Focus on two key provinces
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NORM BOON Real Estate Co has expanded from its base in Samut Prakan to Khon Kaen after seeing strong demand from entrepreneurs moving their businesses to that province as the Asean Economic Community becomes fully effective this year.
“Khon Kaen is the centre of the East-West Corridor, as China is developing a high-speed rail link from Kunming to Vientiane in Laos. The government also plans to build a double-track rail system to Khon Kaen. This also has potential to link with the Northeast of Thailand.
Khon Kaen is a hub for logistics businesses that will link the region’s east and west,” Norm Boon managing director Mana Jiranapakul told a recent news conference.
The company in November introduced its first detached-housing project in Khon Kaen, Le Neo Bypass-Srichan, worth Bt900 million, and has sold 10 of its 199 units. Norm Boon plans to launch the next project there within two or three years, he said.
The company also plans to launch a Bt550-million project called Le Neo Erawan in Samut Prakan province in April. The two new projects and its Bt60 million backlog of homes already sold that will be transferred to its customers this year will generate revenue of Bt300 million, up 50 per cent from its revenue of Bt200 million last year, Mana said.
“Our revenue last year dropped 65 per cent from Bt580 million in 2014 because we launched only one new residential project, Le Neo Bypass-Srichan, in November. Demand to buy homes last year saw only slight growth along with the country’s economic growth of less than 3 per cent.
“However, we are confident our revenue this year will achieve the target of Bt300 million thanks to our backlog and the demand to buy homes in Khon Kaen,” he said.
He said the company’s business strategy would focus on Samut Prakan and Khon Kaen provinces this year and next. Khon Kaen has high potential because of the amount of new manufacturing investment there.
According to a report by the |Khon Kaen Industrial Office, as |of November, the province had |4,201 factories employing 55,963 people.
Meanwhile, the demand for home purchases in Khon Kaen is about 20,000 units a year. After two or three years, Norm Boon may expand to other locations such as the Eastern Seaboard, where there is also strong demand from locals and people who have moved there from Bangkok to work.
“Our business expansion will depend on demand in the market,” Mana said.
The company plans to launch an average of one or two residential projects worth Bt500 million each a year.
This will keep its revenue growth at a steady 10-20 per cent a year, he said. Norm Boon Real Estate Co, owned by the Jiranapakul family, was established in 2006 with registered capital of Bt60 million.
It has developed five residential projects worth a total of Bt2.2 billion in Samut Prakan province.
