NOBLE DEVELOPMENT LIFTS LAND PIRCHASES

       Property firm Noble Development has revised its plans for investment in enw land plots and will spend Bt1.6 billion this year instead of the original figure of Bt1 billion, as it belives there will be significant economic recovery in the fourth quarter.
       President Thongchai Busrapan said now was a good time to be building up a "land bank" for developing residential projects next year. Land prices have stabilised but could rise once the economy shows clear signs of recovery.
       "We belived after the end of this year, land prices may increase following an economic recovery and a start to investment in the government's mass-transit projects. So we've increased our budget for buying land from Bt1 billion to Bt1.6 billion this year," he said.
       Meanwhile, the company's inventory of finished properties has fallen from its recent average value of Bt8 billion or Bt9 billion to Bt5.6 billion at the end of the first half of the year. This is one of the reasons it has increased its budget for buying land.
       "Our presales speeded up beyond our estimates in the first half, and this has forced us to increase our land bank to develop residential projects next year," he said.
       Noble Development spent bt600 million on undeveloped land plots in the first half and has now set aside a further Bt1 billion to spend on land in the final third of the year. The money will come from the company's cash flow, Thongchai said.
       The focus of its land purchases will be close to Bangkok's existing masstransit system and some locations near the new rail routes.
       Nobel Development is planning to launch a new condominium project in the fourth quarter following successful presales for Nobel Reform, a project located close to Aree Skytrain Station on Phaholyothin Road. The project was sold out within five days of opening for bookings.
       The company has also succedded in preselling 100 of the 110 units at a townhouse project on Srinakarin Road.
       Thongchai said Noble Development would launch four or five residential projects next year, which would boost sales growth at least 10 per cent.
       The company achieved first-half revenue of Bt1.27 billion for a net profit of Bt189.53 million. It believes its full-year revenue meet the target of Bt2.5 billion, up 4.16 per cent from Bt2.4 billion last year.
       Thongchai said revenue would be even higher next year, because the company would transfer residential projects, including Novel Solo and Nobel Remix, to customers early in the year.
       At present, Nobel Development has a backlog of projects that have been successfully presold for Bt3.3 billion. This sum will become revenue once cosntruction of the projects is complete and the units are transferred to customers next year and in 2011.