Viwat Lauhapoonrungsi, senior chairman of the board, said, “We do not only provide housing, but we also design the society, life and living conditions.”

Areeya is targeting total sales worth Bt14.37 billion, comprising horizontal projects worth Bt8.36 billion and vertical projects worth Bt6 billion.

The plan is to launch 11 new projects – 10 horizontal and 1 vertical – worth Bt7.92 billion and reduce cancellation rate by 5 per cent.

Areeya reported sales of Bt11.12 billion in 2017, up 39 per cent year on year with a cancellation rate of 29 per cent. Seven new projects worth Bt11 billion were launched in 2017.

In press release, the company says the project is situated on plot of land sized one rai, with only eight units priced from Bt28 million.

It claims the location is growing to become a “new CBD” and will become a “hub” once new mass-transit connections are completed.

The company is confident of closing sales quickly and is looking to continue this kind of development in other business zones, managing director Komson Vuthipongse said.

The company said in a statement that demand response is also high, especially in inner-Bangkok areas such as Phloen Chit–Chit Lom, Si Lom-Sathon, and inner Sukhumvit, where projects priced between Bt160,000 and Bt400,000 per square metre are typically able to close sales within three to four-and-a-half months.

Meanwhile, projects with prices between Bt130,000 and Bt160,000 per square metre in the middle Bangkok area, such as Phahon Yothin, Phaya Thai, Rama III and Ratchadaphisek, often close sales in just one month, the company said.

Condos priced between Bt130,000 and Bt200,000 per square metre in the outer Sukhumvit area are expected to close sales within five or six months, the company’s managing director, Anukul Ratpitaksanti, said.

The largest IKEA store, with a new design, will open on March 15 in Watergate. CPN is investing over Bt120 million in marketing budget to create ‘Expand Happiness – Have a Big Life’ campaign, supporting the growth and urbanised lifestyle in the Bang Yai/WestGate area, which is fast on its way to becoming the ‘West Business District’ (WBD), hoping to attract customer traffic of over 100,000 people per day to the shopping centre and the IKEA store.

Nattakit Tangpoonsinthana, CPN’s executive vice president/marketing, said CPN is committed to continuing the development of its shopping centres at high potential locations nationwide.

Bangkok and its suburbs remain the prime strategic locations, and intense competition can be seen. CPN sees the opportunities to penetrate into these high potential locations.

“We are the first major retailer to have developed mega projects in both eastern and western Bangkok as we foresaw the trend of urban growth spreading from the heart of the city to its outskirts. Today, our mega projects have achieved significant success. The most obvious example is CentralPlaza WestGate, the ultimate super regional mall in Southeast Asia, which is the best destination for everyone in the family and the largest gateway for western Bangkok. Today, if someone mentions the word ‘WestGate’, most people will think of Bang Yai and of us,” he said.

“The WestGate area has become a prime location, with great capacity in various aspects such as urbanisation, the size of the local population, purchasing power, over 40,000 residential project units, the government’s infrastructure projects and transport networks etc. Upon the arrival of IKEA Bangyai at CentralPlaza Westgate, CPN has been talking about plans to cooperate with IKEA since the start of the CentralPlaza WestGate development. It is a great honour that IKEA, the world-class furniture brand, has chosen to develop its best and newest design store to connect with our shopping centre. The new IKEA store is not only the largest and the latest design in Thailand, it is also the biggest IKEA store in Southeast Asia, with a total area of over 50,000 m2. It includes eight entrances and exits (connecting to CentralPlaza WestGate on three floors), with a total of 29 checkpoints located on every floor for shopping convenience. Convenient transportation connects all routes together: the MRT Purple Line, buses, a pier, the ring road, expressway and motorway. In addition, our shopping centre and IKEA both have parking areas that can accommodate each other’s customers.” Nattakit added.

He said that the partnership between CentralPlaza WestGate and IKEA Bangyai is creating the phenomenon of ‘Big Bang Magnets’ as each is a magnet with the potential to complement each other in three major aspects:

First, expanding target customer groups: the main customers of CentralPlaza WestGate and IKEA are families and the new IKEA store will help to attract more working people and modern-lifestyle teenagers. It will also widen the catchment area to cover upto 13 million target customers in Bangkok, Nonthaburi, Pathum Thani, Ayutthaya, Nakhon Pathom and Suphan Buri;

Second, CentralPlaza WestGate is outstanding in fulfilling all the needs and lifestyles of its customers as a ‘Center of Life’ that offers an extensive range of products and services. The arrival of IKEA will further extend the continuity of the seamless shopping experience through connecting points between the two shopping venues and customer journeys that complement each other. The customers can spend time, eat, drink and entertain themselves and continue on to look for home products and furniture shopping all on one trip.

Third, CPN will introduce the ‘Expand Happiness – Have a Big Life’ campaign to further complement its concept, which encourages everyone to ‘Have a Big Life’. CPN is holding special promotions together with IKEA by bringing signature events that will be held at the IKEA Bangyai opening ceremony to join CPN in the campaign. One such event is ‘Ninja Maze…The Big Adventure Presented by EST COLA’.

Called Walden Asoke, the residential condominiums can be bought in sizes from 31 to 65 square metres, with prices ranging from Bt5.9 million to Bt11 million per unit.

The developer said Walden Asoke was targeted at expatriate groups such as Japanese and Chinese as well as property investors.

Habitat Group chief executive officer Chanin Vanijwongse said on Monday that purchasers could expect capital gains of up to 6-10 per cent per year, with returns on rent being 4-6 per cent each year.

Pornrat Maneerattanaporn, executive vice president and sales director of Landy Home (Thailand) Co Ltd, said: “In the past year, the company generated sales of up to Bt1.2 billion or 25% growth, with the majority still in Bangkok Metropolitan region (80 per cent) while the remaining are located upcountry.”

She said up to 35 per cent of sales are from homes priced from Bt10 million and above.

“Therefore, we are aiming to further develop our Landy Luxury brand with integrated design and services to better serve our target customers in this year,” she said.

“The Luxury Vertical House project is an urban living solution concept for high-end customers looking to live in nearby central business centre locations. Each house in the project has a larger usage area than condominium, with passive design and more green area,” the company said.

All parts of the house can be exposed to natural wind and sun with a unique linkage design. Every house with over 700 square metres of living space has full facilities, such as a. private swimming pool, six-car parking space, for three generations living in a house at Bt39.9 million.

Lertmongkol Waravenuch, managing director of Deva Real Estate, said the Luxury Vertical House project is designed to meet the needs of extended families who want to live in a city with easy access to the CBD.

“With over 700 square meters of living space, each D8 house has a six-car parking space that can accommodate up to nine-car parking space with mechanic car park.

“Moreover, the project has more privacy with only six units available at Ekamai-Ramindra at the price of Bt39.9 million with full facilities such as elevator, swimming pool and private garden. The house owner would feel as if the owner of a mini condominium but no central expenses.

“In addition, the D8 project is characterised by passive design, wind direction, air flow and lighting that reaches each house area for can saving.

“The centre of the building is the location of a tree course which is the main court area the house. All bedrooms are designed to view this area. All bedrooms are designed to view this area.. Green areas are inserted into pocket gardens into each unit. The pool is designed to be on the top floor for privacy and a wider view and can be reached directly from the master bedroom – a penthouse style that bedroom and bathroom are connected by a large glass walkway making the area more attractive than other projects.”

Absolute Hotel Services Group has signed a management agreement with APUS (North Pattaya) Company Ltd, led by managing director Charlermphon Khoncham, to open U North Pattaya in 2020.

The 270-room property will consist of 150 deluxe residential units and 120 hotel rooms and also feature first-class facilities including an all-day dining restaurant and pool bar, a large swimming pool, a fully equipped high-tech gym, a garden, meeting and events spaces. The hotel is near Pattaya’s most famous attractions and well-appointed dining areas as well as the underdevelopment Terminal 21 shopping centre.

“Since starting the Absolute Hotel Services Group in 2008, the company has been growing fast, strong and diverse. We are experts in hotel management and now we’re approaching the hospitality lead residential sector. U North Pattaya is our third hotel in the Pattaya area and it highlights the company’s continuing success and the strength of the U brand. It’s a great time for me and my team,” said Wigley.

“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.