Tourists and ex-pats will have 4 new reasons to smile on Pattaya

There are four new projects in the works for the Pattaya area which will be beneficial to ex-pats as well. 

•    Firstly expats will be able to enjoy these venues and use them to entertain family and friends when they come to visit. 
•    Secondly these venues will help increase the value of their property. 
•    And finally these venues will help reduce Pattaya's image as only a sex tourist destination 

The four projects are worth a total of 2.23 Billion Baht worth of investment and are poised to open next year and include 

1. Kidzania 
2. Ramayan Water park
3. Amazon Falls Water Park
4. Siam World Art Company

Check out this article from the Bangkok Post:

     PATTAYA : Four projects in the tourism sector worth 2.23 billion baht that received Board of Investment (BoI) privileges are poised to open this year and next.

   The first is a Hong Kong investment of 550 million baht by the Kidzania Group, the world's fastest-growing edutainment brand, to set up Kidzania this December at Siam Paragon.

Kidzania is a role-playing activity where children aged 4-12 can try out different adult occupations.

The second project is a 900-million-baht Thai-Russian joint venture to set up Ramayana water park in Chon Buri's Sattahip district slated for next year.

The third is a 620-million-baht project by Pacific Shore Development to set up Amazon Falls Water Park. This joint venture between Hong Kong and Malaysia will be in Pattaya and is slated to open next year.

The last is a 162-million-baht project by Siam World Art Co to set up a cultural centre with investment from South Korea. The centre will be located in Pattaya exhibiting sculpture, paintings and Thai-Korean culture.

BoI secretary-general Atchaka Sibunruang said the board expects higher investment in the tourism sector, especially theme parks that will enable Thailand to compete with Hong Kong's Disneyland, Singapore's water park and Malaysia's theme parks. Amazon Falls will be the first water park in the world to use cartoon presenters.

The Ramayana is billed as the largest water park in Asia Pacific. Once these two open, they should attract investment in other areas, she added.

From 2007-12, a total of 23 projects applied for investment promotion in the tourism sector, totalling 3.48 billion baht.

Three projects totalling 1.47 billion baht were theme parks, four projects totalling 707 million baht were cultural centres, 12 projects worth 417 million baht were hiring boats for tourism, and three projects totalling 215 baht were tourist boat parking areas.

Dr Atchaka said the BoI is revising its promotion policies. The tourism sector will still be given a prominent place, but some adjustments might be made in terms of providing incentives for projects the government prioritises, such as theme parks and water parks.

To this point no global-scale theme park producers such as Disney or Universal have shown interest in investing in Thailand, said Dr Atchaka. Malaysia and Singapore provide many incentives to attract tourism projects, such as racing arenas, she said.

In the past the BoI provided incentives for a variety of tourism businesses, such as racing arenas, open zoos and electric hoists, but have not received any interest from business operators, said Dr Atchaka.

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31 Rai of land at Mabprachan Lake for sale!

Located near both Siam Country Clubs ( New and Old courses)
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What are the top 15 property firms in Thailand

With all the speculation going on about if Pattaya is getting over saturated with condo projects or even in Thailand i think this puts things in perspective. revenue is up 56% from the first half of the year and half of these property firms will be delivering their projects ready for transfer by the end of this year. Here's is Sept 3 article from "The Nation"

Fifteen listed property firms will show revenue from their condominium projects totalling at least Bt100 billion in the second half of this year, up 56 per cent from the first half thanks to transfers of completed condos to customers, according to research by Asia Plus Securities.

The research said 85 main condominium projects worth Bt179 billion developed by the top 15 listed property firms would be ready for transfer in the current half. These companies also have low-rise residences ready for sale, with transfers to customers in the second half worth Bt37.3 billion. Total backlog is worth Bt216.3 billion.

The top 15 property firms listed on the Stock Exchange of Thailand are Pruksa Real Estate, Land & Houses, Sansiri, Quality Houses, Asian Property Development, SC Asset Corporation, Supalai, Noble Development, Lalin Property, Property Perfect, LPN Development, Major Development, Sena Development, Raimon Land, and MK Real Estate Development.

"We target total revenue from their condominium backlog of at least Bt100 billion, or half of their condominium projects worth Bt217 billion, that will be completed and ready to transfer this year," the research said.

This will drive the net-profit margin of these companies to 15 per cent in the second half, better than the average 13.01 per cent in the second quarter of this year.

The top 15 reported total revenue of Bt63.9 billion in the first half, comprising Bt29.4 billion in the first quarter and Bt34.5 billion in the second.

They also showed net profit of Bt8.06 billion in the first half, Bt3.57 billion recorded in the first quarter and Bt4.49 billion in the second.

The total presales of the 15 companies covered by the research were

worth Bt54.3 billion in the second quarter compared with Bt50.5 billion in the first quarter, so overall in the first half they booked presales of Bt105 billion.

LPN Development managing director Opas Sripayak said it would book revenue of at least Bt10 billion in the current half of the year after transfer of its condominium projects to customers in the third and fourth quarters. They include Lumpini Park Rama 3-Riverside, Lumpini Ville Pattanakarn, Lumpini Ville Piboonsongkram-Riverview, Lumpini CondoTown North Pattaya-Sukhumvit, and Lumpini Ville Chaengwattana-Pakkret.

Property Perfect chief executive officer Chainid Ngowsirimanee said the company would have Bt3 billion worth of condominium projects ready to transfer to customers in the current half. This will drive its revenue to Bt12 billion by the end of the year.

Sansiri president Srettha Thavisin said it would have Bt15.8 billion worth of residential projects ready to transfer in the second half after the company delivered 3,185 units worth Bt10.16 billion in the first six months.

Asian Property Development has four condominium projects ready to transfer. They total 1,564 units worth Bt8.69 billion at The Address Sathorn, The Address Asoke, The Address Sukhumvit 61, and Aspire Srinakarin.

Most of the condo projects ready to transfer in the current half have been launched since 2010, the year.

The Securities and Exchange Commission will ban new property funds once REIT rules are enforced.

Looks like the rules are once again changing. The SET will be banning new property funds to replaced by real estate investments to both protect and draw investors. This article was in "The Nation" today and i found it interesting, hope you enjoy it!
The Nation

September 7, 2012 1:00 am

The Stock Exchange of Thailand expects more property funds to be launched before they are replaced by real estate investment trusts, which provide greater investor protection at the cost of lower returns.

Bt30 billion was raised through property funds in the first eight months of this year, which was a new record, Chanitr Charnchainarong, senior vice president, said yesterday.

New funds raised Bt27.4 billion while existing funds expanded by Bt2.59 billion. In 2010 and 2011, property funds raised only Bt8.59 billion and Bt14.46 billion.

"The value should rise further, through fund-raising by new and existing funds before the end of 2013," he said.

Developers are encouraged to launch property funds before the end of next year to attract investors, as dividends paid out by property funds to corporate and individual investors are not subject to withholding tax.

However, a year after the REIT law takes effect next month, they will be slapped with a 10-per-cent withholding tax.

For better protection of investors, all of REIT's properties will be held by banks as trustees. Property funds establish a juristic body to guard their properties.

The Securities and Exchange Commission will ban new property funds once REIT rules are enforced.

Expecting busy traffic until the deadline, the SET is urging developers wanting to take advantage of the current rules to seek free advice and prepare for the launching of their property fund.

At present, 39 property funds are listed with combined market capitalisation of Bt149.28 billion. Among the four entering the market this year was the Tesco Lotus Retail Growth Freehold and Leasehold Property Fund, which mobilised the biggest-ever amount - Bt18.4 billion.

The CPN Commercial Growth Property Fund is preparing for listing this month.

Caution on Condos in Pattaya

There has been much speculation in recent years regarding the condo boom around the Pattaya area...is it getting over built. I saw this article in the Bangkok Post todaystating smaller developers may run short on funds for completion of projects due to rising construction costs and Pattaya possible getting over built. Future prospective buyers are always advised to consult a lawyer and conduct their own Due Diligence. Best advice is to stick to the more established developers and consult with local real estate professionals. Here is the article:

Pattaya condos 'may not be built'

Home buyers must be extra cautious in purchasing condos in Pattaya as smaller developers are expected to face difficulties in actually starting construction of their projects, according to a major developer, SET-listed Raimon Land Plc (RML).

Reuters Photo

According to the latest Raimon Lands annual research publication Condominium Focus Thailand: Update for Inner-City Bangkok and Pattaya, 28,892 condo units are expected to be completed in Pattaya over the next three years.
However data gathered over the last one year (from the second half of 2011 to the first half of 2012) shows that 3,258 units have already been officially suspended.
Simon Derville, Raimon Land’s deputy vice president for business development said the majority of the units suspended tend to be low rise, 8-storeys high and without beach front or sea view, which makes it difficult to sell.
He forcasts that the number of development projects that would not be able to secure financing due to low pre-sales could reach up to 10,000 units over the next three years.
"If you are buying from someone you never heard of, you should definitely double check, ask a lot of questions and do our own due diligence," he said adding that buyers should find out if the developer actually owns the land if they have secure financing for construction and what their previous construction projects include.

Double wide shophouse with 14 rooms for rent

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