THURSDAY, March 28, 2024
nationthailand

Tokyu sharpens focus on housing

Tokyu sharpens focus on housing

JAPAN-based Tokyu Corporation plans to spend as much as US$100 million a year over the next three years to expand its investments in Thailand and elsewhere in the Asean region with a focus on residential property, the company’s director and senior managing executive officer, Toshiyuki Hoshino, said yesterday.

Half of the budget will be invested in Thailand, while the rest in Vietnam, Hoshino said at a press conference.
In Thailand, Tokyu Corp has a construction business under a joint venture with Ch Karnchang Plc, a residential business via joint venture with Sansiri Plc, and a retail operation with the opening of two Tokyu department stores in Bangkok. 
The investment budget was unveiled as the company announced plans to plan launch two condominium projects in Bangkok valued at US$150 million (Bt5 billion) under its joint venture with Thailand-listed developer Sansiri Plc.
Hoshino said that for now the company’s Asean focus was on Thailand and Vietnam, but that it would later look to expand into other countries in the region.
He said that the company was also studying a possible move into the hospitality business in Thailand as part of discussions with Sansiri Plc, its Thai partner for residential projects in the country.
In Thailand, the company plans to launch an average of two or three residential projects worth about Bt5 billion a year with Sansiri Plc. The partners plan to build on the success of their first joint condominium project, the Bt2 billion taka HAUS, last year.
The joint venture firm is 70 per cent held by Sansiri Plc, with rest held by Tokyu Corporation Group.
The partners two condominiums planned for this year are in Sukhumvit Soi 50 and Ekkamai. They will be launched on the market in the second half of this year, and the units are aimed at Thai and overseas buyers, especially those from Japan, Hoshino said.
In Vietnam, the company is also focusing on residential projects, Hoshino said.
When asked about the company’s possible investment interest in infrastructure in Thailand with construction partner Ch Kranchang, he was guarded in his comments. However, he expressed an interest in residential development under the Makkasarn smart city project if the project master plan is approved.
“We are studying the possibilities for the Makkasarn smart city project and have sounded out our residential partner Sansiri on what we can do for the development of residential projects in the area,” he said.
Sansiri Plc’s chief operating officer, Uthai Uthaisangsuk, said that both of the new condominium projects to be undertaken with Tokyu Corporation Group come under Sansiri Plc’s business plan to launch 31 residential projects worth Bt63.2 billion a year.
Uthai said that two projects be launched in the second half of this year, with expectations of presales for at least 50 per cent of both projects within two weeks of the launch. He cited strong demand for investment in condominiums in Sukhumvit 50 and Ekkamai.
“After we launched taka HAUS last year we succeeded in selling 95 per cent of the total project value,” he said. “As a result, we are confident that the two projects will enjoy similar success, given the strong growth in the Thai property market this compared with last year.”
The condominium on Ekkamai road will be high-rise project with 38 storeys and it will open to presales in August. The eight-storey Sukhumvit Soi 50 will be launched on the market in July, Uthai said.
The company expects the return on investment for both projects will be to 15 per cent, he said.
 

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