Sansiri homes in on Chinese buyers

The showroom in the strategic location comes as part of the listed property company’s efforts to achievie double-digit sales growth in its overseas markets this year, president Srettha Thavisin said after the opening of the Hong Kong premises yesterday.
 “Our presales from overseas buyers are rising, especially those mainland China and Hong Kong, which accounted for about 80 per cent of our overseas sales of Bt14 billion last year,” Srettha said.
“As a result, we decided to open our sales gallery in Hong Kong to serve our Chinese customers and build our brand in the market after we had earlier opened a sales gallery in Singapore, which has undergone renovation to become Siri House.”
At the end of year 2018, Sansiri recorded total presales of Bt48.5 billion, with up to Bt14 billion of this amount coming from overseas buyers - about 28 per cent of its total presales for that year.
Its overseas customers come mainly from mainland China, Hong Kong, Singapore, Taiwan, and Japan. Up to 50 per cent of them are from mainland China, with 30 per cent from Hong Kong. Buyers from Singapore, Taiwan and Japan make up the bottom 20 per cent of the overseas buyers.
Most of the Hong Kong buyers want condominiums near the mass transit system on Sukhumvit Road in Bangkok, and they are also interested in Pattaya and Hua Hin.
“Most of our Hong Kong customers are investors who buy with the aim of renting out their properties for an investment yield averaging 5 per cent a year. Most of them also buy the residences with cash,” Srettha said.
He added that Hong Kong customers have strong purchasing power to buy. Last year, one such buyer bought up in the company’s luxury condominium 98 Wireless, where the units are priced at more than Bt100 million each.
Following strong demand from overseas customers to expand their investment into property in Thailand, Sansiri's sales gallery in Hong Kong will provide a new experience for its customers, who can admire the decor by world-renowned Belgian designer Gert Voojarns.
 “We designed Sansiri Gallery in Hong Kong by incorporating a fresh new look for this spring by transforming the space into an exciting, energetic and inspiriting lifestyle showcase,” Voojarns said. “The delightful and surprising new decor will feature vibrant and eclectic Jim Thompson fabrics as well as antique furniture and accessories from the  Altfield Gallery. Our design mixes and matches Western and Eastern styles.”
Voojarns also will design a showroom at the Monument Thong Lo, which will open in the middle of this year. 
Sansiri Plc's chief creative officer Ou Baholyodhin said the Hong Kong sales gallery presents the essence of what Sansiri offers as a developer.
Ou said that, aside from Voojarns, the company has also drawn on the design talents of Lorenzo Castillo of Spain, US-based Hutton Wilkinson and British designer Mary Fox Linton at other showrooms, such as Monument Thong Lo and Baan Sansiri Pattanakarn.