KPN Land targets condos worth Bt35 bn in joint venture

“We plan to develop an average of two new projects worth an average of Bt7 billion a year from this year until 2022, with the first two projects to be launched this year,” he said of the plans by the joint venture, KPN-Keppel Alliance Co Ltd. The two projects, in Sukhumvit Soi 19 and Soi 28, are worth a total of Bt7 billion.
The Sukhumvit Soi i9 project, worth Bt2.5 billion, is due to be launched in the second quarter of this year. The launch of the project in Sukhumvit Soi 28, worth Bt4.5 billion, has been delayed from the third quarter to the final quarter. The company had to revise its design to match with the demands of the local community and have an environmental impact assessment (EIA) for the project cleared, Rawee said.
Under the business plan, the company needs to acquire the new land for the development of residential projects in Bangkok at a cost of up to Bt4 billion a year. This would enable it to develop 14 condominiums worth more than Bt35 billion from this year to 2022, he said.
Keppel Land’s president of regional investment, Sam Moon Thong, said that the company sees strong demand for residential projects in Bangkok, prompting it to expand its investments in Thailand. The company had withdrawn form the Thai market in 2016.
 “We believe that our new business model, with the setting up of a joint venture firm with a local partner in Thailand, would work out better than the investment result we achieved when we first entered the Thai market on our own in 2000,” he said. “This is because our local partner will help us to manage and develop the projects.”
Keppel Land is a subsidiary and property arm of Keppel Corporation Group, which is a multibillion-dollar operation providing solutions for sustainable urbanisation while meeting a growing need for energy services, infrastructure, clean environments, high quality homes and commercial developments, and connectivity.
Keppel Land has expanded its investment in several countries in Asia, such as China, Vietnam, Indonesia, Myanmar, the Philippines, and Thailand.
 “When we expand our investment in overseas markets we expect a return on investment averaging in the double digits, including for our investment in Thailand,” Moon Thong said.
 Rawee said the company also expects its annual business growth to be in the double digits under the joint venture with Keppel Land.
KPN Land expects its total revenue to reach Bt2.5 billion in this year, Rawee said. Most of the company’s new residential projects to be launched by 2022 would be developed under the joint venture with Keppel Land, he said.
“We will propose that all of the land for the development of condominiums be considered as projects for the joint venture. If the joint venture firm is interested in a particular site, then that project would be develop by the joint venture. 
If not, KPN Land would undertake the development on its own,” he said.