developments were expected to boost revenue during the last quarter of 2019. The company earlier announces total revenue of Bt10 billion and net profit Bt1.13 billion for the first half of this year, up 14.8 per cent and 225 per cent respectively over the same period last year.