Property tycoon Boon Vanasin recently unloaded shares in Piyavate Hospital to Red Bull owner Chaleo Yoovidhya so he can focus more on hospital investment in China.
"China will be my latest country for investing in healthcare. I believe revenue from that industry in that country will exceed revenue from all of my businesses in Thailand, both healthcare and property, within five years," Boon said.
He said he spent much of his time in China now, overseeing construction of his hospitals. Despite the opportunities afforded by the world's most populous country, investment in China is quite difficult for foreigners, and so he finds he must be on hand there.
Boon's hospital arm, the Thonburi Hospital Group, sold its entire 40-per-cent stake in Piyavate Hospital, although he maintains his personal 5-per-cent holding and remains a director.
The group generates annual revenue of Bt3 billion from 17 hospitals, while Boon's property business generates about Bt2 billion per annum.
Boon's foreign-investment arm, WJ International Healthcare, is constructing three Chinese hospitals at a combined cost exceeding Bt1 billion, with a different Chinese partner for each one: the military, the Foreign Ministry and the Red Cross Society of China.
Boon plans to open three hospitals a year in China, serving mainly foreigners.
He said the Thonburi Hospital Group agreed to sell its shares in Piyavate Hospital roughly five months ago, obtaining Bt400 million from the deal. The money will go towards the Bt900-million expansion of Thonburi Hospital 1 and Thonburi Hospital 2.
The group will spend Bt400 million to build new outpatient and inpatient buildings at Thonburi Hospital 1, after which capacity will double in the outpatient building to serve 3,000 patients a day, while inpatient beds will increase 25 per cent to 500.
A budget of Bt500 million has been earmarked for a new outpatient building at Thonburi Hospital 2 that can serve 1,500 outpatients daily, up from 800 now.
Boon said another reason for selling the Piyavate shares were his and Chaleo's conflicting opinions on the business's direction. He wanted to embark upon a major Bt2-billion upgrade of Piyavate, in order to make it more competitive with other private hospitals, but Chaleo wants the 16-year-old hospital to grow more slowly.
Boon resigned as Piyavate's chairman but signed an agreement with Chaleo retaining the right to become Piyavate Hospital's major shareholder within three years. If he does return in that capacity, he may let his heirs hold the stake.
Piyavate CEO and president Nithi Mahanonda said Chaleo planned to bring in more doctors from several fields, cut unnecessary costs and make the most beneficial use of the hospital's facilities. After five years of losses, the hospital is expected to post a net profit next year, with revenue increasing 15 per cent.
Nithi expects revenue of Bt1 billion this year, up 25 per cent from last year. The company will book a net loss estimated at Bt60 million, an improvement from last year's Bt300-million loss.
Piyavate expects to take six years to clear its accumulated losses of Bt800 million.
Nithi said with the transaction, Chaleo's children and grandchild now hold 75 per cent of the hospital's registered capital of Bt2.1 billion, while 19 per cent is held physicians.
He said Piyavate had spent nearly Bt200 million on renovating its building and would increase the number of beds from 100 to 150 within six months. It is also adding more full- and part-time physicians to attract more patients, especially foreigners, who are higher margin.
Piyavate plans to become a top-five private hospital in the near future.
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
Nominees will need to find "real" Thai partners, says JFCCT
Foreign firms using Thai nominees to hold property should restructure their holdings and seek Thai partners to legalise their investments, said Patima Jeerapaet, chairman of the property committee of the Joint Foreign Chambers of Commerce in Thailand (JFCCT).
The Thai partner should be a "real investor" that will withstand scrutiny by authorities, said Mr Patima, also the managing director of the property consultant Colliers International Thailand.
The Commerce Ministry will scrutinise the financial position of any Thai partner in an investigation, he warned.
"If the government takes serious action on nominee scrutiny, it should give the wrongdoers a grace period to adjust. It might take up to two years as six to 12 months is too short for thousands of [suspected] nominee firms," he said.
There are an estimated 10,000 nom-inee firms nationwide in all businesses.A number of nominee firms exist in the property market, said Mr Patima.
"Just imagine how many nominees there are for condominium projects where the foreign quota is full, or for villas, in which foreigners cannot hold land, in tourist destinations. Each unit has a shell company to hold it for a foreign buyer," he said.
The Department of Business Development (DBD) began checks on sus-pected nominee firms in 2008 but only at random in the first year to get an overview. Now it is preparing to do more in-depth checks, working with the Lands Department, the Department of Special Investigation (DSI), provincial governors and Commerce Ministry offices in 20 major provinces and tourist destinations.
Mr Patima said the checks would be a problem for current nominee firms,not new ones.
"If nominee firms holding a property cannot find a Thai investor, they need to sell that property. Forced selling might mean 30-40% lower prices. Therefore,the sooner the restructuring, the less risk of legal action. In the worst-case scenario, property will be seized by the Lands Department," he said.
"Foreigners now are really panicked.But they need to familiarise themselves with the changes. Everybody always resists change, so the beginning could be a struggle."
However, the government should facilitate foreign property investment by extending the leasehold period from 30 years to 30 plus 30 years during registration, he said. Penalties for nominee firms should be strengthened with a minimum fine of 20,000 baht and a jail termwithout probation, he added.
The JFCCT this week presented a paper to the government explaining why the leasehold period should be extended and how it would be easy to change.
The Thai partner should be a "real investor" that will withstand scrutiny by authorities, said Mr Patima, also the managing director of the property consultant Colliers International Thailand.
The Commerce Ministry will scrutinise the financial position of any Thai partner in an investigation, he warned.
"If the government takes serious action on nominee scrutiny, it should give the wrongdoers a grace period to adjust. It might take up to two years as six to 12 months is too short for thousands of [suspected] nominee firms," he said.
There are an estimated 10,000 nom-inee firms nationwide in all businesses.A number of nominee firms exist in the property market, said Mr Patima.
"Just imagine how many nominees there are for condominium projects where the foreign quota is full, or for villas, in which foreigners cannot hold land, in tourist destinations. Each unit has a shell company to hold it for a foreign buyer," he said.
The Department of Business Development (DBD) began checks on sus-pected nominee firms in 2008 but only at random in the first year to get an overview. Now it is preparing to do more in-depth checks, working with the Lands Department, the Department of Special Investigation (DSI), provincial governors and Commerce Ministry offices in 20 major provinces and tourist destinations.
Mr Patima said the checks would be a problem for current nominee firms,not new ones.
"If nominee firms holding a property cannot find a Thai investor, they need to sell that property. Forced selling might mean 30-40% lower prices. Therefore,the sooner the restructuring, the less risk of legal action. In the worst-case scenario, property will be seized by the Lands Department," he said.
"Foreigners now are really panicked.But they need to familiarise themselves with the changes. Everybody always resists change, so the beginning could be a struggle."
However, the government should facilitate foreign property investment by extending the leasehold period from 30 years to 30 plus 30 years during registration, he said. Penalties for nominee firms should be strengthened with a minimum fine of 20,000 baht and a jail termwithout probation, he added.
The JFCCT this week presented a paper to the government explaining why the leasehold period should be extended and how it would be easy to change.
NEW YEAR STARTING TO LOOK BRIGHT FOR DEVELOPERS
While Western investors are not looking at the Thai property market right now because they are still resolving their own serious economic problems, others have taken their place, such as Asian investors from Singapore, Hong Kong,China and India who have begun assessing opportunities here, according to Longlom Bunnag, chairman of Jones Lang LaSalle Thailand.
He said Singaporeans are becoming more active here because the island state managed to recover from the downturn last year much faster than most anticipated.
"We have started to see a few Singaporean investors looking to buy in Thailand, but their expected return on investment is higher than pre-2008," said Mr Longlom.
Also focussing on Thailand right now are investment funds based in Chian, Hong Kong and other Chinese territories. That Chinese investment is now flowing into Southeast Asia is clearly because the Asian giant is doing so well economically, said Mr Longlom.
He observed that while Chinese investors tend to expect lower yields than Singaporeans,for instance, this is mainly because they are short-term players who heavily focus on liquidity and exit strategies.
They are certainly not looking to hold their properties for seven to 10 years, as longer-term investors do.
His property agency has also seen Indians move into Thailand with an eye on investing in Phuket, although they are not much interested in Bangkok. However, he added, Middle Eastern investors who were previously active here have kept silent since the global economic crisis erupted.
Mr Longlom urged the public to continue watching the global economy closely, because in this day and age communication is instantaneous, and affects decision-making by all concerned parties, including property developers and lenders.
"React quickly, in the sense that if you think there might be a sign of a dip, then act accordingly. Likewise if you think there is a sign of a boom to come."
Within the property industry it is the hotel segment which has been hurt the most by the global economic crisis, with the volume this year expected to be around 50% of what was achieved in 2007.
Clearly this is so because hotels are closely linked to foreign income since the majority of their guests are from other countries. Even so, Mr Longlom does not expect the recovery to take five years, as was the experience after the 1997 Asian crash. One reason for his optimism is that many hotels built up a financial cushion during the many good years prior to the 2008 economic shake-up. Aside from this, the government is also helping the industry, with banks having been instructed to assist hotel borrowers as well as small and medium enterprises.
Mr Longlom fired a broadside at those who are spreading word that the hotel industry is going to collapse. He said this is totally irresponsible and creating unnecessary panic.
He particularly faulted a recent report that said 22 hotels in Bangkok are up for sale.
"It's very irresponsible to go around saying things like that. I think whoever gave that interview should issue a note of apology."
He is also worried about the impact of the recent injunction suspending 76 industrial projects at Map Ta Phut in Rayong.
"I am not very clear what exactly the problem is, but I was told that 50% is to do with pollution.
"However, these 76 projects did not create the pollution as they are not operational yet.It was caused by existing plants."
Regarding the overall performance of the property industry Mr Longlom expects the market to do quite well in the new year because of pent-up demand from early 2008 onward, with the first half of this year being particularly dreadful.
"If politics becomes more stable and there are no glitches on the political front, I think next year will be a good year for the residential market."
His agency is seeing encouraging activity in property development, with strong players now moving to buy land for new projects.Except for a few deals there is not much discount in land transactions in the built-up areas of the city and nearby zones such as Bang Yai.
Prices of plots near the skytrain and subway lines are expect to rise next year as bidding is anticipated to become more intense.
End-users will continue to benefit from a softer market from now until the end of March, when tax benefits end. However they are not getting huge discounts like the 40-50%witnessed in 1998 and 1999.
Where the investment market is concerned,Mr Longlom said all sectors, including office,retail, serviced apartments, apartments for rent and logistics and warehouse are seeing healthy occupancy rates.
His agency expects a good number of investors to look for opportunities to buy investment-grade properties from now until next year.
Turning to office buildings, Mr Longlom said these investors are looking for a return of 7-8% per annum for those classified as Aand 5.5-7% for those a notch up, in the A bracket.
Where condominiums are concerned the anticipated return is 5-7% depending on the building location and age, plus whether or not the units are fully furnished.
The desired yield for logistics and warehouses is higher, at 9-11%, because these are very specific properties that meet special needs and therefore more difficult to find tenants.
The yield investors would require for leasehold retail outlet is also 9-11%. Most retail buildings in Bangkok are located on leasehold plots, Mr Longlom said. These leases are generally for 30 years and this drives up development costs.
He said Singaporeans are becoming more active here because the island state managed to recover from the downturn last year much faster than most anticipated.
"We have started to see a few Singaporean investors looking to buy in Thailand, but their expected return on investment is higher than pre-2008," said Mr Longlom.
Also focussing on Thailand right now are investment funds based in Chian, Hong Kong and other Chinese territories. That Chinese investment is now flowing into Southeast Asia is clearly because the Asian giant is doing so well economically, said Mr Longlom.
He observed that while Chinese investors tend to expect lower yields than Singaporeans,for instance, this is mainly because they are short-term players who heavily focus on liquidity and exit strategies.
They are certainly not looking to hold their properties for seven to 10 years, as longer-term investors do.
His property agency has also seen Indians move into Thailand with an eye on investing in Phuket, although they are not much interested in Bangkok. However, he added, Middle Eastern investors who were previously active here have kept silent since the global economic crisis erupted.
Mr Longlom urged the public to continue watching the global economy closely, because in this day and age communication is instantaneous, and affects decision-making by all concerned parties, including property developers and lenders.
"React quickly, in the sense that if you think there might be a sign of a dip, then act accordingly. Likewise if you think there is a sign of a boom to come."
Within the property industry it is the hotel segment which has been hurt the most by the global economic crisis, with the volume this year expected to be around 50% of what was achieved in 2007.
Clearly this is so because hotels are closely linked to foreign income since the majority of their guests are from other countries. Even so, Mr Longlom does not expect the recovery to take five years, as was the experience after the 1997 Asian crash. One reason for his optimism is that many hotels built up a financial cushion during the many good years prior to the 2008 economic shake-up. Aside from this, the government is also helping the industry, with banks having been instructed to assist hotel borrowers as well as small and medium enterprises.
Mr Longlom fired a broadside at those who are spreading word that the hotel industry is going to collapse. He said this is totally irresponsible and creating unnecessary panic.
He particularly faulted a recent report that said 22 hotels in Bangkok are up for sale.
"It's very irresponsible to go around saying things like that. I think whoever gave that interview should issue a note of apology."
He is also worried about the impact of the recent injunction suspending 76 industrial projects at Map Ta Phut in Rayong.
"I am not very clear what exactly the problem is, but I was told that 50% is to do with pollution.
"However, these 76 projects did not create the pollution as they are not operational yet.It was caused by existing plants."
Regarding the overall performance of the property industry Mr Longlom expects the market to do quite well in the new year because of pent-up demand from early 2008 onward, with the first half of this year being particularly dreadful.
"If politics becomes more stable and there are no glitches on the political front, I think next year will be a good year for the residential market."
His agency is seeing encouraging activity in property development, with strong players now moving to buy land for new projects.Except for a few deals there is not much discount in land transactions in the built-up areas of the city and nearby zones such as Bang Yai.
Prices of plots near the skytrain and subway lines are expect to rise next year as bidding is anticipated to become more intense.
End-users will continue to benefit from a softer market from now until the end of March, when tax benefits end. However they are not getting huge discounts like the 40-50%witnessed in 1998 and 1999.
Where the investment market is concerned,Mr Longlom said all sectors, including office,retail, serviced apartments, apartments for rent and logistics and warehouse are seeing healthy occupancy rates.
His agency expects a good number of investors to look for opportunities to buy investment-grade properties from now until next year.
Turning to office buildings, Mr Longlom said these investors are looking for a return of 7-8% per annum for those classified as Aand 5.5-7% for those a notch up, in the A bracket.
Where condominiums are concerned the anticipated return is 5-7% depending on the building location and age, plus whether or not the units are fully furnished.
The desired yield for logistics and warehouses is higher, at 9-11%, because these are very specific properties that meet special needs and therefore more difficult to find tenants.
The yield investors would require for leasehold retail outlet is also 9-11%. Most retail buildings in Bangkok are located on leasehold plots, Mr Longlom said. These leases are generally for 30 years and this drives up development costs.
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
US in new move to aid housing market
The United States unveiled on Monday a new plan to boost the beleaguered housing market, helping support low mortgage rates and expanding resources for cash strapped borrowers to own or rent homes.
The two-pronged plan will involve a bond purchase programme to support new lending by housing finance agencies and a temporary credit and liquidity programme for the agencies to finance outstanding bonds.
"This initiative is critical to helping working families maintain access to affordable rental housing and home ownership in tough economic times," said Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner.
"Through the years, many low and moderate income Americans have been well served by state and local HFAs (housing finance agencies), but the housing downturn has hit these organisations too," he said.
Through the new initiative, Geithner said, President Barack Obama's administration aimed to help the agencies "jumpstart new lending" to borrowers and better support financing costs of their current programs -"key components in stabilising the housing market overall."
The cost of the new initiative is not immediately available but the government said in a statement that the plan would provide "hundreds of thousands of affordable mortgages for working families and enable the development and rehabilitation of tens of thousands of affordable rental properties.
"It will do this at little or no cost to the taxpayer because it is paid for by the HFAs themselves and, as a temporary program, it incentivises HFAs to transition back to market sources of capital as quickly as possible," said the statement issued by the Treasury and two government housing-related agencies.
The new plan is expected to be launched next month, Treasury Deputy Secretary Michael Barr said.
The programme is an offshoot of legislation passed by lawmakers last year to cushion the collapse of the housing industry, epicentre of a financial crisis that dragged the United States into its worst recession in decades.
The government move on Monday to help the housing market came ahead of the expiration next month of a $8,000 tax credit for first-time home buyers,part of various programmes costing billions of dollars to rescue the troubled housing market.
Lawmakers from both Obama's Democratic party and the Republicans party are keen for an extension of the tax credit which if approved would further increase the ballooning federal government deficit.
Barr said that it was "still too early to say" when the authorities could begin unwinding the housing support programmes.
The two-pronged plan will involve a bond purchase programme to support new lending by housing finance agencies and a temporary credit and liquidity programme for the agencies to finance outstanding bonds.
"This initiative is critical to helping working families maintain access to affordable rental housing and home ownership in tough economic times," said Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner.
"Through the years, many low and moderate income Americans have been well served by state and local HFAs (housing finance agencies), but the housing downturn has hit these organisations too," he said.
Through the new initiative, Geithner said, President Barack Obama's administration aimed to help the agencies "jumpstart new lending" to borrowers and better support financing costs of their current programs -"key components in stabilising the housing market overall."
The cost of the new initiative is not immediately available but the government said in a statement that the plan would provide "hundreds of thousands of affordable mortgages for working families and enable the development and rehabilitation of tens of thousands of affordable rental properties.
"It will do this at little or no cost to the taxpayer because it is paid for by the HFAs themselves and, as a temporary program, it incentivises HFAs to transition back to market sources of capital as quickly as possible," said the statement issued by the Treasury and two government housing-related agencies.
The new plan is expected to be launched next month, Treasury Deputy Secretary Michael Barr said.
The programme is an offshoot of legislation passed by lawmakers last year to cushion the collapse of the housing industry, epicentre of a financial crisis that dragged the United States into its worst recession in decades.
The government move on Monday to help the housing market came ahead of the expiration next month of a $8,000 tax credit for first-time home buyers,part of various programmes costing billions of dollars to rescue the troubled housing market.
Lawmakers from both Obama's Democratic party and the Republicans party are keen for an extension of the tax credit which if approved would further increase the ballooning federal government deficit.
Barr said that it was "still too early to say" when the authorities could begin unwinding the housing support programmes.
Wednesday, October 14, 2009
NO RISE IN MORTGAGE RATES OVER REMAINDER OF THIS YEAR
Home-loan rates would not rise at least for the rest of this year as banks could still able to source cheap funds, a banking chief said yesterday.
"Banks may raise deposit rates to draw more funds but overall funding costs are still low, so it would not affect lending rates," Khan Prachuabmoh, president of the Government Housing Bank, the country's largest mortgage lender.
While developers have more confidence in the real estate outlook for the next six months, house prices actually dropped last quarter for the second time in a row, he told a press conference.
Banks are also expected to lend more to homebuyers this quarter after they were cautious in the first half of the year.
GH Bank has targeted Bt100 billion in new loans and as of Tuesday, it was at Bt74 billion.
Developers are more optimistic now after their confidence in the fourth quarter of last year hit the lowest point since the fourth quarter of 2007, he said.
The Expectations Index rose to 69.9 in the third quarter from 62.2 in the previous quarter.
Listed firms had higher confidence, as their expectations index was at 75.9 while non-listed firms were at 64, according to 150 firms surveyed by the Real Estate Information Centre (REIC).
Looking six months ahead, the Expectation Index remains at 69.9.
Respondents reported high confidence for generating a profit, increasing sales volume, starting new investments, employing more workers and launching projects. They, however, are concerned about the rising cost of doing business.
New residential registrations in greater Bangkok in the first eight months of this year reached 54,029, increasing slightly by 2 per cent from the same period last year.
Condominiums accounted for 49 per cent of registrations followed by singlefamily homes at 36 per cent, townhouses at 9 per cent, commercial buildings at 4 per cent, and duplexes at 2 per cent.
Although interest rates are low, speculation was not a big concern.
"Prices of condos have not yet increased sharply, in the same way that happened before the 1997 crisis. Developers and homebuyers have learned their lesson," he said.
High fuel costs and the expansion of the mass transit system have led to a boom in vertical residences, he added.
Samma Kitsin, director of the REIC, said the survey found that land and housing prices in Bangkok, Patum Thani, Nonthaburi and Samut Prakan had dropped further last quarter.
Singlefamily homes in inner Bangkok have lost favour as their prices have continued to climb.
Homebuyers have turned to condos, townhouses and singlefamily homes in the suburbs, resulting in a lower average price for all resiฌdential units, he said.
The Housing Price Index (HPI) for singlefamily homes dropped by 6.2 per cent to 160.2 from the previous quarter and by 9 per cent year on year.
The HPI for townhouses dropped 2.3 per cent on quarter and 3 per cent on year, while the land price index was down by 3 per cent on quarter and 1.3 per cent on year.
Prices next year could go both up and down depending on the market segment. For the lower and middle-income groups, home prices would be about Bt1 million, Bt1.2 million or not more than Bt3 million.
Low-cost housing promoted by the Board of Investment would to some extent cause other developers to cut their prices, he added.
"Banks may raise deposit rates to draw more funds but overall fundign costs are still low, so it would not affect lending rates."
"Banks may raise deposit rates to draw more funds but overall funding costs are still low, so it would not affect lending rates," Khan Prachuabmoh, president of the Government Housing Bank, the country's largest mortgage lender.
While developers have more confidence in the real estate outlook for the next six months, house prices actually dropped last quarter for the second time in a row, he told a press conference.
Banks are also expected to lend more to homebuyers this quarter after they were cautious in the first half of the year.
GH Bank has targeted Bt100 billion in new loans and as of Tuesday, it was at Bt74 billion.
Developers are more optimistic now after their confidence in the fourth quarter of last year hit the lowest point since the fourth quarter of 2007, he said.
The Expectations Index rose to 69.9 in the third quarter from 62.2 in the previous quarter.
Listed firms had higher confidence, as their expectations index was at 75.9 while non-listed firms were at 64, according to 150 firms surveyed by the Real Estate Information Centre (REIC).
Looking six months ahead, the Expectation Index remains at 69.9.
Respondents reported high confidence for generating a profit, increasing sales volume, starting new investments, employing more workers and launching projects. They, however, are concerned about the rising cost of doing business.
New residential registrations in greater Bangkok in the first eight months of this year reached 54,029, increasing slightly by 2 per cent from the same period last year.
Condominiums accounted for 49 per cent of registrations followed by singlefamily homes at 36 per cent, townhouses at 9 per cent, commercial buildings at 4 per cent, and duplexes at 2 per cent.
Although interest rates are low, speculation was not a big concern.
"Prices of condos have not yet increased sharply, in the same way that happened before the 1997 crisis. Developers and homebuyers have learned their lesson," he said.
High fuel costs and the expansion of the mass transit system have led to a boom in vertical residences, he added.
Samma Kitsin, director of the REIC, said the survey found that land and housing prices in Bangkok, Patum Thani, Nonthaburi and Samut Prakan had dropped further last quarter.
Singlefamily homes in inner Bangkok have lost favour as their prices have continued to climb.
Homebuyers have turned to condos, townhouses and singlefamily homes in the suburbs, resulting in a lower average price for all resiฌdential units, he said.
The Housing Price Index (HPI) for singlefamily homes dropped by 6.2 per cent to 160.2 from the previous quarter and by 9 per cent year on year.
The HPI for townhouses dropped 2.3 per cent on quarter and 3 per cent on year, while the land price index was down by 3 per cent on quarter and 1.3 per cent on year.
Prices next year could go both up and down depending on the market segment. For the lower and middle-income groups, home prices would be about Bt1 million, Bt1.2 million or not more than Bt3 million.
Low-cost housing promoted by the Board of Investment would to some extent cause other developers to cut their prices, he added.
"Banks may raise deposit rates to draw more funds but overall fundign costs are still low, so it would not affect lending rates."
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
NEW PROJECTS UP FOR DELIBERATION
Another batch of projects worth Bt240 billion will be submitted for Cabinet approval today amid new reports of graft involving the government's second stimulus package.
Finance Minister Korn Chatikavanij yesterday said he would today propose the Cabinet expand the second stimulus package from Bt1.06 trillion approved earlier to about Bt1.3 trillion, to be implemented over three years.
The ministry will also ask the Cabinet to increase investment projects under an emergency borrowing fund by more Bt50 billion, leading to planned total spending next year of up to Bt350 billion, he said.
An improvement in government revenue in recent months leaves more money available for investment, he said.
The ministry plans to disburse the first tranche of funds for at least 85 per cent of the projects, he said.
New projects ecpected to be included in today's proposal are the Bt40 billion farm price-guarantee scheme, Bt23 billion supplementary budget to support local governments and Bt3 billion housing fund know as Baan Mankhong for people living in slums.
The projects under Thai Khemakhaeng already approved by the Cabinet worth Bt200 billion would be implemented during this and next year, he said.
In response to complaints about corruption, the ministry has opened a website at www.tkk2555.com to reveal details of all projects to the public. People can also report irregularities in the investment projects via publicwatch@tkk2555.com.
Korn yesterday met with senior officials to discuss the transparency of the public investment projects.
The next phase of investment will focus on economic restructuring. The bill to finance it with Bt400 billion loans is in Parliament.
The next phase will be put into rail projects to improve the logistics system, aimed at lowering logistics costs from 20 per cent of gross domestic product to about 15 per cent.
The ministry will soon ask the Cabinet to consider another package to develop the capital market, which includes tax incentives, Korn added.
In response to alleged corruption, the ministry has opened a wedsite at www.tkk2555.com to reveal details of all projects to the public. People can also report irregularities inthe investment projects via publicwatch@tkk2555.com.
Finance Minister Korn Chatikavanij yesterday said he would today propose the Cabinet expand the second stimulus package from Bt1.06 trillion approved earlier to about Bt1.3 trillion, to be implemented over three years.
The ministry will also ask the Cabinet to increase investment projects under an emergency borrowing fund by more Bt50 billion, leading to planned total spending next year of up to Bt350 billion, he said.
An improvement in government revenue in recent months leaves more money available for investment, he said.
The ministry plans to disburse the first tranche of funds for at least 85 per cent of the projects, he said.
New projects ecpected to be included in today's proposal are the Bt40 billion farm price-guarantee scheme, Bt23 billion supplementary budget to support local governments and Bt3 billion housing fund know as Baan Mankhong for people living in slums.
The projects under Thai Khemakhaeng already approved by the Cabinet worth Bt200 billion would be implemented during this and next year, he said.
In response to complaints about corruption, the ministry has opened a website at www.tkk2555.com to reveal details of all projects to the public. People can also report irregularities in the investment projects via publicwatch@tkk2555.com.
Korn yesterday met with senior officials to discuss the transparency of the public investment projects.
The next phase of investment will focus on economic restructuring. The bill to finance it with Bt400 billion loans is in Parliament.
The next phase will be put into rail projects to improve the logistics system, aimed at lowering logistics costs from 20 per cent of gross domestic product to about 15 per cent.
The ministry will soon ask the Cabinet to consider another package to develop the capital market, which includes tax incentives, Korn added.
In response to alleged corruption, the ministry has opened a wedsite at www.tkk2555.com to reveal details of all projects to the public. People can also report irregularities inthe investment projects via publicwatch@tkk2555.com.
Sunday, October 11, 2009
German funds may invest as much as C12 billion
German real-estate mutual funds may invest as much as Euro12 billion (Bt590 billion) in the next two years as cash levels rise and falling prices make properties more affordable, CB Richard Ellis Group said.
The 47 open-ended funds available to German savers have about Euro7.5 billion of cash or equivalent assets available to spend immediately on real estate, according to a report published by the Los Angeles-based property broker's London research team. That may rise by Euro4.5 billion if debt is included and cash keeps coming in at current levels, it said.
German savers, attracted by an average annual return of 5 to 6 per cent, poured Euro3.04 billion into the funds in the first eight months of the year, according to the nation's asset-management body, BVI. The funds made about Euro1.65 billion of acquisitions in Europe during the first nine months, taking advantage of two years of falling property values, CB Richard Ellis estimated.
"Many funds see this as an opportunity to re-enter the markets from which they ahve recently been priced out," Iryna Pylypchuk, an analyst at CB Richard Ellis, said in the report. "Paris can be singled out as one of the markets to attract particularly high levels of interest at the moment."
Union Investment Real Estate, owned by the country's cooperative banks, said on September 25 that it had bought French investment bank Natixis's headquarters building in Paris for Euro177 million. Two days earlier, Commerz Real said it had paid Euro72 million for the base of PPR SA's books and music retail unit. FNAC.
Those two asset managers, along with DEKA Immobilien Investment, are the most active, with about Euro6 billion between them to spend, CB Richard Ellis estimates.
The dunds favour hotels and shopping centres and are also increasing the size of their investments in properties to about Euro100 million in the third quarter from Euro65 million in the first half, the property adviser said.
The 47 open-ended funds available to German savers have about Euro7.5 billion of cash or equivalent assets available to spend immediately on real estate, according to a report published by the Los Angeles-based property broker's London research team. That may rise by Euro4.5 billion if debt is included and cash keeps coming in at current levels, it said.
German savers, attracted by an average annual return of 5 to 6 per cent, poured Euro3.04 billion into the funds in the first eight months of the year, according to the nation's asset-management body, BVI. The funds made about Euro1.65 billion of acquisitions in Europe during the first nine months, taking advantage of two years of falling property values, CB Richard Ellis estimated.
"Many funds see this as an opportunity to re-enter the markets from which they ahve recently been priced out," Iryna Pylypchuk, an analyst at CB Richard Ellis, said in the report. "Paris can be singled out as one of the markets to attract particularly high levels of interest at the moment."
Union Investment Real Estate, owned by the country's cooperative banks, said on September 25 that it had bought French investment bank Natixis's headquarters building in Paris for Euro177 million. Two days earlier, Commerz Real said it had paid Euro72 million for the base of PPR SA's books and music retail unit. FNAC.
Those two asset managers, along with DEKA Immobilien Investment, are the most active, with about Euro6 billion between them to spend, CB Richard Ellis estimates.
The dunds favour hotels and shopping centres and are also increasing the size of their investments in properties to about Euro100 million in the third quarter from Euro65 million in the first half, the property adviser said.
GOVT TO RENEW TALKS WITH ASSEMBLY OF POOR, PM VOWS
Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva will renew talks with the Assembly of the Poor in the next two weeks to solve their problems, he said yesterday.
Members of the assembly met the prime minister at a learning centre in Phibun Mangsahan district, also the assembly's headquarters in the Northeast. He handed over a 1.2 million baht cheque to farmer Grandma Hai Khanjantha for the loss of opportunity she suffered over 32 years, after her land was submerged by the Huay La Ha reservoir, built as part of a new dam.
"I will hold talks with you [the Assembly of the Poor] in the next two weeks.
PM's Office Minister Sathit Wongnongtoey accompanied the prime minister to the province.
Mr Abhisit said he had asked Mr Sathit to oversee the assembly's problems.
The government was drafting a regulation on community land title deeds,allowing communal use of state land,he said.
To solve the plight of farmers generally, the government and assembly met for talks three times in June and July.
"The government has succeeded in solving only the case of Grandma Hai.Other problems have yet to be solved,"said Sawat Uppahat, a member of the assembly.
The problems include a drastic drop in the number of fish in the Moon River caused by construction of the Pak Moon Dam in Khong Chiam district,and land disputes between villagers and state agencies. Sompong Viengchan, a villager hit by construction of the dam, said the government should order the Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand to open the dam's sluice gates permanently to let fish from the Mekong River come in.
At the moment it opens four months a year.
"We want our lives back. The dam has ruined our livelihoods for over a decade," said Mrs Sompong.
Farmers wanted the government to provide 15 rai of land for each family and grant them compensation.
Thongcharoen Srihatham, another member of the assembly, warned the prime minister not to use the people's problems as a political tool to seek votes. Shortly after the prime minister left, about 1,000 red shirt protesters rallied at the centre. They swore, burned a coffin, and threw a bag of fermented fish at his poster.
Members of the assembly met the prime minister at a learning centre in Phibun Mangsahan district, also the assembly's headquarters in the Northeast. He handed over a 1.2 million baht cheque to farmer Grandma Hai Khanjantha for the loss of opportunity she suffered over 32 years, after her land was submerged by the Huay La Ha reservoir, built as part of a new dam.
"I will hold talks with you [the Assembly of the Poor] in the next two weeks.
PM's Office Minister Sathit Wongnongtoey accompanied the prime minister to the province.
Mr Abhisit said he had asked Mr Sathit to oversee the assembly's problems.
The government was drafting a regulation on community land title deeds,allowing communal use of state land,he said.
To solve the plight of farmers generally, the government and assembly met for talks three times in June and July.
"The government has succeeded in solving only the case of Grandma Hai.Other problems have yet to be solved,"said Sawat Uppahat, a member of the assembly.
The problems include a drastic drop in the number of fish in the Moon River caused by construction of the Pak Moon Dam in Khong Chiam district,and land disputes between villagers and state agencies. Sompong Viengchan, a villager hit by construction of the dam, said the government should order the Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand to open the dam's sluice gates permanently to let fish from the Mekong River come in.
At the moment it opens four months a year.
"We want our lives back. The dam has ruined our livelihoods for over a decade," said Mrs Sompong.
Farmers wanted the government to provide 15 rai of land for each family and grant them compensation.
Thongcharoen Srihatham, another member of the assembly, warned the prime minister not to use the people's problems as a political tool to seek votes. Shortly after the prime minister left, about 1,000 red shirt protesters rallied at the centre. They swore, burned a coffin, and threw a bag of fermented fish at his poster.
Wednesday, October 7, 2009
Developers pool around New Phetchaburi Road
The new developer Pool Assets Co plans a 1.8-billion-baht condominium on New Phetchaburi Road. Thru Thonglor will join projects worth an estimated 10 billion baht at the popular location.
"Our brand is new but the location,product, design and reliability of the project is sellable," said managing director Kitimet Kittiakkarapat.
"Our price is competitive and we expect to have sales of 60% by the end of the year. Then, we will raise the prices by at least 5%."
Thru Thonglor will be located an a three-rai plot near the Thong LorPhetchaburi junction which the developer acquired for 360 million baht.
The 35-storey building will feature 515 condo units and 18 commercial units priced between 59,000 to 100,000 baht per square metre.
Ocean Life Insurance will extend a 600-million-baht credit line to Pool Assets. Construction is scheduled to start in March 2010 and be completed by June 2012, he said.
Kitisak Jampathipphong, chief executive of the property broker Century 21 Realty Affiliates Thailand, the project's marketing and sales consultant, said New Phetchaburi Road from Makkasan to Thong Lor was becoming popular due to the upcoming Airport Link.
Land prices near Soi Asok are about 330,000 to 380,000 baht per square wah and 280,000 baht per sq wah near Thong Lor junction. Within two years, property developments worth a combined 10 billion baht will be built. New developments would include four-star hotels, B-grade office buildings and mid-priced condominiums, said Mr Kitisak.
Pool Assets was established in September 2008 with registered capital of 500 million baht. It is equally held by Mr Kitimet and Sombat Sangratkanjanasin,managing director of the small developer Srichai International Co and owner of the ice-cube producer Asia Ice Group.
Mr Sombat had co-invested with Thamrong Panyasakulwong, owner of the budget-condo developer Nirun Group, in Station Land Co Ltd. They launched The Station Sathorn-Bang Rak condominium on Charoen Krung Road a few years ago.
"Our brand is new but the location,product, design and reliability of the project is sellable," said managing director Kitimet Kittiakkarapat.
"Our price is competitive and we expect to have sales of 60% by the end of the year. Then, we will raise the prices by at least 5%."
Thru Thonglor will be located an a three-rai plot near the Thong LorPhetchaburi junction which the developer acquired for 360 million baht.
The 35-storey building will feature 515 condo units and 18 commercial units priced between 59,000 to 100,000 baht per square metre.
Ocean Life Insurance will extend a 600-million-baht credit line to Pool Assets. Construction is scheduled to start in March 2010 and be completed by June 2012, he said.
Kitisak Jampathipphong, chief executive of the property broker Century 21 Realty Affiliates Thailand, the project's marketing and sales consultant, said New Phetchaburi Road from Makkasan to Thong Lor was becoming popular due to the upcoming Airport Link.
Land prices near Soi Asok are about 330,000 to 380,000 baht per square wah and 280,000 baht per sq wah near Thong Lor junction. Within two years, property developments worth a combined 10 billion baht will be built. New developments would include four-star hotels, B-grade office buildings and mid-priced condominiums, said Mr Kitisak.
Pool Assets was established in September 2008 with registered capital of 500 million baht. It is equally held by Mr Kitimet and Sombat Sangratkanjanasin,managing director of the small developer Srichai International Co and owner of the ice-cube producer Asia Ice Group.
Mr Sombat had co-invested with Thamrong Panyasakulwong, owner of the budget-condo developer Nirun Group, in Station Land Co Ltd. They launched The Station Sathorn-Bang Rak condominium on Charoen Krung Road a few years ago.
Tuesday, October 6, 2009
Thanapat taps into TV show
Thanapat Property Development is using the Superstar reality TV programme to build brand awareness and close sales of its housing project on Rama III Road by the end of the year.
Deputy managing director Piyaporn Yothaprasert said the company would spend 10 million baht for the event to promote its Thanapat Haus brand to fans of the popular show after focusing earlier on direct sales at the site.
The 30-rai site on Rama III Road has 245 townhouses on lots from 17-60 square wah and priced from 5.49 million to 20 million baht with a total sales value of 1.7 billion baht. Currently, it has 30 units left for sale.
She said that by the end of the year,the company expected to realise 2 billion baht in revenue from sales of 500 units.
Deputy managing director Piyaporn Yothaprasert said the company would spend 10 million baht for the event to promote its Thanapat Haus brand to fans of the popular show after focusing earlier on direct sales at the site.
The 30-rai site on Rama III Road has 245 townhouses on lots from 17-60 square wah and priced from 5.49 million to 20 million baht with a total sales value of 1.7 billion baht. Currently, it has 30 units left for sale.
She said that by the end of the year,the company expected to realise 2 billion baht in revenue from sales of 500 units.
Housing prices rise in United Kingdom
House prices in the United Kingdom rose for a fifth month in September as a lack of homes for sale helped the property market to erase its losses of the past year, Nationawide Building Society said.
The average cost of a home increased by 0.9 per clent to 161,816 pound (Bt8.63 million), the mortgage lender said. Prices have noe fallen 13 per clent since a peak in October 2007, and they are at a level last seen at the time of Lehman Brothers Holdings's collapse last year.
The report adds to signs that Britain is pulling out of its worst economic slump in at least a generation as consumer confidence improves and mortgage approvals pick up. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) last week raised its forecast for economic growth in the UK next year, saying the housing lmarket is now stabilising.
"The most intense phase of the recession and financial crisis has probably passed." Nationwide's chief economist Martin Gahbauer said. "The further increase in house prices is very much consistent with improvements in a broad range of economic and financial indicators,"
Prices were unchanged from a year earlier in September, the first time they haven't shown an annual drop since March 2008, Nationwide said.
The number of houses being sold is still below normal and will probably take another 18 months to return to the level before the financial crisis. Rising unemployment and banks' reluctance to lend money are still "headwinds", Nationawide said.
"It would be surprising to see house prices continuing to increase at the very strong rate seen in recent months," Gahbauer said.
Prices in all the 13 regions of the UK rose in the third quarter, led by the southwest and Northern Ireland. Home values in greater London increased 3.8 per cent from the second quarter.
Consumers added 7 billion pound of equity to their homes in the three months through June, the fifth consecutive quarter when new investment in housing exceeded borrowings extended on mortgages, the Bank of England said. This suggests that consumer spending may be slow to recover from the recession.
The average cost of a home increased by 0.9 per clent to 161,816 pound (Bt8.63 million), the mortgage lender said. Prices have noe fallen 13 per clent since a peak in October 2007, and they are at a level last seen at the time of Lehman Brothers Holdings's collapse last year.
The report adds to signs that Britain is pulling out of its worst economic slump in at least a generation as consumer confidence improves and mortgage approvals pick up. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) last week raised its forecast for economic growth in the UK next year, saying the housing lmarket is now stabilising.
"The most intense phase of the recession and financial crisis has probably passed." Nationwide's chief economist Martin Gahbauer said. "The further increase in house prices is very much consistent with improvements in a broad range of economic and financial indicators,"
Prices were unchanged from a year earlier in September, the first time they haven't shown an annual drop since March 2008, Nationwide said.
The number of houses being sold is still below normal and will probably take another 18 months to return to the level before the financial crisis. Rising unemployment and banks' reluctance to lend money are still "headwinds", Nationawide said.
"It would be surprising to see house prices continuing to increase at the very strong rate seen in recent months," Gahbauer said.
Prices in all the 13 regions of the UK rose in the third quarter, led by the southwest and Northern Ireland. Home values in greater London increased 3.8 per cent from the second quarter.
Consumers added 7 billion pound of equity to their homes in the three months through June, the fifth consecutive quarter when new investment in housing exceeded borrowings extended on mortgages, the Bank of England said. This suggests that consumer spending may be slow to recover from the recession.
REAL-ESTATE PRICES FALL, SALES LEAP IN NY
Apartment prices in New York's Manhattan fell for a second consecutive quarter, helping to drive the biggest gain in sales in more than 13 years as buyers seized on discounts.
The median price slid 8.4 per clent to US$850,000 (Bt28.43 million) in the third quarter year on year, New York appraiser Miller Samuel and broker Prudential Douglas Elliman Real Esrare said. The number of sales jumped 46 per cent from the second quarter, the biggest third-quarter increase since 1996.
Values fell for cooperatives and condominiums of every size and price as New York City's unemployment rate jumped to 10.3 per clent in August. While the declines weren't as deep as those in the second quarter, Manhattan is far from recovering from a recession and global credit crisis that have led to the loss of more than 183,000 banking and securities jobs in the Americas. Year on year, thid-quarter sales declined by 16 per cent.
"We're turning the corner, but we are not at a bottom," Miller Samuel president Jonathan Miller said. 'We still have very tight credit, elevated unemployment and we have shadown inventory."
There are about 6,000 apartinents in new developments that haven't been listed for sale, he said.
Five reports issued last week showed overall price declines in Manhattan. The Corcoran Group, which conducts its survey with research company PropertyShark.com, said the median dropped 18 per cent from a year earlier. Brown harris Stevens and Halstead Property put the decline at 14 per clent and StreetEasy.com said the drop was 12 per cent.
Studio apartment prices fell 6 per cent from a year earlier to a median of $399,000, Miller Samuel said. One-bedrooms dropped 11 per cent to $645,000; two-bedrooms fell 23 per cent to $1.18 million and three-bedrooms dropped 41 per cent to $2.25 million.
Four bedroom apartments plunged 49 per cent to a median of $5.18 million, reflecting, in part, a decline in luxury sales, Millar said. Those sales declined 16 per cent. The luxury segment is defined as the top 10 per cent of co-op and condo sales.
"There were many meaningful price reductions which clearly drove buyers back in to the market," said Corcoran Group chief executive Pamela Liebman.
James Kennedy, 53, was among the beneficiaries. Kennedy, an attorney at the Wall Street law firm of Kennedy Johnson Gallagher, started an apartment search in the middle of 2008, hoping to move into Manhattan from Staten Island when his daughter left for college last month.
His year-long search got him more apartment for his money, he said. In August Kennedy bought a 201-square-metre condo in the Financial District. The price was reduced by 16 per cent.
"I wanted to take advantage of the softening in the market and, for $1.6 million, I came away with an apartment that two years ago would have cost substantially more," Kennedy said. The Rector Street apartment has views of Governor's Island and the Statue of Liberty and is within walking distance of his office.
"My friends have apartment envy," he said.
About 36 per cent of third-quarter listings included discounts from the original asking price, according to StreetEasy.com, a service that complies listings from brokers.
About 2,900 cooperative apartments were listed with price cuts, a 77-per-cent increase from a year earlier. There were also 2,400 condo listings with price cuts, 72-per-cent more than last year, StreetEasy said.
In midtown, condo owners pared an average of 8.3 per cent off their asking prices, while downtown owners trimmed 8.4 per cent.
The median price slid 8.4 per clent to US$850,000 (Bt28.43 million) in the third quarter year on year, New York appraiser Miller Samuel and broker Prudential Douglas Elliman Real Esrare said. The number of sales jumped 46 per cent from the second quarter, the biggest third-quarter increase since 1996.
Values fell for cooperatives and condominiums of every size and price as New York City's unemployment rate jumped to 10.3 per clent in August. While the declines weren't as deep as those in the second quarter, Manhattan is far from recovering from a recession and global credit crisis that have led to the loss of more than 183,000 banking and securities jobs in the Americas. Year on year, thid-quarter sales declined by 16 per cent.
"We're turning the corner, but we are not at a bottom," Miller Samuel president Jonathan Miller said. 'We still have very tight credit, elevated unemployment and we have shadown inventory."
There are about 6,000 apartinents in new developments that haven't been listed for sale, he said.
Five reports issued last week showed overall price declines in Manhattan. The Corcoran Group, which conducts its survey with research company PropertyShark.com, said the median dropped 18 per cent from a year earlier. Brown harris Stevens and Halstead Property put the decline at 14 per clent and StreetEasy.com said the drop was 12 per cent.
Studio apartment prices fell 6 per cent from a year earlier to a median of $399,000, Miller Samuel said. One-bedrooms dropped 11 per cent to $645,000; two-bedrooms fell 23 per cent to $1.18 million and three-bedrooms dropped 41 per cent to $2.25 million.
Four bedroom apartments plunged 49 per cent to a median of $5.18 million, reflecting, in part, a decline in luxury sales, Millar said. Those sales declined 16 per cent. The luxury segment is defined as the top 10 per cent of co-op and condo sales.
"There were many meaningful price reductions which clearly drove buyers back in to the market," said Corcoran Group chief executive Pamela Liebman.
James Kennedy, 53, was among the beneficiaries. Kennedy, an attorney at the Wall Street law firm of Kennedy Johnson Gallagher, started an apartment search in the middle of 2008, hoping to move into Manhattan from Staten Island when his daughter left for college last month.
His year-long search got him more apartment for his money, he said. In August Kennedy bought a 201-square-metre condo in the Financial District. The price was reduced by 16 per cent.
"I wanted to take advantage of the softening in the market and, for $1.6 million, I came away with an apartment that two years ago would have cost substantially more," Kennedy said. The Rector Street apartment has views of Governor's Island and the Statue of Liberty and is within walking distance of his office.
"My friends have apartment envy," he said.
About 36 per cent of third-quarter listings included discounts from the original asking price, according to StreetEasy.com, a service that complies listings from brokers.
About 2,900 cooperative apartments were listed with price cuts, a 77-per-cent increase from a year earlier. There were also 2,400 condo listings with price cuts, 72-per-cent more than last year, StreetEasy said.
In midtown, condo owners pared an average of 8.3 per cent off their asking prices, while downtown owners trimmed 8.4 per cent.
DEVELOPERS SET TO OVERSHOOT PRESALES TARGETS
Many of Thailand's leading property firms believe they may exceed their presales targets for 2009, following a high rate of presales in the third quarter. Some are planning to revise their presales targets upwards.
Preuksa Real Estate director and chief operating officer Prasert Taedullyasatit said his company's presales might exceed its target of Bt18 billion before the end of this year, after presales of Bt15.1 billion in the first nine months.
However, Preuksa is maintaining its targets of presales worth Bt18 billion and revenue of Bt17 billion in 2009, he said.
Although demand for residential projects has begun to recover, it continues to focus on projects developed by the top-10-listed companies, rather than those of small and medium-sized property firms.
"The property markets has now changed to one for leading firms, rather than small and medium-sized firms.
As a result, we cannot say that market recovery is strong, when a number of small and medium-sized firms continue to face hardship," he said.
Supalai director and deputy managing director Atip Bijanonda said his company recorded presales of Bt7 billion in the first nine months of 2009. Of this, Bt3 billion came from the third quarter.
"We cannot say whether our presales will exceed our estimate of Bt10 billion or not," he said.
However, Supalai plans to launch three new residential projects in the last quarter of this year, and this may drive its presales beyond the target, he said.
Atip said demand for lowrise residences, including single detached houses, twin houses and townhouses had shown significant recovery, while demand for condominium projects was much the same as it was last year.
Residences priced lower than an average of Bt5 million continued to be popular, he said. LPN Development managing director Opas Sripayak said his company had recorded presales worth Bt6.7 billion in the first nine months of this year. Of this, Bt2.2 billion came from presales in the third quarter.
Opas said LPN planned to launch three or four condominium projects worth between Bt3 billion and Bt4 billion in the final quarter of the year, and these could drive its presales over the target of Bt10 billion.
However, the company continues to focus on its existing targets of Bt10 billion in presales and JBt8 billion in revenue in 2009. It believes its revenue will reach Bt10 billion next year.
Opas said the number of sales this year had averaged 140 units per week, and that was better than 110 units per week last year, showing stronger recovery for residential projects in 2009 than last year.
Sansiri president Srettha Thavisin earlier said his company had recorded presales of Bt14 billion in the first nine months of 2009. Of this, Bt5 billion came from presales in the third quarter.
As a result, the company believes its presales for the whole year will reach its target of Bt20 billion. This target was set after adjusting the company's original presales target of Bt18 billion for 2009.
Demand for low-rise residences has shown significant recovery, while demand for condominium projects is much the same as it was last year.
Preuksa Real Estate director and chief operating officer Prasert Taedullyasatit said his company's presales might exceed its target of Bt18 billion before the end of this year, after presales of Bt15.1 billion in the first nine months.
However, Preuksa is maintaining its targets of presales worth Bt18 billion and revenue of Bt17 billion in 2009, he said.
Although demand for residential projects has begun to recover, it continues to focus on projects developed by the top-10-listed companies, rather than those of small and medium-sized property firms.
"The property markets has now changed to one for leading firms, rather than small and medium-sized firms.
As a result, we cannot say that market recovery is strong, when a number of small and medium-sized firms continue to face hardship," he said.
Supalai director and deputy managing director Atip Bijanonda said his company recorded presales of Bt7 billion in the first nine months of 2009. Of this, Bt3 billion came from the third quarter.
"We cannot say whether our presales will exceed our estimate of Bt10 billion or not," he said.
However, Supalai plans to launch three new residential projects in the last quarter of this year, and this may drive its presales beyond the target, he said.
Atip said demand for lowrise residences, including single detached houses, twin houses and townhouses had shown significant recovery, while demand for condominium projects was much the same as it was last year.
Residences priced lower than an average of Bt5 million continued to be popular, he said. LPN Development managing director Opas Sripayak said his company had recorded presales worth Bt6.7 billion in the first nine months of this year. Of this, Bt2.2 billion came from presales in the third quarter.
Opas said LPN planned to launch three or four condominium projects worth between Bt3 billion and Bt4 billion in the final quarter of the year, and these could drive its presales over the target of Bt10 billion.
However, the company continues to focus on its existing targets of Bt10 billion in presales and JBt8 billion in revenue in 2009. It believes its revenue will reach Bt10 billion next year.
Opas said the number of sales this year had averaged 140 units per week, and that was better than 110 units per week last year, showing stronger recovery for residential projects in 2009 than last year.
Sansiri president Srettha Thavisin earlier said his company had recorded presales of Bt14 billion in the first nine months of 2009. Of this, Bt5 billion came from presales in the third quarter.
As a result, the company believes its presales for the whole year will reach its target of Bt20 billion. This target was set after adjusting the company's original presales target of Bt18 billion for 2009.
Demand for low-rise residences has shown significant recovery, while demand for condominium projects is much the same as it was last year.
ACADEMICS EMBRACE NEW PROPERTY-TAX LAW
Lecturers from Thammasat University's "Policy Watch" group back a proposed property-tax structure and urged the government to show its sincerity by enacting the new law to enhance efficiency in land use and increase in the incomes of local administrative organisations.
Policy Watch is made up of a group of lecturers who assess the government's economic policies.
Duangmanee Laovakul, a lecturer in the Economics Faculty at Thammasat University and a member of Policy Watch, said the property tax, which would be collected from land and building owners on the basis of property value, had been discussed for years, but it had not been enacted so far. The government should urgently push the property tax draft for the Cabinet's and Parliament's consideration.
If the law could be enacted, it would be a landmark in Thai history, she said.
"Society will benefit from the new property tax, which is calculated on property value basis not income basis. Tax collection will increase because of the clear criteria for property-tax collection. Tax exemption in the present law had caused inequality and problems in collection. Besides, the present property tax is at a regressive rate and quite high at 12.5 per cent, therefore it encourages many people to avoid paying tax," said Duangmanee.
The new property tax is not collected at a progressive rate on the property value which would disperse land possession more efficiently. But it is a good start as the tax rate for wasteland, which is higher than used land, is at no less than 0.5 per cent in the first three years, after that it will be doubled but not exceed a maximum of 2 per cent.
In the case of land used for commercial purpose, tax will be collected not exceeding 0.5 per cent of the property value, for land used as residence at not exceeding 0.1 per cent, and for land used for agricultural purpose at not more than 0.05 per cent.
"Thus, the tax burden will be shouldered more by the higher class people than the lower ones. It will also enhance efficiency of land utilisation. During 2007-2008, there were 71,302 rai of wastelands in Bangkok representing 7.69 per cent of the city area, which have no economic value," said Duangmanee.
However, the new property tax will not prevent land speculation, because annual land prices have increased more rapidly than tax rates.
A land price assessment by the Treasury Department for 2008-2011, showed the land price in 75 provinces, excluding Bangkok, had increased by 6.5 per cent each year and land prices in Bangkok increased by 1.5 per cent annually. But the maximum annual property tax rate according to the draft was only 2 per cent.
She said the new property-tax law would increase tax revenue of local administrative organisations from Bt20 billion to Bt40 billion to Bt50 billion, depending on the tax rate. Besides the local people and administrators would be encouraged to participate in democracy as they had to be responsible in management and examination in order to prevent corruption.
"However it depends on the legislator whether they are more concerned in public interest than their own ones," said Duangmanee.
She also presented case studies of 10 Thai politicians, who owned land and building worth Bt5.37 billion. If the new property tax is enforced, they would be collecting tax of Bt5.37 million per year with a tax rate of 0.1 per cent and Bt16.11 million per year with a tax rate of 0.3 per cent.
Policy Watch is made up of a group of lecturers who assess the government's economic policies.
Duangmanee Laovakul, a lecturer in the Economics Faculty at Thammasat University and a member of Policy Watch, said the property tax, which would be collected from land and building owners on the basis of property value, had been discussed for years, but it had not been enacted so far. The government should urgently push the property tax draft for the Cabinet's and Parliament's consideration.
If the law could be enacted, it would be a landmark in Thai history, she said.
"Society will benefit from the new property tax, which is calculated on property value basis not income basis. Tax collection will increase because of the clear criteria for property-tax collection. Tax exemption in the present law had caused inequality and problems in collection. Besides, the present property tax is at a regressive rate and quite high at 12.5 per cent, therefore it encourages many people to avoid paying tax," said Duangmanee.
The new property tax is not collected at a progressive rate on the property value which would disperse land possession more efficiently. But it is a good start as the tax rate for wasteland, which is higher than used land, is at no less than 0.5 per cent in the first three years, after that it will be doubled but not exceed a maximum of 2 per cent.
In the case of land used for commercial purpose, tax will be collected not exceeding 0.5 per cent of the property value, for land used as residence at not exceeding 0.1 per cent, and for land used for agricultural purpose at not more than 0.05 per cent.
"Thus, the tax burden will be shouldered more by the higher class people than the lower ones. It will also enhance efficiency of land utilisation. During 2007-2008, there were 71,302 rai of wastelands in Bangkok representing 7.69 per cent of the city area, which have no economic value," said Duangmanee.
However, the new property tax will not prevent land speculation, because annual land prices have increased more rapidly than tax rates.
A land price assessment by the Treasury Department for 2008-2011, showed the land price in 75 provinces, excluding Bangkok, had increased by 6.5 per cent each year and land prices in Bangkok increased by 1.5 per cent annually. But the maximum annual property tax rate according to the draft was only 2 per cent.
She said the new property-tax law would increase tax revenue of local administrative organisations from Bt20 billion to Bt40 billion to Bt50 billion, depending on the tax rate. Besides the local people and administrators would be encouraged to participate in democracy as they had to be responsible in management and examination in order to prevent corruption.
"However it depends on the legislator whether they are more concerned in public interest than their own ones," said Duangmanee.
She also presented case studies of 10 Thai politicians, who owned land and building worth Bt5.37 billion. If the new property tax is enforced, they would be collecting tax of Bt5.37 million per year with a tax rate of 0.1 per cent and Bt16.11 million per year with a tax rate of 0.3 per cent.
NEW PROPERTY FUNDS ON THE CARDS BY YEAR-END
Assetmanagement companies are gearing up to launch several new property funds during the rest of this year, as their returns of 7-13 per cent, higher than deposit rates, have proved popular.
The higher returns from property funds also generally beat inflation and have become an attractive alternative for longterm investors. However, experts recommend retail investors consider asset quality, level of professional management and liquidity in unit trust trading before deciding to invest.
MFC Asset Management will introduce two new property funds worth a combined Bt3 billion. One will invest in office buildings and the other in goodsdistribution centres.
BT Asset Management will launch a new "freehold" property fund by investing in hotels, which means investors have certain rights to the assets.
Krung Thai Asset Management will also offer a new property fund investing in hotels and is now negotiating with a hotel operator in Phuket.
SCB Asset Management (SCBAM) president Jotika Savanananda believes the combined size of property funds will continuously expand, because they are a longterm investment tool offering regular returns to investors.
SCBAM is now proposing a plan to set up a new property fund of its own. Jotika said the plan consisted of four elements: management of the property assets must be in the bluechip league; the management structure must be free from conflicts of interest; property projects must have high liquidity; and the potential for longterm growth must be high and rentalpricing adjustment flexible in terms of inflation. Thus, management and asset quality are key.
"We're focusing on good brand when we choose to invest in any asset. The management must be professional, and the return on investment should be inflationproof," Jotika said.
Moreover, fund managers in general must give advice about which funds are suitable for investors of specific risk profiles.
For example, a freehold property fund would provide less return per annum but offer an opportunity to gain from the sale of assets at the fund's maturity. But with leasehold property funds, investors would receive higher annual returns but not be able to gain from an asset sale.
So far, annual returns on freehold property funds listed on the Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET) have been running at 78 per cent and that on leasehold property funds 10-13 per cent.
Meanwhile, Siam Commercial Bank's Research Department predicts the policy rate will be stable until next year, when it will rise in the second half. Bankdeposit and lending rates will also increase in next year's second quarter after bank lending expands significantly in line with the economic recovery.
BBL Asset Management senior executive Wasin Wattanaworakijkul said the trend of rising interest rates would not affect propertyfund growth. He believes investors will continue to place a high priority on property funds as a source of assets that provide longterm returns that surpass deposit and inflation rates.
In November, BBL Asset Management will introduce a Bt1.5billion freehold property fund that invests in rental warehouses, with and expected annual return of 8 per cent.
Wasin said the warehouse business was expected to expand in line with economic growth, because logisticsrelated industries would pick up.
The Kingdom has a shortage of warehouses that operate at a high standard, and so the firm has chosen to invest in this kind of asset in the belief this type of business has good potential.
Siam City Asset Management managing director Teeraphan Jittalarn said his company would soon launch a new property fund that invested in listed property funds or fund of funds. The company is now discussing with the Securities and Exchange Commission whether it is possible to set up such a fund. If so, it would help solve liquidity problems regarding listed property funds.
Experts suggest considering different factors before investing in different types of property funds.
For example, for property funds that invest in department stores, investors should consider details of rental areas and the rental contracts of each department store, along with economic conditions, locations and management capabilities.
For property funds that invest in airports, investors are advised carefully to consider the tourism situation, airport traffic and even airport passenger fees.
For property funds that invest in hotels, tourism, locations, reputation and management ability should be considered the most.
For property funds that invest in factories, focus on rental fees, rental contracts, tenants, customer diversity and the overall investment situation.
For property funds investing in office and residential buildings, apartments and dormitories, take a good look at rental fees, rental contracts and tenant turnover.
Property funds listing on the SET so far this year include a Bt1.16-billion mutualfund project from the Sala@Sathorn Property Fund (SSPF) from Primavest Asset Management; mutual funds by the MFCStrategic Storage Fund, issued by MFC Asset Management and worth Bt608 million; and the Bt603million 101 Montri Storage Property Fund from BT Asset Management.
"We're focusing on good brand when we choose to invest in any asset. The management must be professional, and the return on investment should be inflation-proof."
The higher returns from property funds also generally beat inflation and have become an attractive alternative for longterm investors. However, experts recommend retail investors consider asset quality, level of professional management and liquidity in unit trust trading before deciding to invest.
MFC Asset Management will introduce two new property funds worth a combined Bt3 billion. One will invest in office buildings and the other in goodsdistribution centres.
BT Asset Management will launch a new "freehold" property fund by investing in hotels, which means investors have certain rights to the assets.
Krung Thai Asset Management will also offer a new property fund investing in hotels and is now negotiating with a hotel operator in Phuket.
SCB Asset Management (SCBAM) president Jotika Savanananda believes the combined size of property funds will continuously expand, because they are a longterm investment tool offering regular returns to investors.
SCBAM is now proposing a plan to set up a new property fund of its own. Jotika said the plan consisted of four elements: management of the property assets must be in the bluechip league; the management structure must be free from conflicts of interest; property projects must have high liquidity; and the potential for longterm growth must be high and rentalpricing adjustment flexible in terms of inflation. Thus, management and asset quality are key.
"We're focusing on good brand when we choose to invest in any asset. The management must be professional, and the return on investment should be inflationproof," Jotika said.
Moreover, fund managers in general must give advice about which funds are suitable for investors of specific risk profiles.
For example, a freehold property fund would provide less return per annum but offer an opportunity to gain from the sale of assets at the fund's maturity. But with leasehold property funds, investors would receive higher annual returns but not be able to gain from an asset sale.
So far, annual returns on freehold property funds listed on the Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET) have been running at 78 per cent and that on leasehold property funds 10-13 per cent.
Meanwhile, Siam Commercial Bank's Research Department predicts the policy rate will be stable until next year, when it will rise in the second half. Bankdeposit and lending rates will also increase in next year's second quarter after bank lending expands significantly in line with the economic recovery.
BBL Asset Management senior executive Wasin Wattanaworakijkul said the trend of rising interest rates would not affect propertyfund growth. He believes investors will continue to place a high priority on property funds as a source of assets that provide longterm returns that surpass deposit and inflation rates.
In November, BBL Asset Management will introduce a Bt1.5billion freehold property fund that invests in rental warehouses, with and expected annual return of 8 per cent.
Wasin said the warehouse business was expected to expand in line with economic growth, because logisticsrelated industries would pick up.
The Kingdom has a shortage of warehouses that operate at a high standard, and so the firm has chosen to invest in this kind of asset in the belief this type of business has good potential.
Siam City Asset Management managing director Teeraphan Jittalarn said his company would soon launch a new property fund that invested in listed property funds or fund of funds. The company is now discussing with the Securities and Exchange Commission whether it is possible to set up such a fund. If so, it would help solve liquidity problems regarding listed property funds.
Experts suggest considering different factors before investing in different types of property funds.
For example, for property funds that invest in department stores, investors should consider details of rental areas and the rental contracts of each department store, along with economic conditions, locations and management capabilities.
For property funds that invest in airports, investors are advised carefully to consider the tourism situation, airport traffic and even airport passenger fees.
For property funds that invest in hotels, tourism, locations, reputation and management ability should be considered the most.
For property funds that invest in factories, focus on rental fees, rental contracts, tenants, customer diversity and the overall investment situation.
For property funds investing in office and residential buildings, apartments and dormitories, take a good look at rental fees, rental contracts and tenant turnover.
Property funds listing on the SET so far this year include a Bt1.16-billion mutualfund project from the Sala@Sathorn Property Fund (SSPF) from Primavest Asset Management; mutual funds by the MFCStrategic Storage Fund, issued by MFC Asset Management and worth Bt608 million; and the Bt603million 101 Montri Storage Property Fund from BT Asset Management.
"We're focusing on good brand when we choose to invest in any asset. The management must be professional, and the return on investment should be inflation-proof."
GOING GREEN IS THE NEW MANTRA FOR DESIGNERS
In a bid to curb global warming, design trends in residnetial and office buildings are in creasingly espousing the green concept.
Property developers as well as construction materials manufacturers are laying greater emphasis on green enviroment.
A survey by The Nation on design trends showed that residential and commercial building owners are most concerned about environmental safety. As a result, architects and interior designers are creating buildings that ensure energy savings, wiht the construction desigh matching interior design to reduce energy consumption.
Supalai's palai's president, Prateep Tangmatitham, said the company takes concerns about the environment into account when designing both low-rise and high-rise residences. While designing, the direction of the building is given special emphasis,taking into account wind a d light.
The company also selects the consturction raw materials that help to reduce energy consumption such as green glass, double wall and roftile syste,.
LPN Development managing director Opas Sripayak said that most of the company's residential projects are now designed environ mentally friendly and int eh process it helps its customers save money on electricity.
"Our buildings will cut the electirc bills of our customers on an average by 10 to 20 per cent when compared with the residents tha use the normal system"he said
SCG Building Materials, a subsidiary of SCG Group, teamed up with Japanese company Sekisui Chemical to launch an innovative Modular home Technology.
SCG Building Materials president Pichit Maipoom said the company's continuous study of cliential projects are now designed environmentally friendly and int eh process it helps its customers save money on electricity.
"Our buildings will cut the electirc bills of our customers on an average by 10 to 20 per cent when compared with the residents that use the normal system," he said.
SCG Building Materials, a subsidiary of SCG Grooup, teamed up with Japanese company Sekisui chemical to launch an innovative Modular Home Technology.
SCG Building Materials president Pichit Maipoom said the company's continuous study of cliental behaviour and house-related needs found that customers wanted quality both in construction materials and construction as well as good quality of life. "A good house should be convenient, clean, safe, and worthy of the life cycle cost."
In responding to these needs,pichit said the company would provide a comprehensive house service system through its collaboration with Sekisui Chemical, the leading Japanese company specialising in the housing business for more than 30 years and the laargest manufecturer of modular Home.
Sekisui will introduce a distinctive and advanced Modular Home
technology for the first time in Thailand.
"Combined with SCG's good qualtity building materials, it will produce a good quality house that genuiely meets and understands cistp,ers
de,amds" he said.
The innovative Modular Home Technology will be called "SCGHEIM".
Unlike other house-building technologies, the Modular Home offers an innovative creation in which more than 80 per cent of house components are produced in the factory and assembled into modules ready to be installed on site in a couple of days.
Besides, the house is designed for energy-efficiency with life cycle cost for a period of 30 years.
Following the energy-saving concept, SCG-HEIM houses install insulation around the house and air tightness to fill in spaces between joints of the house to keep the room temperature between 25 and 29 degrees Celsius. Air Factory is installed to ensure indoor air purification and consistent flow of air,which in turn will help save power from the use of air-conditioners.
Most home-owners these days have the energy-saving concept in mind when spending on renovation.
Home-owner Wichart, 40, has saved 10.38 per cent on energy consumption, or 863 units of electricity per year, after the building was renovated for energy efficiency.
The refurbishment not only saves money (about Bt3,020 per year based on a cost of Bt3.50 per unit), nut also creates better living conditions and a healthier environment by reducing greenhouse-gas emissions.
One principle that must be accepted in such conversions, how wever, is that upfront investm4nt is often steep but offers generous returns over time. The core ideas are stopping the incursion of hot air into living spaces, changing habits and using energy-saving electrical appliances.
Installing aluminium foil and fibreglass insulatijon is the most efficient way to cut electricity bills,because this can prevent a build-up of heat. Where the insulation should be installed depends on the home owner's budget.
Those on a very tight budget should perhaps limit the installation of fibreglass insulation to the attic,because that is directly heated by the sun. Those who can afford it, should install insulation not only in the attic,nut also in ceilings and walls, particularly in rooms with air-conditioning, because it can prevent heat flow and reduce cooling costs.
Importantly,insulation at least3 inches thick is recommended for hot countries like Thailand. Layers of lesser thickness are ot as energy efficient.
The latest innovation in construction raw materials helps home owners to save costs although they have to pay a higher price for energy-saving raw materials. But in the long term, they can cut their cost of living than by using normal products. As a result, companies have to develop innovative products to sefrve the change in customer demand, Pichit said.
Property developers as well as construction materials manufacturers are laying greater emphasis on green enviroment.
A survey by The Nation on design trends showed that residential and commercial building owners are most concerned about environmental safety. As a result, architects and interior designers are creating buildings that ensure energy savings, wiht the construction desigh matching interior design to reduce energy consumption.
Supalai's palai's president, Prateep Tangmatitham, said the company takes concerns about the environment into account when designing both low-rise and high-rise residences. While designing, the direction of the building is given special emphasis,taking into account wind a d light.
The company also selects the consturction raw materials that help to reduce energy consumption such as green glass, double wall and roftile syste,.
LPN Development managing director Opas Sripayak said that most of the company's residential projects are now designed environ mentally friendly and int eh process it helps its customers save money on electricity.
"Our buildings will cut the electirc bills of our customers on an average by 10 to 20 per cent when compared with the residents tha use the normal system"he said
SCG Building Materials, a subsidiary of SCG Group, teamed up with Japanese company Sekisui Chemical to launch an innovative Modular home Technology.
SCG Building Materials president Pichit Maipoom said the company's continuous study of cliential projects are now designed environmentally friendly and int eh process it helps its customers save money on electricity.
"Our buildings will cut the electirc bills of our customers on an average by 10 to 20 per cent when compared with the residents that use the normal system," he said.
SCG Building Materials, a subsidiary of SCG Grooup, teamed up with Japanese company Sekisui chemical to launch an innovative Modular Home Technology.
SCG Building Materials president Pichit Maipoom said the company's continuous study of cliental behaviour and house-related needs found that customers wanted quality both in construction materials and construction as well as good quality of life. "A good house should be convenient, clean, safe, and worthy of the life cycle cost."
In responding to these needs,pichit said the company would provide a comprehensive house service system through its collaboration with Sekisui Chemical, the leading Japanese company specialising in the housing business for more than 30 years and the laargest manufecturer of modular Home.
Sekisui will introduce a distinctive and advanced Modular Home
technology for the first time in Thailand.
"Combined with SCG's good qualtity building materials, it will produce a good quality house that genuiely meets and understands cistp,ers
de,amds" he said.
The innovative Modular Home Technology will be called "SCGHEIM".
Unlike other house-building technologies, the Modular Home offers an innovative creation in which more than 80 per cent of house components are produced in the factory and assembled into modules ready to be installed on site in a couple of days.
Besides, the house is designed for energy-efficiency with life cycle cost for a period of 30 years.
Following the energy-saving concept, SCG-HEIM houses install insulation around the house and air tightness to fill in spaces between joints of the house to keep the room temperature between 25 and 29 degrees Celsius. Air Factory is installed to ensure indoor air purification and consistent flow of air,which in turn will help save power from the use of air-conditioners.
Most home-owners these days have the energy-saving concept in mind when spending on renovation.
Home-owner Wichart, 40, has saved 10.38 per cent on energy consumption, or 863 units of electricity per year, after the building was renovated for energy efficiency.
The refurbishment not only saves money (about Bt3,020 per year based on a cost of Bt3.50 per unit), nut also creates better living conditions and a healthier environment by reducing greenhouse-gas emissions.
One principle that must be accepted in such conversions, how wever, is that upfront investm4nt is often steep but offers generous returns over time. The core ideas are stopping the incursion of hot air into living spaces, changing habits and using energy-saving electrical appliances.
Installing aluminium foil and fibreglass insulatijon is the most efficient way to cut electricity bills,because this can prevent a build-up of heat. Where the insulation should be installed depends on the home owner's budget.
Those on a very tight budget should perhaps limit the installation of fibreglass insulation to the attic,because that is directly heated by the sun. Those who can afford it, should install insulation not only in the attic,nut also in ceilings and walls, particularly in rooms with air-conditioning, because it can prevent heat flow and reduce cooling costs.
Importantly,insulation at least3 inches thick is recommended for hot countries like Thailand. Layers of lesser thickness are ot as energy efficient.
The latest innovation in construction raw materials helps home owners to save costs although they have to pay a higher price for energy-saving raw materials. But in the long term, they can cut their cost of living than by using normal products. As a result, companies have to develop innovative products to sefrve the change in customer demand, Pichit said.
Rolling stones band together in Chiang Mai
A group of homeless people in the northern province are finding new strengthin each other and taking steps to regain control of their lives By Supara Janchitfah
Dee Pantapchai smiled broadly when he was presented with a set of gifts from a group of fellow homeless people in appreciation for his participation in the the group's savings plan, into which Mr Dee has made regular deposits. The gifts - used plastic bottles and some basic daily necessities such as a bar of soap - might seem valueless to most people, but for Mr Dee they were priceless as they provided a sense of pride and happiness that he has rarely known in his 69 years.
He first came to Chiang Mai from Mae Sariang district of Mae Hong Song province to earn a better living, but the reality has been many years of sleeping on city streets.Since he has felt cheated and betrayed his whole life, it is hard for him to trust anyone.When the group gave him the award he was not sure he deserved it.
"Really?" he asked with smiling eyes. All his homeless friends nodded their heads and returned their own sincere smiles. For some time now the group has been discussing the possibility of pooling their earnings from the sale of plastic, aluminum and other materials they collect so that they can one day lease a piece of land to construct a temporary shelter,and also to keep a central fund for daily needs and emergencies, such as when someone gets sick.
"I want to have a place where we can call home and share our lives with other homeless people," said Mr Dee.
At present his group is staying at a deserted hotel in downtown Chiang Mai. The place was first discovered by the homeless Mr Tom and a younger man. Later about 10 more homeless came to stay, and they set rules among themselves to avoid problems and assure harmony. One younger man was asked to leave because he did not respect the rules.
Mr Tom is from Chiang Mai, but he worked as a tour operator in Phuket for many years.He returned to Chiang Mai after running into business problems in Phuket. Meanwhile,his family had also encountered hard times and he couldn't rely on them for support. He became a streetside fruit vendor and also took odd jobs in construction, but he was unable to keep a room on his meagre earnings and became homeless.
His said his life turned around when he met a staff member from the Human Settlement Foundation (HSF), a Thai NGO working in slums and with homeless people. The NGO, a member of the Four Regions Slum Network (FRSN), was conducting a factfinding mission on the streets of different Thai cities which provided a forum for homeless people to share their experiences and problems and search for solutions.
"I could see a ray of hope and I could see that my life could be more meaningful if I worked with homeless people," said Mr Tom,whose given name is Ekaluck Thongmak.
He has now gone back to work as a tour operator, in Chiang Mai as well as Phuket.Some of his former customers resurfaced to support him. But even though he has a good is income at the moment, Mr Tom still prefers to stay with the homeless group.
"I am happy to stay with my homeless friends. I can see them making changes in their behaviour, such as showing consideration for other people and paying attention to their concerns. Moreover, they need to have someone to turn to.
"You will never understand the life of a homeless person if you have never been >>
>>homeless yourself,"said Mr Tom.
In the time he spent homeless and unemployed he learned lessons on how to survive on almost nothing. He learned how to collect recyclable garbage and where to sell it, and how the recycling businesses take advantage of the homeless.
Mr Tom said that, for example, if they collected 2.2 kilogrammes of aluminum cans the business owner would invariably pay them for only 2kg.
"That's not right. It takes a lot of effort to collect that extra 200g, but we have no say.That's why we need a place to store and separate items into different categories and weigh them ourselves, so that we can get a better price. If we do things collectively as a group we will have more say."
The group has joined hands with FRSN to voice their concerns over housing rights, funding for housing and access to land (see story below.)
WORKING TOGETHER
The abandoned hotel in downtown Chiang Mai has become the site of a regular Sunday get-together for four groups of homeless from different parts of the city to socialise and share their joys and problems. Besides the home group, homeless people normally come from the areas around Tha Phare city gate,Chiang Mai railway station and Chang Phak bus station. These groups are also in the scheme to save money and lease a piece of land to construct a temporary shelter.
After a number of meetings, the various groups have come to an agreement on how to operate their savings group and have also come up with a set of rules and regulations.
But the plan is not yet perfected. It has been discussed, rejected and modified for more than a year.
"We are not sure if we can save the money and how we can be sure that it will be there when we need it," said Mr Lop, a native of Chiang Rai who had family problems and left home to work in construction in Chiang Mai.Once a heavy drinker, he gave up alcohol after joining the group at the deserted hotel and began to practice self-discipline. Mr Lop said it is hard for him to trust anyone as he has been betrayed all of his life.
At the abandoned hotel, Mr Tom and his friends have devised a list of house rules, one of which is sobriety. Others involve sharing work and other activities, such as distributing soybean milk to other homeless people. Every Thursday night at about 6pm they gather at the hotel and walk through Chiang Mai to find homeless people and distribute the milk until 11pm. Some of the funds for the soybean milk come from HSF.
"Handing out the soybean milk gives us a means to meet and discuss things with other homeless people," said Sukanya Pinichwattanapan, a local volunteer from HSF who works with homeless and slum dwellers.
I was with Ms Sukanya and seven homeless persons as they walked along the Chiang Mai moat and numerous city streets to pass out the soybean milk. Many of the homeless they encountered were drinking alcohol.
Mr Tia, who stays at the hotel, said that he also used to drink "because I had no hope,and thought I had no future. I just wanted to end my day by forgetting my hard work and all the eyes that look down on me".
But nowMr Tia has a sense of duty, and he is no longer without hope. He carries a small book in his hand to record the problems that homeless people confide to him, and also their needs.
"I have some pain here," said a very thin man who looked as if he'd had a lot to drink,pointing to his back. He said he needs some medicine for the pain. Ms Sukanya advised him to bend his back properly when collecting items from garbage bins. She didn't try to preach to him that he should stop drinking, but she put a subtle message across in her cheerful voice:"Oh! After you try collecting things in the right position,you can start to drink a little less. It may be useful for your health, what do you think?"
The homeless man smiled shyly.
The discussions involve so many important issues,such as where they go to take a bath and where they sell their collected products to get the best price. One man showed off a radio he found at the dump site and was able to fix. Some of the homeless said they wanted to do some merit-making and discussed which temple would allow them to enter and so on.
Mr Ti is another core member of the hotel group, and normally goes to buy the soybean milk from street vendors for distribution.
As the group ventured farther into different corners of Chiang Mai, Mr Ti said that many of the homeless they encounter don't want to join them at the hotel because they wouldn't be able to adjust to the rules set by the group,especially the one about drinking.
"They want to be our friends, but they want to continue living their lives as they are now. That is why they still sleep on the street,"said Mr Ti, who once lost his ID card to a pick-pocket. As a member of an ethnic tribe it was not easy to replace, and without it a job is very difficult to find.
Many homeless people are stateless, but Mr Ti is more fortunate. HSF staff encouraged him to go back to his home in Chiang Dao,Chiang Mai province, to replace the ID card.Finally he has received the new card. Mr Ti is an active member of the group and is known for having a character to help others.
Ms Sukanya said Mr Ti has helped many people, including a homeless woman who once worked as a street prostitute. He helped her to put her past behind her.
As we walked along a homeless man named Mr Khaek pointed across the moat to a large shophouse and said:"There, I once spent the night in front of that house." He added that the owner of the house did not chase him away because he didn't make any mess and left early the next morning. Mr Khaek sometimes fishes in the moat.
He stays at the hotel, and has now stopped
drinking. In the past it was his habit to spend the money he got from collecting recyclables and doing odd jobs on alcohol,but he is determined to change.
"I can quit drinking because I am aware that it is useless to drink," he said."Apart from that I have friends and we have many activities for ourselves and for others."
Mr Khaek was once arrested with two other homeless people and they were taken to a government shelter in Chiang Mai where many facilities were provided.
"I don't want to stay there because I don't want to be caged. I want freedom and real friends," he said. Even though Mr Khaek, Mr Ti, Mr Lop and the others want to have a place that they can call "home", they also want freedom, to live by rules they set themselves. They also want to encourage and give each other moral support.
"When someone feels like drinking they have us to pull them back. If anyone wants to steal something they think about the group,because they know that behavior will bring troubles to us and it won't be accepted. They will have to go back on the street again," said Mr Tom."We want to tell society that even though we are scavengers, we are not garbage ourselves. We don't have houses like you do but we have dignity and we are human like you," he said.
Dee Pantapchai smiled broadly when he was presented with a set of gifts from a group of fellow homeless people in appreciation for his participation in the the group's savings plan, into which Mr Dee has made regular deposits. The gifts - used plastic bottles and some basic daily necessities such as a bar of soap - might seem valueless to most people, but for Mr Dee they were priceless as they provided a sense of pride and happiness that he has rarely known in his 69 years.
He first came to Chiang Mai from Mae Sariang district of Mae Hong Song province to earn a better living, but the reality has been many years of sleeping on city streets.Since he has felt cheated and betrayed his whole life, it is hard for him to trust anyone.When the group gave him the award he was not sure he deserved it.
"Really?" he asked with smiling eyes. All his homeless friends nodded their heads and returned their own sincere smiles. For some time now the group has been discussing the possibility of pooling their earnings from the sale of plastic, aluminum and other materials they collect so that they can one day lease a piece of land to construct a temporary shelter,and also to keep a central fund for daily needs and emergencies, such as when someone gets sick.
"I want to have a place where we can call home and share our lives with other homeless people," said Mr Dee.
At present his group is staying at a deserted hotel in downtown Chiang Mai. The place was first discovered by the homeless Mr Tom and a younger man. Later about 10 more homeless came to stay, and they set rules among themselves to avoid problems and assure harmony. One younger man was asked to leave because he did not respect the rules.
Mr Tom is from Chiang Mai, but he worked as a tour operator in Phuket for many years.He returned to Chiang Mai after running into business problems in Phuket. Meanwhile,his family had also encountered hard times and he couldn't rely on them for support. He became a streetside fruit vendor and also took odd jobs in construction, but he was unable to keep a room on his meagre earnings and became homeless.
His said his life turned around when he met a staff member from the Human Settlement Foundation (HSF), a Thai NGO working in slums and with homeless people. The NGO, a member of the Four Regions Slum Network (FRSN), was conducting a factfinding mission on the streets of different Thai cities which provided a forum for homeless people to share their experiences and problems and search for solutions.
"I could see a ray of hope and I could see that my life could be more meaningful if I worked with homeless people," said Mr Tom,whose given name is Ekaluck Thongmak.
He has now gone back to work as a tour operator, in Chiang Mai as well as Phuket.Some of his former customers resurfaced to support him. But even though he has a good is income at the moment, Mr Tom still prefers to stay with the homeless group.
"I am happy to stay with my homeless friends. I can see them making changes in their behaviour, such as showing consideration for other people and paying attention to their concerns. Moreover, they need to have someone to turn to.
"You will never understand the life of a homeless person if you have never been >>
>>homeless yourself,"said Mr Tom.
In the time he spent homeless and unemployed he learned lessons on how to survive on almost nothing. He learned how to collect recyclable garbage and where to sell it, and how the recycling businesses take advantage of the homeless.
Mr Tom said that, for example, if they collected 2.2 kilogrammes of aluminum cans the business owner would invariably pay them for only 2kg.
"That's not right. It takes a lot of effort to collect that extra 200g, but we have no say.That's why we need a place to store and separate items into different categories and weigh them ourselves, so that we can get a better price. If we do things collectively as a group we will have more say."
The group has joined hands with FRSN to voice their concerns over housing rights, funding for housing and access to land (see story below.)
WORKING TOGETHER
The abandoned hotel in downtown Chiang Mai has become the site of a regular Sunday get-together for four groups of homeless from different parts of the city to socialise and share their joys and problems. Besides the home group, homeless people normally come from the areas around Tha Phare city gate,Chiang Mai railway station and Chang Phak bus station. These groups are also in the scheme to save money and lease a piece of land to construct a temporary shelter.
After a number of meetings, the various groups have come to an agreement on how to operate their savings group and have also come up with a set of rules and regulations.
But the plan is not yet perfected. It has been discussed, rejected and modified for more than a year.
"We are not sure if we can save the money and how we can be sure that it will be there when we need it," said Mr Lop, a native of Chiang Rai who had family problems and left home to work in construction in Chiang Mai.Once a heavy drinker, he gave up alcohol after joining the group at the deserted hotel and began to practice self-discipline. Mr Lop said it is hard for him to trust anyone as he has been betrayed all of his life.
At the abandoned hotel, Mr Tom and his friends have devised a list of house rules, one of which is sobriety. Others involve sharing work and other activities, such as distributing soybean milk to other homeless people. Every Thursday night at about 6pm they gather at the hotel and walk through Chiang Mai to find homeless people and distribute the milk until 11pm. Some of the funds for the soybean milk come from HSF.
"Handing out the soybean milk gives us a means to meet and discuss things with other homeless people," said Sukanya Pinichwattanapan, a local volunteer from HSF who works with homeless and slum dwellers.
I was with Ms Sukanya and seven homeless persons as they walked along the Chiang Mai moat and numerous city streets to pass out the soybean milk. Many of the homeless they encountered were drinking alcohol.
Mr Tia, who stays at the hotel, said that he also used to drink "because I had no hope,and thought I had no future. I just wanted to end my day by forgetting my hard work and all the eyes that look down on me".
But nowMr Tia has a sense of duty, and he is no longer without hope. He carries a small book in his hand to record the problems that homeless people confide to him, and also their needs.
"I have some pain here," said a very thin man who looked as if he'd had a lot to drink,pointing to his back. He said he needs some medicine for the pain. Ms Sukanya advised him to bend his back properly when collecting items from garbage bins. She didn't try to preach to him that he should stop drinking, but she put a subtle message across in her cheerful voice:"Oh! After you try collecting things in the right position,you can start to drink a little less. It may be useful for your health, what do you think?"
The homeless man smiled shyly.
The discussions involve so many important issues,such as where they go to take a bath and where they sell their collected products to get the best price. One man showed off a radio he found at the dump site and was able to fix. Some of the homeless said they wanted to do some merit-making and discussed which temple would allow them to enter and so on.
Mr Ti is another core member of the hotel group, and normally goes to buy the soybean milk from street vendors for distribution.
As the group ventured farther into different corners of Chiang Mai, Mr Ti said that many of the homeless they encounter don't want to join them at the hotel because they wouldn't be able to adjust to the rules set by the group,especially the one about drinking.
"They want to be our friends, but they want to continue living their lives as they are now. That is why they still sleep on the street,"said Mr Ti, who once lost his ID card to a pick-pocket. As a member of an ethnic tribe it was not easy to replace, and without it a job is very difficult to find.
Many homeless people are stateless, but Mr Ti is more fortunate. HSF staff encouraged him to go back to his home in Chiang Dao,Chiang Mai province, to replace the ID card.Finally he has received the new card. Mr Ti is an active member of the group and is known for having a character to help others.
Ms Sukanya said Mr Ti has helped many people, including a homeless woman who once worked as a street prostitute. He helped her to put her past behind her.
As we walked along a homeless man named Mr Khaek pointed across the moat to a large shophouse and said:"There, I once spent the night in front of that house." He added that the owner of the house did not chase him away because he didn't make any mess and left early the next morning. Mr Khaek sometimes fishes in the moat.
He stays at the hotel, and has now stopped
drinking. In the past it was his habit to spend the money he got from collecting recyclables and doing odd jobs on alcohol,but he is determined to change.
"I can quit drinking because I am aware that it is useless to drink," he said."Apart from that I have friends and we have many activities for ourselves and for others."
Mr Khaek was once arrested with two other homeless people and they were taken to a government shelter in Chiang Mai where many facilities were provided.
"I don't want to stay there because I don't want to be caged. I want freedom and real friends," he said. Even though Mr Khaek, Mr Ti, Mr Lop and the others want to have a place that they can call "home", they also want freedom, to live by rules they set themselves. They also want to encourage and give each other moral support.
"When someone feels like drinking they have us to pull them back. If anyone wants to steal something they think about the group,because they know that behavior will bring troubles to us and it won't be accepted. They will have to go back on the street again," said Mr Tom."We want to tell society that even though we are scavengers, we are not garbage ourselves. We don't have houses like you do but we have dignity and we are human like you," he said.
BONUS CURBS LOWER LUXURY HOME SALES
Britain's curb on banking bonuses may stunt the recovery in London's luxury-housing market by wiping out the windfalls that let buyers afford big mortgages, according to property brokers Knight Frank and Savills.
Bankers and financial-services executives are just starting to buy properties again after a year of price declines ended in March.
They alredy account for a smaller proportion of buyers than at the peak of the market, said Liam Bailey, head of residential research at London-based Knight Frank.
"If you take bonuses out of the equation, prices cannot rise as qukckly and they will take much longer to return to peak levels," Bailey said in an interview yesterday. Knight Frank and Savills are the biggesg brokers for London houses and apartments costing more than 1 million pounds (Bt53 million).
The UK's five larges banks agreed three days ago to impose limits on bonuses, follwoing guidelines set by the Group of 20 nations at their summit in Pittsburgh last week.
Financial companies have cut thousands of jobs in London in the global recession, contributing to a slump in luxury-home kprices in districts such as Mayfair and Chelsea.
Since March, property values in the most expensive areas have fallen as slower annual pace, Knight Frank estimates. They started to increase on a monthly basis in April and gained 1.3 per cent last month. Prices are still 18 per cent below their padk and 8.9 per cent lower than a year ago.
Property values returned to the level of a year earlier, the first time since March 2008 that they have not been lower on an annual basis.
The improvement in the luxury homes market is being driven by a scarcity of properties, rather than more purchasers, according to Savills, which is also based in London.
The number of homes for sale is about 25 per cent less than the average for the past five years, the broker estimates.
Finance-industry workers accounted for 32 per cent of luxuryhome buyers during the past six months, up from less 30 per cent at the start of the year, Bailey said. That compared with about 40 per cent at the market's peak in 2007.
Bankers and financial-services executives are just starting to buy properties again after a year of price declines ended in March.
They alredy account for a smaller proportion of buyers than at the peak of the market, said Liam Bailey, head of residential research at London-based Knight Frank.
"If you take bonuses out of the equation, prices cannot rise as qukckly and they will take much longer to return to peak levels," Bailey said in an interview yesterday. Knight Frank and Savills are the biggesg brokers for London houses and apartments costing more than 1 million pounds (Bt53 million).
The UK's five larges banks agreed three days ago to impose limits on bonuses, follwoing guidelines set by the Group of 20 nations at their summit in Pittsburgh last week.
Financial companies have cut thousands of jobs in London in the global recession, contributing to a slump in luxury-home kprices in districts such as Mayfair and Chelsea.
Since March, property values in the most expensive areas have fallen as slower annual pace, Knight Frank estimates. They started to increase on a monthly basis in April and gained 1.3 per cent last month. Prices are still 18 per cent below their padk and 8.9 per cent lower than a year ago.
Property values returned to the level of a year earlier, the first time since March 2008 that they have not been lower on an annual basis.
The improvement in the luxury homes market is being driven by a scarcity of properties, rather than more purchasers, according to Savills, which is also based in London.
The number of homes for sale is about 25 per cent less than the average for the past five years, the broker estimates.
Finance-industry workers accounted for 32 per cent of luxuryhome buyers during the past six months, up from less 30 per cent at the start of the year, Bailey said. That compared with about 40 per cent at the market's peak in 2007.
Friday, October 2, 2009
Homeless urban poor await genuine political will
The first Monday in October every year has been designated as World Habitat Day. It is a day on which the United Nations has called for reflection on the right of all people everywhere to adequate and secure housing.
Yet the stark reality across Asia, as throughout almost the entire developing world, is that housing rights are still routinely violated, illegal forced evictions and demolitions are rampant, and security of tenure remains but a dream for the urban poor, who constitute the majority of the population in the cities of the global South.
This situation of basic insecurity is exacerbated by the general trend of urbanisation without adequate provisions for housing the urban poor. Consequently the poor, who play a vital role in developing the cities - whether as construction workers, small-scale vendors or street cleaners - are denied a place in the very location they have helped create.
Although exclusion from a secure place in the city is just one of the many indignities suffered by hundreds of millions of slum dwellers around Asia, having to live in constant fear of eviction has a far-reaching impact that adversely affects the ability of the urban poor to overcome poverty.
Earlier this year, as the Anti-Eviction Coordinator of Leaders and Organisers of Community Organisations in Asia (LOCOA), a regional network of grassroots organisations working with the urban poor around Asia, I had the opportunity to travel to the Philippines, India, Cambodia, Indonesia and Bangladesh. In each of my destinations, I spent time visiting urban poor slum communities that had lived through actual evictions or the threat of evictions.
In some instances, these communities had successfully stopped the bulldozers of the demolition crew on the doorstep to their communities. Yet in other cases,my visits were with people who had already been forcibly evicted and compelled to settle elsewhere, sometimes with no compensation whatsoever.
While the details of the individual cases of forced eviction may have been different from place to place and country to country, the common denominator among all of them is that it is the urban poor, perhaps the most vulnerable segment of the population, who are affected.
In fact, the actual reason behind almost all of these evictions was the same: the land used for settlement by the urban poor, sometimes for several generations, has been commoditised and drawn into the real estate market.
The subsequent desire by landowners,whether private individuals or state agencies, to maximise profits by taking advantage of upward market pressure on land prices, combined with structurallyconditioned social discrimination against the urban poor, has worked to drive slum dwellers out of their homes and,in many cases, out of the city.
Just as we understand the root causes of forced evictions, we also have a fairly good idea about what can be done to stop them. Years of experience suggest that strong, united communities in pos-session of knowledge about basic human rights stand the best chance of resisting evictions and eventually finding solutions to their problem of insecurity of tenure.
Nevertheless, strong communities with knowledge about rights are not naturally occurring phenomena. Instead,both community solidarity and rights awareness are things that must be nurtured.
Once again, experience indicates that this nurturing process may be most effectively accomplished through the intervention of skilled community organisers, who play a role in boosting the confidence and competence of urban poor community residents, empowering them to stand up collectively and demand their basic rights.
It is consequently quite fitting that on the occasion of World Habitat Day 2009, LOCOA, together with its Thai member, the Four Regions Slum Network (FRSN), will hold a six-day workshop in Bangkok for young community organisers to share their experiences and hone the skills of their trade.
As an independent grassroot people's organisation, FRSN has been instrumental in protecting urban poor communities from forced eviction. But beyond addressing these immediate concerns,FRSN has also been one of the main voices advocating for long-term solutions to the problems of urban land and housing insecurity in Thailand.
Its current proposal to implement concretely the government's new community land title deed policy in three of its own member communities situated on public land alongside canals in Bangkok, is an idea well worth studying.
The three communities in question have been organised and exercising responsible stewardship over the canals for more than 10 years already, but the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration has thus far been reluctant to legalise their status.
If the government's policy on community land title deeds is able to overcome this obstacle and proves to be effective in establishing the security of tenure of these three FRSN communities,other LOCOA members will certainly take note of this innovative solution from Thailand for possible application in their own countries.
This year, the UN's official theme for World Habitat Day is "Planning Our Urban Future."
While the focus on urban planning may be well-intentioned, privileging a technical approach to solving the problem of urban poor housing insecurity overlooks the importance of first ensuring that the genuine political will exists to find a solution to this problem.
This more important prior step is something that can best be achieved through the mobilisation of united, organised communities demanding government accountability for the provision of the fundamental right to adequate and secure housing.
Jeff Wong was Coordinator of the LOCOA Anti-Eviction Programme and is currently an adviser to the Four Regions Slum Network for international affairs.
Yet the stark reality across Asia, as throughout almost the entire developing world, is that housing rights are still routinely violated, illegal forced evictions and demolitions are rampant, and security of tenure remains but a dream for the urban poor, who constitute the majority of the population in the cities of the global South.
This situation of basic insecurity is exacerbated by the general trend of urbanisation without adequate provisions for housing the urban poor. Consequently the poor, who play a vital role in developing the cities - whether as construction workers, small-scale vendors or street cleaners - are denied a place in the very location they have helped create.
Although exclusion from a secure place in the city is just one of the many indignities suffered by hundreds of millions of slum dwellers around Asia, having to live in constant fear of eviction has a far-reaching impact that adversely affects the ability of the urban poor to overcome poverty.
Earlier this year, as the Anti-Eviction Coordinator of Leaders and Organisers of Community Organisations in Asia (LOCOA), a regional network of grassroots organisations working with the urban poor around Asia, I had the opportunity to travel to the Philippines, India, Cambodia, Indonesia and Bangladesh. In each of my destinations, I spent time visiting urban poor slum communities that had lived through actual evictions or the threat of evictions.
In some instances, these communities had successfully stopped the bulldozers of the demolition crew on the doorstep to their communities. Yet in other cases,my visits were with people who had already been forcibly evicted and compelled to settle elsewhere, sometimes with no compensation whatsoever.
While the details of the individual cases of forced eviction may have been different from place to place and country to country, the common denominator among all of them is that it is the urban poor, perhaps the most vulnerable segment of the population, who are affected.
In fact, the actual reason behind almost all of these evictions was the same: the land used for settlement by the urban poor, sometimes for several generations, has been commoditised and drawn into the real estate market.
The subsequent desire by landowners,whether private individuals or state agencies, to maximise profits by taking advantage of upward market pressure on land prices, combined with structurallyconditioned social discrimination against the urban poor, has worked to drive slum dwellers out of their homes and,in many cases, out of the city.
Just as we understand the root causes of forced evictions, we also have a fairly good idea about what can be done to stop them. Years of experience suggest that strong, united communities in pos-session of knowledge about basic human rights stand the best chance of resisting evictions and eventually finding solutions to their problem of insecurity of tenure.
Nevertheless, strong communities with knowledge about rights are not naturally occurring phenomena. Instead,both community solidarity and rights awareness are things that must be nurtured.
Once again, experience indicates that this nurturing process may be most effectively accomplished through the intervention of skilled community organisers, who play a role in boosting the confidence and competence of urban poor community residents, empowering them to stand up collectively and demand their basic rights.
It is consequently quite fitting that on the occasion of World Habitat Day 2009, LOCOA, together with its Thai member, the Four Regions Slum Network (FRSN), will hold a six-day workshop in Bangkok for young community organisers to share their experiences and hone the skills of their trade.
As an independent grassroot people's organisation, FRSN has been instrumental in protecting urban poor communities from forced eviction. But beyond addressing these immediate concerns,FRSN has also been one of the main voices advocating for long-term solutions to the problems of urban land and housing insecurity in Thailand.
Its current proposal to implement concretely the government's new community land title deed policy in three of its own member communities situated on public land alongside canals in Bangkok, is an idea well worth studying.
The three communities in question have been organised and exercising responsible stewardship over the canals for more than 10 years already, but the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration has thus far been reluctant to legalise their status.
If the government's policy on community land title deeds is able to overcome this obstacle and proves to be effective in establishing the security of tenure of these three FRSN communities,other LOCOA members will certainly take note of this innovative solution from Thailand for possible application in their own countries.
This year, the UN's official theme for World Habitat Day is "Planning Our Urban Future."
While the focus on urban planning may be well-intentioned, privileging a technical approach to solving the problem of urban poor housing insecurity overlooks the importance of first ensuring that the genuine political will exists to find a solution to this problem.
This more important prior step is something that can best be achieved through the mobilisation of united, organised communities demanding government accountability for the provision of the fundamental right to adequate and secure housing.
Jeff Wong was Coordinator of the LOCOA Anti-Eviction Programme and is currently an adviser to the Four Regions Slum Network for international affairs.
NACC strengthens Alpine case
An anti-graft subcommittee has found evidence which it believes could be used in filing charges against the leaders of the Pracharaj and Puea Thai parties in connection with the Alpine land ownership scandal.
The National Anti-Corruption Commission subcommittee has prepared charges to be brought against Pracharaj's Sanoh Thienthong and Puea Thai's Yongyuth Wichaidit based on the evidence, according to Vicha Mahakhun,the NACC commissioner who heads the inquiry panel looking into the case.
The investigation has been completed with the necessary information and evi-dence, he said. However, he did not give details of what charges would be brought.
Mr Vicha said the subcommittee had advised Mr Sanoh of its findings by mail and he had answered by sending a letter to contest them. Mr Yongyuth sent his lawyer to acknowledge the findings on his behalf.
The two have been given 15 days to appear before the subcommittee to defend themselves or to submit written testimony in their defence.
The subcommittee will then begin witness hearings before forwarding its recommendations on what action to take against the two to the main NACC panel. Mr Vicha said he had signed documents approving the action against the two last week.
The 924-rai Alpine golf course and housing development in Pathum Thani became the subject of an ownership dispute when, in 2001, the Council of State declared it was monastic land and urged that its ownership be revoked.
The Land Department revoked the rights of the new owner, who then lodged an appeal against the decision with the Interior Ministry.
Mr Yongyuth, as then acting interior permanent secretary, suspended the department's decision to revoke the ownership in 2002.
Mr Yongyuth used an administrative law to overrule the department's decision after being advised the department would lose any appeal brought by the developers in court.
Deputy Interior Minister Thaworn Senneam asked land officials in January this year to re-examine the case to determine if it was still possible to retake the land. The land was originally owned by Neum Chamnanchartsakda who donated it in her will to Wat Thammikaram in Prachuap Khiri Khan.
The temple decided not to register the land as it could not afford the 10 million baht in land transfer fees. It transferred it to a foundation, which then sold it to a private company.
It is alleged the transfer of the land proceeded under questionable circumstances.
The land was transferred to the foundation which acted as an executor for Neum on Aug 21,1990, and then it was sold on the same day to the company which operates the Alpine Golf and Sports Club, Alpine Real Estate and Golf Co.
The temple's request for permission to sell the land to the company was signed by Mr Sanoh, then deputy interior minister.
The land was developed into a golf course and a housing estate.
Mr Sanoh himself partly owned the golf course, which was later sold to Thaksin Shinawatra in 1997. Alpine Real Estate and Golf Co is now owned by Thaksin's former wife, Khunying Potjaman na Pombejra, and their two daughters.
Back in 2002, the opposition Democrat Party launched a censure debate against the government of then prime minister Thaksin over the sale of the land from the temple to the company held by the family of Mr Sanoh for about 142 million baht. The same year Watchara Phetthong, a Democrat MP, also lodged a complaint with the NACC against the politicians accused of involvement.
The issue lay moribund for years until Democrat MPs recently raised the controversy in what was seen as a move to pressure the Bhumjaithai Party, which is in charge of the Interior Ministry,over the nomination of a new police chief.
The National Anti-Corruption Commission subcommittee has prepared charges to be brought against Pracharaj's Sanoh Thienthong and Puea Thai's Yongyuth Wichaidit based on the evidence, according to Vicha Mahakhun,the NACC commissioner who heads the inquiry panel looking into the case.
The investigation has been completed with the necessary information and evi-dence, he said. However, he did not give details of what charges would be brought.
Mr Vicha said the subcommittee had advised Mr Sanoh of its findings by mail and he had answered by sending a letter to contest them. Mr Yongyuth sent his lawyer to acknowledge the findings on his behalf.
The two have been given 15 days to appear before the subcommittee to defend themselves or to submit written testimony in their defence.
The subcommittee will then begin witness hearings before forwarding its recommendations on what action to take against the two to the main NACC panel. Mr Vicha said he had signed documents approving the action against the two last week.
The 924-rai Alpine golf course and housing development in Pathum Thani became the subject of an ownership dispute when, in 2001, the Council of State declared it was monastic land and urged that its ownership be revoked.
The Land Department revoked the rights of the new owner, who then lodged an appeal against the decision with the Interior Ministry.
Mr Yongyuth, as then acting interior permanent secretary, suspended the department's decision to revoke the ownership in 2002.
Mr Yongyuth used an administrative law to overrule the department's decision after being advised the department would lose any appeal brought by the developers in court.
Deputy Interior Minister Thaworn Senneam asked land officials in January this year to re-examine the case to determine if it was still possible to retake the land. The land was originally owned by Neum Chamnanchartsakda who donated it in her will to Wat Thammikaram in Prachuap Khiri Khan.
The temple decided not to register the land as it could not afford the 10 million baht in land transfer fees. It transferred it to a foundation, which then sold it to a private company.
It is alleged the transfer of the land proceeded under questionable circumstances.
The land was transferred to the foundation which acted as an executor for Neum on Aug 21,1990, and then it was sold on the same day to the company which operates the Alpine Golf and Sports Club, Alpine Real Estate and Golf Co.
The temple's request for permission to sell the land to the company was signed by Mr Sanoh, then deputy interior minister.
The land was developed into a golf course and a housing estate.
Mr Sanoh himself partly owned the golf course, which was later sold to Thaksin Shinawatra in 1997. Alpine Real Estate and Golf Co is now owned by Thaksin's former wife, Khunying Potjaman na Pombejra, and their two daughters.
Back in 2002, the opposition Democrat Party launched a censure debate against the government of then prime minister Thaksin over the sale of the land from the temple to the company held by the family of Mr Sanoh for about 142 million baht. The same year Watchara Phetthong, a Democrat MP, also lodged a complaint with the NACC against the politicians accused of involvement.
The issue lay moribund for years until Democrat MPs recently raised the controversy in what was seen as a move to pressure the Bhumjaithai Party, which is in charge of the Interior Ministry,over the nomination of a new police chief.
PROPERTY BODIES WANT REVISION OF BOI TAX BENEFITS
Three property associations have asked the Industry Ministry to revise Board of Investment tax privileges granted to low-cost residential projects, because it is bringing housing prices down 4-5 per cent.
The proposal was made yesterday to Industry Minister Charnchai Chairungrueng as he presided over the opening of the 21st House & Condo Show, which runs until Sunday at the Queen Sirikit National Convention Centre in Bangkok.
Thai Condominium Association president Atip Bijanonda said the Thai Real Estate Association, the Thai Condominium Association and the Business Housing Association (BHA) want the BOI to reconsider its revised tax privileges implemented on June 10.
He said the BOI was encouraged to consider four points.
First, the tax benefit should be extended to property developers nationwide instead of only those in the greater Bangkok area.
Second, the per-unit price making developers eligible for the privilege should be revised.
Under present regulations, condominium projects that receive the tax break should sell each unit - no smaller than 28 square metres in size - at no more than Bt1 million, and a project should feature at least 50 units.
Low-rise residential projects receive a tax break if each unit is sold at no more than Bt1.2 million, up from Bt600,000 a unit previously, with total space of no less than 70 square metres a unit.
The associations want the BOI to let condominium developers sell 28-square-metre units for Bt1.2 million and still receive a tax break.
Third is the revision of the condition of a condo project having at least 50 units priced at Bt1 million each in order to be eligible. The associations want the BOI to allow them to have a section in the project that can be sold for more than Bt1 million per unit.
Finally, the associations want condominium developers to be able to apply for tax benefits while the project is being constructed instead of having to wait until it has been completed.
Charnchai said the government would consider the proposal, provided it helped low-income earners buy their own homes.
BHA president Issara Boonyong said the associations would meet with the Secondary Mortgage Corp (SMC) next Tuesday to discuss how developers could help buyers get a mortgage from SMC.
Meanwhile, there are quite a few deals being offered at the House & Condo Show.
A quick survey by Nation reporters showed most commercial banks at the fair were offering attractive mortgage schemes, such as zero interest for three to seven months.
Siam Commercial Bank offers the best deal with zero interest for the first seven months, and then a choice of the minimum retail rate of minus 0.75 per cent, minus 1 per cent or minus 0.5 per cent.
Apart from this, property firms are also giving away special deals, such as Sansiri offering half off on the down payment and zero interest for the first year and Bangkok House Builder cutting prices by Bt350,000.
The proposal was made yesterday to Industry Minister Charnchai Chairungrueng as he presided over the opening of the 21st House & Condo Show, which runs until Sunday at the Queen Sirikit National Convention Centre in Bangkok.
Thai Condominium Association president Atip Bijanonda said the Thai Real Estate Association, the Thai Condominium Association and the Business Housing Association (BHA) want the BOI to reconsider its revised tax privileges implemented on June 10.
He said the BOI was encouraged to consider four points.
First, the tax benefit should be extended to property developers nationwide instead of only those in the greater Bangkok area.
Second, the per-unit price making developers eligible for the privilege should be revised.
Under present regulations, condominium projects that receive the tax break should sell each unit - no smaller than 28 square metres in size - at no more than Bt1 million, and a project should feature at least 50 units.
Low-rise residential projects receive a tax break if each unit is sold at no more than Bt1.2 million, up from Bt600,000 a unit previously, with total space of no less than 70 square metres a unit.
The associations want the BOI to let condominium developers sell 28-square-metre units for Bt1.2 million and still receive a tax break.
Third is the revision of the condition of a condo project having at least 50 units priced at Bt1 million each in order to be eligible. The associations want the BOI to allow them to have a section in the project that can be sold for more than Bt1 million per unit.
Finally, the associations want condominium developers to be able to apply for tax benefits while the project is being constructed instead of having to wait until it has been completed.
Charnchai said the government would consider the proposal, provided it helped low-income earners buy their own homes.
BHA president Issara Boonyong said the associations would meet with the Secondary Mortgage Corp (SMC) next Tuesday to discuss how developers could help buyers get a mortgage from SMC.
Meanwhile, there are quite a few deals being offered at the House & Condo Show.
A quick survey by Nation reporters showed most commercial banks at the fair were offering attractive mortgage schemes, such as zero interest for three to seven months.
Siam Commercial Bank offers the best deal with zero interest for the first seven months, and then a choice of the minimum retail rate of minus 0.75 per cent, minus 1 per cent or minus 0.5 per cent.
Apart from this, property firms are also giving away special deals, such as Sansiri offering half off on the down payment and zero interest for the first year and Bangkok House Builder cutting prices by Bt350,000.
Industry Ministry vows to expand BoI Home programme
The Industry Ministry yesterday pledged to push forward a proposal by three real estate associations to expand Board of Investment privileges for developers that build affordable housing.
Extending the BoI Home programme and amending existing regulations would increase sales in the affordable housing sector, said Industry Minister Charnchai Chairungruang.
"We will consider it immediately,"he said, after receiving a proposal letter during the House & Condo Fair that began yesterday and runs until Sunday.
"It's the government's policy to promote and support the private sector."
The House & Condo Fair, being held at Queen Sirikit National Convention Center, showcases 600 housing projects worth more than 100 billion baht. The associations expect sales of 3 billion baht from the four-day event.
Atip Bijanonda, president of the Thai Condominium Association, said that if the proposal was approved, the BoI Home programme would create new business and spur residential market growth.
Three real estate associations have asked the BoI to allow condominiums to have units that meet its pricing conditions, as well as higher-priced units in the same building.
Maximum BoI condo unit prices should be raised to 1.2 million baht from 1 million currently, on par with BoI townhouse and single house regulations, according to the proposal.
The associations also asked the BoI to allow presales of condominiums. Currently, a condominium developer that wants to apply for BoI Home privileges must deliver completed units to buyers.
Other proposals include an expansion of privileges now granted only to developers of BoI homes in Zone 1, covering six provinces: Bangkok, Nonthaburi, Na-khon Pathom, Pathum Thani, Samut Prakan and Samut Sakhon.
Issara Boonyoung, president of the Housing Business Association, said the privileges should be extended to other zones, especially Zone 2, where living and construction costs are almost the same as in Zone 1.
Zone 2 covers 12 provinces, five of which have high land costs. They are Phuket, Chon Buri, Chachoengsao,Rayong and Ayutthaya, as some are in-dustrial provinces and some are tourism destinations.
"If what we proposed is approved,BoI Home units could number more than 20,000 next year from 2,000 to 3,000 a year now," he said."If it is not approved,only 10,000 units will be sold next year."
Mr Issara said the recent meeting between the associations and BoI authorities led to an agreement to amend and adjust regulations that have obstructed more BoI Home development.
Extending the BoI Home programme and amending existing regulations would increase sales in the affordable housing sector, said Industry Minister Charnchai Chairungruang.
"We will consider it immediately,"he said, after receiving a proposal letter during the House & Condo Fair that began yesterday and runs until Sunday.
"It's the government's policy to promote and support the private sector."
The House & Condo Fair, being held at Queen Sirikit National Convention Center, showcases 600 housing projects worth more than 100 billion baht. The associations expect sales of 3 billion baht from the four-day event.
Atip Bijanonda, president of the Thai Condominium Association, said that if the proposal was approved, the BoI Home programme would create new business and spur residential market growth.
Three real estate associations have asked the BoI to allow condominiums to have units that meet its pricing conditions, as well as higher-priced units in the same building.
Maximum BoI condo unit prices should be raised to 1.2 million baht from 1 million currently, on par with BoI townhouse and single house regulations, according to the proposal.
The associations also asked the BoI to allow presales of condominiums. Currently, a condominium developer that wants to apply for BoI Home privileges must deliver completed units to buyers.
Other proposals include an expansion of privileges now granted only to developers of BoI homes in Zone 1, covering six provinces: Bangkok, Nonthaburi, Na-khon Pathom, Pathum Thani, Samut Prakan and Samut Sakhon.
Issara Boonyoung, president of the Housing Business Association, said the privileges should be extended to other zones, especially Zone 2, where living and construction costs are almost the same as in Zone 1.
Zone 2 covers 12 provinces, five of which have high land costs. They are Phuket, Chon Buri, Chachoengsao,Rayong and Ayutthaya, as some are in-dustrial provinces and some are tourism destinations.
"If what we proposed is approved,BoI Home units could number more than 20,000 next year from 2,000 to 3,000 a year now," he said."If it is not approved,only 10,000 units will be sold next year."
Mr Issara said the recent meeting between the associations and BoI authorities led to an agreement to amend and adjust regulations that have obstructed more BoI Home development.
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