WHA Group Bets 16.5bn Baht on Thailand's New Economy as Global Trade Fractures

 

 

The Thai industrial conglomerate targets 20bn baht in revenue for 2026, banking on supply chain shifts, clean energy, and AI to outpace rivals.

 

 

WHA Group is making one of the boldest bets in Thailand's corporate calendar. The Bangkok-listed industrial conglomerate announced on Thursday a 16,500 million baht capital expenditure plan for 2026 — a figure that exceeds its entire normalised revenue just three years ago — as it moves to capture a generation-defining shift in global manufacturing and clean energy.

 

The group's ambitions are framed around a single, sweeping mission it calls "WHA: Shape the Future for Thailand," built on four strategic pillars: extending leadership in industrial estates, embracing artificial intelligence and digital technology, deepening its green energy commitments, and reorganising its workforce to operate as orchestrators of machine intelligence rather than manual operators.

 

Chief executive Jareeporn Jarukornsakul, who has steered WHA through four consecutive years of record profits, was characteristically blunt about the macro backdrop. 

 

 

 

 

 

"2026 presents multifaceted challenges," she said at a press conference in Bangkok. "Complex geopolitics, volatile global trade dynamics, the impact of AI — but WHA views these as opportunities for Thailand to upgrade its infrastructure and integrated industrial ecosystem."

 

The strategy rests on a calculated reading of two mega-forces. The first is the accelerating fragmentation of global supply chains, as manufacturers seek to diversify away from China under the dual pressure of US tariff policy and geopolitical risk. 
 

 

 

 

The second is the energy-intensive rise of data centres and AI computing, which Jareeporn sees as a watershed moment for Thailand's utility and industrial infrastructure.

 

 

 

 

 

Aggressive Targets, Disciplined Balance Sheet

WHA is targeting normalised total revenue and share of profit exceeding 20,000 million baht in 2026, up from 18,108 million baht last year — an implied growth rate of more than 10 per cent. 

 

The group has set an EBITDA margin target above 45 per cent and intends to keep its net interest-bearing debt-to-equity ratio at or below 1.2 times, providing a financial buffer that analysts are likely to scrutinise given the scale of spending planned.

 

The capital deployment is spread across five business hubs: industrial estates will absorb the lion's share at 9,000 million baht, followed by logistics at 3,700 million baht, utilities and power at 2,900 million baht, mobility at 600 million baht, and digital initiatives at 300 million baht. 

 

 

 

 

Land sales are targeted at 2,500 rai for the year, with 2,300 rai earmarked for Thailand and 200 rai for its expanding Vietnam operations.

 

Vietnam is shaping up as a significant growth lever. 

 

WHA received the Investment Registration Certificate for its WHA Smart Technology Industrial Zone 2 (Phase 1) in Thanh Hoa province earlier this month, and is also pursuing expansion in Hung Yen and Da Nang — provinces that have seen a surge of interest from manufacturers reconfiguring their Asian footprints.

 

 

 

 

Record Results Provide the Platform

The backdrop for these ambitions is a strong 2025 performance. WHA reported a normalised net profit of 5,261 million baht for the full year, a 16 per cent increase year-on-year and ahead of analyst consensus estimates of around 4,900 million baht — a result Jareeporn described with characteristic flair as "breaking the pens of the sages." 
 

 

Normalised revenue and share of profit rose 26 per cent to 18,108 million baht. Total assets crossed 100,000 million baht for the first time, reaching 101,400 million baht, while the group maintained its A- credit rating.

 

Logistics performance was a particular highlight. The group managed 3,241,949 square metres of warehouse and factory space in 2025, securing new leases of 204,437 square metres — above target. 

 

In Vietnam, its first logistics centre in Hung Yen Province exceeded 60 per cent occupancy. New projects in Bangna-Trad and Theparak achieved near-full occupancy upon opening.

 

The utilities arm recorded water sales and management of 160 million cubic metres, with new contracts secured totalling 28 million cubic metres annually — driven largely by the surging water requirements of data centre operators, which Jareeporn noted can be 12 to 16 times greater than standard industrial usage.

 

On the power side, equity-based generation capacity reached 1,026 MW, with 715 MW operational and 311 MW under development. The board approved a full-year dividend of 0.2107 baht per share, up 10.5 per cent year-on-year, with an ex-dividend date of 11 May 2026.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Strengths and Fault Lines

WHA's integrated model — combining industrial land, logistics, water, power and digital services under one roof — remains its most durable competitive advantage. 

 

For foreign manufacturers scouting for a Southeast Asian base, the ability to procure land, utilities, warehousing and green energy credentials from a single operator materially reduces execution risk. 

 

This proposition has been sharpened by the group's "Turning Green to Growth" philosophy, which packages sustainability not as a compliance obligation but as a cost-saving and market-access tool for its tenant base.

 

There are, however, credible pressures to monitor. The 2025 industrial land sales figure of 1,340 rai fell notably short of the 2,350 rai target set at the start of the year, even though a 900-rai deal was converted into a contract in February 2026. 

 

The group's land transfer figure of 2,074 rai benefited from prior-year backlogs rather than pure new demand. The 2026 sales target of 2,500 rai represents a significant step-up that will require a sustained inflow of foreign investors at a time when broader Thai GDP growth remains a point of debate.

 

The 16,500 million baht CAPEX commitment, while demonstrating confidence, will also keep leverage elevated.

 

 

 

Maintaining the net IBD/equity ratio at or below 1.2 times — broadly the ceiling that credit markets tend to watch for investment-grade industrial companies — will require disciplined execution of the planned 4,700 million baht asset recycling into the WHART and WHAIR property trusts.

 

WHA's EV and digital bets are still nascent. Mobilix, its integrated electric vehicle rental and charging platform, closed 2025 with a cumulative fleet of just 387 vehicles. The target for 2026 is 637 vehicles — growth that appears incremental relative to the broader ambitions outlined for the segment. 

 

Similarly, AI transformation initiatives, while spanning more than 40 projects internally, are yet to be monetised at meaningful scale externally.

 

 

 

 

Playing the Long Game on Geopolitics

Jareeporn is a close reader of macro frameworks. She repeatedly invoked Ray Dalio's thesis on a "Changing World Order" to frame WHA's positioning — arguing that as the US-China rivalry reshapes trade flows, mid-sized, politically stable manufacturing hubs in Southeast Asia stand to benefit disproportionately. 

 

Thailand's Foreign Direct Investment approvals through the Board of Investment reached 1.8 trillion baht last year, the highest on record, lending some empirical support to that view.

 

Her message to investors and tenants alike was one of deliberate patience. 

 

"If we only look at the short-term and use it to decide strategy, it won't work," she said. "You must look at the big picture, the long picture, and the far picture." 

 

Whether the market's immediate attention to quarterly land sales and margin delivery will afford WHA the patience that philosophy demands remains the central tension in the group's investment case.

 

For now, WHA exits its record-breaking 2025 with a stronger balance sheet, a fully articulated growth strategy, and a clear ambition to become the default infrastructure platform for Thailand's industrial transition. 

 

The execution of that ambition — across 17 industrial estates, a nascent EV platform, an AI transformation roadmap and an expanding Vietnamese footprint — will define whether the group's 2026 targets prove a floor or a ceiling.