BASAR GLOBAL INSIGHTS ON COMMERCIAL REAL ESTATE

Thailand, which translates to “land of the free,” is the only Southeast Asian nation that did not encounter European colonization. Thailand GDP is 452 billion and the population is 69,037,000 and the average income is $17,854 dollars. In 2018 Thailand economy is picking up with growth in exports and tourism. Thailand finished last year with 3.9% from last gross domestic product (GDP) growth, resulting from a significant increase of 9.9% in exports to all major markets.The tourism sector, accounting for 20% of the country’s GDP, saw a record $35.4 million arrivals in 2017 with further growth predicted for 2018. The area of Bangkok has 12.9 million people and Thailand receive over 20 million visitors a year to Bangkok, Phuket and other national treasures. The Thailand hotel market was growing however it is waiting to absorb more supply to drive gross number in 2019. However, the capital flow into Thai tourism is still coming from mainland China in the form of tourist and global investors .Greenland one China’s largest developers said that its Greenland Hotel and Tourism Group has reached an agreement with Bangkok-based developer Siamese Asset to manage a portfolio of 10 of the company’s hotel and serviced apartment projects, starting with the Shanghai-based company taking over the management of three Siamese Asset projects in Bangkok.

That deal with Siamese asset was preceded earlier this month by Greenland signing a strategic partnership with a unit of Singapore-based real estate company Dennis Wee Group and Hong Kong-registered BNR Asia Holdings, to manage the hospitality element of a mixed-use project in Chiang Mai, Thailand.

The Thai-centered agreements come as Greenland expands its set of overseas hospitality management deals to 45 properties in six countries, including Malaysia, Laos and Vietnam, in addition to Thailand and China. Developers are starting to diversify across various asset classes with residential condominium developers looking at moving into income producing office, retail and hotel properties.

In 2017 we have already seen the biggest land sale in Thai history with the acquisition of the British Embassy site by the CPN/Hongkong Land joint venture and a record price paid of 420 million Euros (20B-Bhat) for a development site on Soi Langsuan by SC Asset.Capital flow for prime Bangkok central business district( CBD) sites has remained strong with developers continuing to acquire sites both for condominium and rental income producing office, hotel and retail developments.

Foreign investors from China and the region are buying property sight unseen, fresh off the internet where it only takes $1500,00 dollars to lock in a property deal. The Chinese quirky mainland millennial s are also in the news today as they begin snapping up homes in Bangkok and Phuket via their Xiaomis and Oppos websites, and with Chinese capital still getting squeezed, US EB-5 visa projects are turning to Vietnam as their new source of cheap financing. Retail is evolving through the battle of internet versus bricks with a number of new shopping center being completed in 2019 .The office market is stable as the tenancy adapt the new flex space modeled after Pipework continues to grow. The Industrial sector is growing with data centers expanding as the e commerce model continues to rise for the 4.0 Industrial revolution.The hotel sector is absorbing new supply while maintaining a steady growth rate as tourism and $45B dollar ASEAN funded infrastructure projects are being finished for China Belt and Road initiative.Although the Asia Pacific is showing mixed signals concerning capital flow and the question of what stage of the cycle are we in ?