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Above:Workers demolish the ill-fated Hopewell pillars at a construction site for the Red Line mass transit route on Vibhavadi Road. The government plans to set aside a massive investment budget for new electric train routes in the coming fiscal year.

The government will include a 133-billion-baht investment plan for the construction of electric train routes, roads and water management in the 2016 fiscal year starting Oct 1. A budget for land expropriation of 2.74 billion baht to develop four electric train routes in Bangkok will be part of the plan, said Budget Bureau director Somsak Chotrattanasiri.

They are the Green Line’s Mor Chit-Saphan Mai-Khu Khot route, the Orange Line from Thailand Cultural Centre to Min Buri, the Pink Line from Khae Rai to Min Buri, and the Yellow Line from Lat Phrao to Samrong.

Water management projects worth 70 billion baht account for the largest portion of the investment budget in fiscal 2016. They include water management for 24.8 million rai of agricultural areas, increasing irrigation areas by 390,000 rai, expanding tap water areas and development of artesian water.

Above:A budget for land expropriation of 2.74 billion baht to develop four electric train routes in Bangkok will be part of the plan, said Budget Bureau director Somsak Chotrattanasiri.

The government plans to borrow 40-50 billion baht to fund water management projects, Mr Somsak said.

Road projects include 11 road networks, 735 roads connected with agricultural areas, 157 bridges and roads connected to the Si Rat-Outer Ring Road Expressway and the Uttaraphimuk Elevated Tollway.

To speed up disbursing investment budget for the 2016 fiscal year, the government has asked state agencies to prepare their procurement processes early to allow them to take out budget immediately when the budget law is proclaimed in the Royal Gazette.

Above:Road projects include 157 bridges and roads connected to the Si Rat-Outer Ring Road Expressway and the Uttaraphimuk Elevated Tollway.

State agencies will be able to issue procurement invitations after Aug 27 when the budget bill has passed the National Legislative Assembly’s second and third readings and awaits royal endorsement.

According to Prime Minister’s Office announcements governing procurement, state agencies are permitted to issue procurement invitations when they know the exact budget for such projects.

Public investment is expected to boost economic growth amid tepid exports, weak consumption and private investment sapped by high household debt and lost confidence in the economic outlook.

The government hopes that fast-tracked budget disbursement at the start of the next fiscal year will boost the economy in the final quarter.

Finance Minister Sommai Phasee has predicted that second half growth will be about 2.6%, softer than the first half and making full-year growth of 3% a challenge.

Above:Finance Minister Sommai Phasee has predicted that second half growth will be about 2.6%.

The government has set the 2016 budget at 2.72 trillion baht, with a deficit of 390 billion, representing 2.9% of GDP.

Mr Somsak said the Budget Bureau’s proposed bill on transferring undisbursed investment budget to the central budget would encourage state agencies to ramp up their disbursement on concerns that their budget will be chopped in the following fiscal years.

The Finance Ministry estimates that 85% of the 449-billion-baht investment budget set for this fiscal year ending Sept 30 will be taken out, below the 87% target, because around 10 billion or 2% of undisbursed budget is expected to be transferred to the central budget.

The top 10 state agencies in terms of budget allocation had struck deals worth 220 billion baht or 88% of the 250-billion-baht budget as of July 10. Almost all projects are expected to be signed by the end of this month.

Source: Bangkok Post

Above:Workers assembled cars at a Honda Motor (Thailand) plant in Ayutthaya.

Japanese firms operating in Thailand expect the local economy to improve in the second half of 2015 on the back of government expenditures and increasing automobile exports, the Japanese Chamber of Commerce Bangkok said.

According to a survey conducted by the JCCB, Japanese corporations in Thailand are most desirous of continuing political stability and security (67%) followed by the promotion of economic measures (66%) and an improvement in customs-related systems and implementations, JCCB official Masayasu Hosumi said at a press conference Tuesday.

In 2014, the government designated five special economic zones along the borders with Cambodia, Laos, Malaysia and Myanmar as part of a national strategy to stimulate economic growth, attract foreign investment, foster development of border areas and support Asean integration.

However, the survey found that only 4% of respondents are interested in the SEZs, while 56% are “not interested” and 29% saying they do not have adequate information.

The questionnaire was handed out from May 25 to June 15 to 1,620 members, of which 415 firms responded.

Source:Bangkok Post

Listed and non-listed property firms plan to launch new condominium projects in Bangkok and its suburbs worth more than Bt100 billion in the second half of this year after condo projects in those areas recorded total sales worth Bt101.4 billion in the first half of the year, up 72 per cent from the same period of last year.

Above:Joint venture between Sansiri Plc and BTS Group Holding plans to launch five new condominium projects, include The Line Sukhumvit 71.

“We have confidence that the demand to buy condominiums will see strong growth despite the slowdown in the country’s economic growth this year, thanks to the demand from the upper-income segment and foreign buyers interested in investing in Thailand’s property market,” Sansiri’s chief executive officer Apichart Chutrakul said.

Sansiri on its own plans to launch six condominium projects worth Bt12 billion in the second half of this year, while a joint venture between Sansiri Plc and BTS Group Holding plans to launch five new condominium projects worth Bt20 billion in the second half of this year.

Above:Apichart Chutrakul said he demand from the upper-income segment and foreign buyers interested in investing in Thailand’s property market.

Singha Estate’s chief residential development officer Nattavuth Mathayomchan said the company plans to launch its first condo project worth Bt4.5 billion on Asoke Road in August this year. The project will offer a price of Bt200,000 per square metre and will have 420 units.

“We decided to launch a condominium project in this location as we see strong demand in the market, especially from the upper income segment, both domestic and foreign buyers,” he said.

AP (Thailand)’s chief marketing officer Vittakarn Chadavimol said the company’s condominium projects had recorded total sales value of Bt11.3 billion in the first half of this year, up 70 per cent over the earlier estimate of Bt6.7 billion. As a result, the company has decided to launch four condo projects worth Bt11.9 billion in the second half of this year to boost condo presales to achieve Bt15 billion at the end of this year.

“Demand to buy condominiums is still growing despite the country’s economic slowdown thanks to the location close to the mass-transit system, which lures homebuyers to make the decision to buy,” Vittakarn said.

According to research by the Thai Condominium Association, new condo projects launched in Bangkok and its suburbs were worth Bt145.8 billion in the first half of this year, up 170 per cent from new condo projects worth Bt54 billion launched in the same period of last year.

The research also shows condo sales value in Bangkok and its suburbs recorded Bt101.4 billion in the first half of this year, up 71.8 per cent year on year.

In terms of condo units, 27,800 were sold in the first half of this year, up 26.9 per cent from 21,900 units in the same period of last year.

“The sales value of condominiums in Bangkok and its suburbs recorded strong growth in the first half of this year compared with the same period of last year because in the first half of 2014 the market faced political problems till the market dropped year on year. But in the first half of this year, because of the country’s political stability, it did not impact the demand for luxury condominiums, despite the country’s economic slowdown,” Thai Condominium Association president Prasert Teadullayasatit, who is also the managing director of condominium units of Pruksa Real Estate Plc, told The Nation.

He added that the main demand in the condominium market in Bangkok and its suburbs in the first half of this year came from the upper-income segment who bought condos priced at more than Bt5 million per unit.

Above:Demand to buy condominiums is still growing despite the country’s economic slowdown thanks to the location close to the mass-transit system, which lures homebuyers to make the decision to buy.

However, the luxury condo market has seen more speculators, who buy residential units for sale later. This may impact the market if they cannot transfer the condominiums when the units are ready. Normally, a condo unit that is sold this year will be completed in 2017-18, he said.

“We are not concerned about the transfer market this year, but we’re concerned about 2017-18, if there are a great number of speculators in the market. As a result, we have to warn developers to investigate and find out if their customers are investors or speculators. This will help reduce business risk in the future,” Prasert said.

Not only has there been strong growth in the demand for luxury condos, even the demand from lower and middle-income segments has continued to grow. LPN Development Plc has continued to maintain its business plan to launch seven new condo projects worth Bt15 billion in the second half of this year.

“We have continued to maintain our new project launches in the second half of this year, as we see real demand in this market segment,” LPN Development’s managing director Opas Sripayak said.

However, the company has to research the demand at a location before deciding to launch new projects. This is the way to reduce business risk, he added.

Following the number of new condo projects launched in the second half of this year, Prasert said the association had revised up revenue from condo sales in Bangkok and its suburbs from Bt148 billion to Bt180 billion this year, up 27 per cent year on year.

Source: The Nation

Above:More high-rise condos go up in Bangkok, but overall the number of new housing units coming on the market this year is down slightly on 2014, although the value is up 30%. (Bangkok Post file photo).

The number of new housing units launched on the market in Bangkok this year is expected to be down 1% on last year, but with the value up 30%, according to survey firm Agency for Real Estate Affairs.

Company president Sopon Pornchokchai said in the first half of 2015 a total of 56,548 new units were launched, 66% of which were condominium units, 22% townhouses, 8% single houses and the balance other types of residential property.

Above: Sopon Pornchokchai (right) said in the first half of 2015 a total of 56,548 new units were launched

Based on a survey of units launched in the first half of 2015, the company estimated 112,776 new units will be offered this year, compared with 114,094 in 2014. But the estimated value for 2015 is 449 billion baht, well up on 334.5 billion baht in 2014.

Mr Sopon said the overall figure was somewhat misleading, as the analysis showed that the number of properties priced at over 10 million baht was forecast to grow by 161% in 2015 to 6,154 units, compared with 2,355 units the previous year. The total value of this segment was estimated at 140 billion baht in 2015, up 281% from 36.78 billion baht in 2014.

He said the projection indicated that the market for high-end housing units was still good and the sluggish economy had no affected this group of buyers.

Above:Another segment with high growth is condominium units priced below one million baht each.

Another segment with high growth is condominium units priced below one million baht each. The company projected that 18,876 units of this size will be put on the market in 2015, up 82% from 10,385 units in 2014.

Mr Sopon said the low-end condominium units would serve the needs of low-income earners and some speculators, but sold well only in particular locations.

He said there are a total of 178,641 property units available for purchase in Bangkok and vicinity, or around 3.7% of the total 4.8 million housing units. Though the percentage is quite high, it is still lower than the 5% experienced during the 1997 economic crisis.

Source: Bangkok Post

Golden Emperor  hosted a Tokyo property seminar to share key information on why investors should invest in Tokyo and details on prime areas and relevant taxes and costs. A new prime project in the Minato area (walking distance from the Tokyo Tower) was showcased and over 200 clients attended and were offered exclusive choice units in the project.

Above: The representatives from the Tokyo developer provided a welcome note to our members who attended

Above: Over 200 members attended the weekend exhibition to find out more about investing in Tokyo properties