Sansiri keeps pace, tightens liquidity control to ride out the economic storm

Uthai Uthaisangsuk, president of Sansiri Plc, likened the company’s business outlook for 2026 to driving on a road where it is still not possible to push the pedal to 120 kilometres an hour. 

Sansiri, he said, is moving at around 80 kilometres an hour—neither accelerating nor braking—because the engine remains strong and the systems are still running at full efficiency.

“Thailand’s economy remains fragile. GDP growth is low and purchasing power is slowing, even though tourism is still providing some support,” he said, “This year, we need to keep a close watch on agriculture and trade, as well as external risks—geopolitical conflicts, trade wars, and volatility in the global economy.”

He added that the property sector has a clear relationship with GDP and typically “lags” the broader economy by around six months. 

When the economy slows, property slows; when the economy recovers, property tends to rebound more strongly—often by more than one-for-one. This is the nature of a business tied to supply chains and large-scale investment, so extra caution is still required.

Markets worry about liquidity… but the game is not at a dead end

 Even so, the current capital-market mood is dominated by questions about “borrowing” and “liquidity”, particularly among property firms that rely on large pools of funding. From Sansiri’s perspective, however, the overall picture remains manageable because contingency plans have been prepared in advance.

“This year, the company has debentures worth about 15 billion baht maturing, staggered by quarter at roughly 3–4 billion baht each time,” Uthai said, “Every project already has 100% project financing support from banks, so repayments are not concentrated in one period and operations are not affected.”

When bank money becomes cheaper than market money

Uthai said that Sansiri has historically relied on debentures as its main funding source because interest costs were, on average, about 0.5 percentage points per year lower than project financing. 

But the picture is changing as liquidity returns to the banking system, with several commercial banks beginning to offer three-year term loans at interest rates lower than debentures.

Sansiri has already received offers of this type totalling around 3–4 billion baht, reflecting both greater funding options and financial institutions’ confidence in the company’s position.

A capital structure that can “move”

Sansiri’s capital structure has been designed to be flexible: debentures account for about 50%, project financing around 30%, and the remainder comes from other forms of borrowing that can be increased or reduced depending on conditions. If necessary, the company can immediately raise the share of project financing to replace debentures.

“Sansiri’s debentures have continued to see strong demand, even during periods of negative market news, and every offering has been oversubscribed,” Uthai said, “Most recently, a 3 billion baht debenture issuance in Q3–Q4 was above target. Meanwhile, the D/E ratio has come down to around 1.3 times, which is within levels acceptable to financial institutions.”

Managing stock = managing cash

Another key factor behind Sansiri’s strength is inventory management. Current inventory is valued at around 14 billion baht—“low” compared with annual sales of more than 40 billion baht—helping cash cycle back into the company more quickly.

Even if it has to accept slightly lower margins through promotions, the trade-off is improved liquidity and a stronger balance sheet while waiting for the market to recover.

At a broader level, Thailand’s property market is in a correction phase. Smaller developers and SMEs with heavy inventories and limited funding options are coming under pressure and may disappear, as in past cycles.

There are currently around 1,000 operators, and that number could fall below 1,000 because banks are not providing loans for project development. Larger players that control budgets and cash—and retain banks’ confidence—will be able to endure and expand market share.

Overall housing supply stands at about 200,000 units, equivalent to roughly four years of sales—high for current economic conditions. However, Sansiri has ready-to-sell stock for only 2–3 months, underscoring tight risk management.

The market is filtering players

Uthai stressed that the lower-end segment, priced at 2–3 million baht per unit, has been hit by a loan rejection rate of nearly 50% due to limited income and rising household debt. The mid-market segment—buyers earning 50,000–100,000 baht per month—faces a rejection rate of around 10%.

The top end remains resilient

Sansiri aims to keep its rejection rate at around 10% by working closely with banks to screen buyers from before reservation through to transfer. As a result, banks have increased their support limits for Sansiri, reflecting confidence in the company.

Meanwhile, smaller operators burdened with high inventories and constrained liquidity are gradually leaving the market because banks are hesitant to lend, pushing market share towards larger developers.

Managing risk without cutting capability

In this context, Sansiri is choosing not to reduce the number of projects, but to adjust its approach by launching more small-scale projects to diversify risk, while keeping the overall project value broadly unchanged. This year, it is targeting transfers of around 39 billion baht, up from 36.7 billion baht last year, driven by a higher number of condominium transfers.

Phuket and major cities as the long-game support

Uthai said Phuket has become Sansiri’s second most important revenue base after Bangkok, supported by foreign demand—particularly around the Laguna area—while Chiang Mai continues to be driven by Thai demand. 

In Bangkok, the condominium market is starting to recover as new supply declines and remaining players are largely major developers.

He added that a trend of population movement into large cities—similar to Japan—is making Phuket, Pattaya, Khon Kaen and Bangkok key “economic nodes” or strategic hubs. This aligns with Sansiri’s strategy of developing projects near workplaces, mass transit, universities and hospitals.

These are the reasons Sansiri has chosen to “hold its speed”—not rushing and not stopping, but moving forward steadily on a road that still requires close attention.