News

Having been successful as a global destination for pick-up truck and small car production, Thailand has been for some time now looking to jump start the development of a green car industry churning out hybrid, electric and hydrogen vehicles. The Kingdom’s Board of Investment (BoI) will discuss plans for the development of EVs at a meeting led by Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha on March 24.

Next-generation cars is one of 10 strategic industries Thailand is focusing on as it tries to shift to a high-tech, innovation-based economy. The others are smart electronics; affluent, medical and wellness tourism; agriculture and biotechnology; food; robotics for industry; logistics and aviation; biofuels and biochemicals; digital; and medical services.

Deputy PM Somkid Jatusripitak said the meeting will discuss details of five- and 10-year plans for the EV industry. “We will finalise a plan that will serve as a guideline for related industries, offering a timeline for our EV development plans,” he said.The Thai government will have to set the ball rolling by dangling attractive carrots to carmakers, and the BoI’s incentive package is expected to include perks such as a 15-year corporate income tax holiday. If investors spend on R&D, they can ask for financial support from the government, which will set up a 10 billion baht competitiveness fund for the purpose.

The reason why carmakers haven’t been knocking on Thailand’s door to pour in EV investment is the lack of demand for such advanced cars. But Somkid is confident that this will change soon, predicting that demand for EVs will grow within the next five years because of fuel price fluctuation and the public’s concern for the environment.“If car manufacturers do not act now regarding EVs, they will be left behind. Development of the segment takes time, and the faster the better,” he said, adding that BMW – which currently makes plug-in hybrids in Thailand – has expressed interest in building a battery facility in Thailand. Mercedes-Benz is also considering a PHEV battery factory there.

Separately, industry minister Uttama Savanayana told the Federation of Thai Industries (FTI) that the government will soon announce a new investment package to support investment in EVs. “The government plans to set up talks with the FTI in April to announce government policies and support to be given to the private sector to encourage them to start real investment, especially in EV cars,” he said.

Thailand has set up the Eastern Economic Corridor (EEC) as a special location to accommodate investment in the 10 targeted industries. Investors in the targeted fields enjoy the highest privileges if they set up shop in the EEC. Thailand is also reducing personal income tax for researchers to 17%, which is low for the region.Instead of resting on its car production laurels, the “Detroit of the East” is laying the groundwork for the future.

source:paultan.org

Limited new office supply in Bangkok is expected to drive up rental prices by between 5 per cent and 9 per cent this year, according to a survey by CBRE (Thailand).CBRE’s research also anticipates that the tight office-supply situation will continue in 2018 and 2019, while the supply situation from 2020 onwards will depend on how many developers start construction on new office projects this year.CBRE Research, reports that although office supply in Bangkok has expanded by 140,000 square metres, vacancy has continued to fall to 8 per cent and rents are therefore expected to rise by 5-9 per cent this year, depending on location and grade.

New office supply under construction is limited, with only 225,000 square metres due to be completed this year, and 167,000 square metres due for completion in 2018.This has led to tenants having to sign leases in new buildings even before construction has been completed, according to CBRE Research.Bangkok had a large surplus of office space supply for many years, meaning that tenants had a wide variety of space in completed buildings, and did not need to commit to buildings while they were still under construction, the company said.

However, the office-vacancy rate dropped, for the first time since the early 1990s, to below 10 per cent in 2013, and has continued to fall since, limiting tenants’ choices in existing buildings, and particularly in the best-quality central-business-district (CBD) developments with direct access to mass transit.Moreover, the choice of available space for large users in completed buildings is even more limited, and there are currently no completed CBD grade-A office buildings with more than 5,000 square metres on consecutive floors, CBRE said.

Meanwhile, property agency Knight Frank has announced the results of its “Asia-Pacific Office Occupier Survey 2016/17”,carried |out among more than 200 companies located in Asia-Pacific spanning across eight industries: consulting;consumer products; finance/accounting/ legal;manufacturing/ agriculture;pharmaceutical/ biotechnology/ healthcare; petroleum/ energy; public sector/ non-government organisations; and technology and communication.

rcus Burtenshaw, head of Commercial, Knight Frank Thailand, said 2016 had been a difficult year for many businesses around the region, and this was reflected by the findings in its survey.“Faced with economic uncertainty and increased competition this year, more respondents to our survey chose rent as their most important building-selection criteria than ever before, putting cost control ahead of image and accessibility.

Source:The Nation

As per the Ministry of resolution, Vietnam’s tourism sector targets to attract 20 million international visitors and 82 million local holiday-makers with revenue of US$35 billion.The tourism industry is expected to contribute over 10 percent to the nation’s gross domestic products (GDP) and offer 4 million jobs.

A meeting in Ho Chi Minh City to implement a Politburo ‘s resolution to develop tourism into a key industry and a diective isued by the city’s Party Committee to boost HCMC’s tourism sector by 2020 yesterday, tourist agents, restaurants, and hotels put forward initiatives and measures for the tourism sector’s growth in the future.Speaking at the opening ceremony, Standing Deputy Secretary of the Party Committee of Ho Chi Minh City Tat Thanh Cang stressed that tourism is a service industry which HCMC can combine with other provinces to offer sustainable tourism.

Additionally, through tourism, international visitors will understand more about Vietnamese culture. All agencies must join hand in developing the industry not only the tourism sector; for instance, police officers must ensure social order and security for tourists and local administrators must take care of visitors in the provinceDirector of Saigontourist Company Vo Anh Tai said that the government should have referential policies on land use and facilitate visa paperwork to attract more international travelers.

In addition, HCMC needs to have more night tourist attractions along with river tours; accordingly, the city must invest in landscape in riversides and wharf systems.HCMC Party Chief Dinh La Thang thanked initiatives from enterprises to make the sector into one of the key industries.

Source：vietnamnet

Vietnam’s ultra-rich population is growing faster than any economy in the world, and is on track to continue leading the growth in the next decade, based on a new international research.The Wealth Report by the U.K.’s independent real estate consultancy Knight Frank found there are 200 ultra high net worth individuals (UHNWI) in Vietnam, who are defined as people with investable assets of at least $30 million, excluding personal assets and property such as a primary residence, collectibles and consumer durables.

UHNWIs are the richest people in the world who control a disproportionate amount of global wealth.

In Vietnam, this super rich group has grown by 320 percent between 2000 and 2016, the fastest in the world compared to India’s 290 percent and China’s 281 percent, the report said.The number is expected to continue rising to 540, or by 170 percent, in 2026, the highest growth rate in the world. Millionaires in Vietnam are expected to jump to 38,600 from 14,300 over the same period.

Andrew Amoils, Head of Research at the global wealth intelligence and market research firm New World Wealth, highlighted Vietnam as the market whose “stellar” growth rate is set to reinforce “dramatic growth” of the super-rich population in Asia.“We expect Vietnam’s millionaire numbers to be boosted by strong growth in the local healthcare, manufacturing and financial services sectors,” Amoils was quoted in the report as saying.

It also cited World Bank remarks as describing Vietnamese economy with “remarkable” transformation over the last 25 years, with economic and political reforms translating into higher incomes. The bank has projected Vietnam’s average GDP growth of around 6 percent annually until 2020.

Knight Frank report reflects considerable variation between UHNWIs growth rates in different regions and countries, due to local factors that underpin wealth creation and the mobility of ultra-wealthy people.The number of ultra-wealthy people is predicted to climb by an average of 12 percent over the next decade in Europe, compared with a forecast 91 percent growth in Asia.The number of ultra-wealthy people worldwide, which has grown 42 percent over the past decade, is expected to grow another 43 percent to 275,740 in 2020.

Souce:vnexpress

The BTS Group and Sansiri launched their latest joint-venture project in the heart of the new transportation hub of Bangkok. In partnership with BTS Group and Sansiri, Golden Emperor launched THE LINE Phahon Pradipat last weekend, this project situated in close proximity to the future transportation and high speed rail hub of Bangkok. Our clients in Hong Kong had first pick of units, and over 700 customers attended over the weekend.

Above: Over 700 investors attended the weekend exhibition.

Above: Terence Chan, Director of Golden Emperor, provided a presentation on the Bangkok property market.

Above: Our clients in Hong Kong had special offer during this event.