Phuket land holdings all legal, office insists

       The Phuket Land Office says it is unable to determine if any land on the resort island is registered on behalf of foreigners in the name of proxies.
       However, an executive at the office,who asked not to be named, yesterday said the office could confirm that all land on the island was legally owned by Thais.
       He said all land title deeds had been issued legally.
       The Thailand Research Fund released a research paper on Sunday in which it claimed about 90% of beach property in Phuket was controlled by foreigners through their Thai proxies.
       It said foreigners' land holdings in Phuket were the most concentrated on Patong and Rawai beaches.
       Foreigners were also said to control most of the land in prime tourism areas in Chiang Mai and Rayong provinces.
       Local officials and legal experts have helped clear the way for foreign investors to take control of the country's rice farms and property in resort provinces,the research found.
       The official at the Phuket Land Office said about 140,000 land title deeds had been issued for land in Phuket. About 90,000 of these were for land in Muang district, up to 40,000 in Thalang district and about 12,000 deeds in Kathu district,which covers Patong.
       Patong deputy mayor Chairat Sukkhabal said all land ownership in his municipality was legal.
       "I insist that in Patong, Thai nationals own 98% of beach land, while the other 2% is co-owned by Thais and foreigners," he said.
       Mr Chairat said most hotels in Patong were owned by local well-to-do families,such as the Ekwanichs, Yitengs, Pachanthabuts, Keesins, Somnams, Jirayus and Tantiwits.
       All land on Patong beach belongs to Thais, he said, but some foreigners had married Thais and started up tourism businesses on the land together.
       "They [foreigners who have married Thais] have the right to do this. They can develop the land into business premises, but they cannot take the land away.
       "Thai shareholders are required to take part in the management of the businesses they co-own."
       Prices of land in Patong municipality,a popular tourist attraction in Phuket,are just as high as they are in the Silom and Sukhumvit areas in Bangkok, Mr Chairat said.
       Investors in Patong tended to put their money into hospitality businesses,ranging from restaurants and beer bars to hotels.
       The officer at the land office said land in the Patong area was priced at more than 80,000 baht a square wah,or over 30 million baht a rai. All the land in prime areas such as Thaweewong Road and on Patong beach had been scooped up.