Pattani developer plans condo-mall in Malaysia
Southern firm to invest along with local partner; also looking at investments in Thailand
Southern-based DRS Property Co plans to develop a condominium and community-mall complex worth Bt2 billion in Malaysia in mid-2013, chief executive officer Ibrorheng Cheali said.
DRS, a developer in Pattani, also has trading and construction businesses in the province. It has registered capital of Bt100 million. The company develops one or two residential or community-mall projects per year in Pattani on average.
Ibrorheng said the company was interested in investing in Malaysia because its shareholders had 20 rai (3.2 hectares) of freehold land in Kuala Lumpur, a prime location for a mixed-used project combining condominiums and a community mall.
“At first we planned to invest by ourselves, but a Malaysian property developer is interested in joining with us. We will consider whether to invest on our own or jointly with a Malaysian partner before we start construction in the middle of next year,” he said.
He added that DRS was interested in expanding into Malaysia because it is close to Pattani, and when the Asean Economic Community becomes effective in 2015 the company will want to expand in the region, especially Malaysia, where it has a relationship with local investors.
Meanwhile, the demand for condominiums in Malaysia is rising, especially those priced at around Bt100,000 per square metre. This is the company’s target market for its condo project in Malaysia next year, he said.
Ibrorheng said the company was also interested in expanding its investment in Thailand outside Pattani.
It plans to develop two or three residential projects a year worth between Bt300 million and Bt1 billion in Bangkok this year and next.
Its first project in Bangkok is Anda Place in Nong Chok district. The Bt500-million project is on 30 rai and will comprise detached houses and a community mall. It will have only 99 houses at a starting price of Bt3.7 million. The project is already in presales.
The company also plans to develop other residential projects in Bangkok, focusing on Lat Krabang district and locations close to Suvarnabhumi Airport.
“We now have land bank of four plots of 4-10 rai each. These will be developed for both condominium and detached-house projects next year,” he said.
Half of the company’s invest-ment budget will come from cash flow and the rest from bank loans, he said.
Ibrorheng said DRS’s business policy for the next five years was to develop residential projects in Bangkok for about 25 per cent of its portfolio, 70 per cent in Hat Yai, Songkhla province, and the rest residential and commercial buildings in Pattani, Yala and Narathiwat provinces.
He said that although the situation in the three southernmost provinces was still unpredictable, demand for both commercial and residential buildings continued
to grow, while his company was a local investor that is not at risk from the local insurgency-related problems.
To date, the company has developed four property projects worth nearly Bt4 billion.
They are Pattani Place worth Bt1 billion, IB Place Hadyai worth Bt300 million, Pattani Park condominium worth Bt250 million, and Grand IB Hadyai worth Bt1.7 billion.
