Japanese Developers To Invest in Thailand via JV Companies
Property developers from Japan are expanding their activities in the Kingdom by setting
up Joint Ventures with major leading Thai developers towards projects worth more than
THB20 billion.
In fact, this could be mainly explained by the high demand from Japanese investors to
buy property in Bangkok for both investment and residential purposes before the Asean
Economic Community takes place in 2015.
Here are some examples of major JV set up in Thailand:
– Mitsui Fudosan, leading property developer in Japan, established Ananda MF Asia
with Ananda Development last year with a registered capital of about THB900
million. Both firms hold 49% of the shares while the remaining 2% are held by
minor parties. The JV is currently developing Ideo Q Rama 4, a Bangkok condo
project near MRT Sam Yan and worth THB6.5 billion.
– The Japenese firm is trying to set up a JV with Singha Corp as well towards
developing a complex on Rama 4.
– AP (Thailand) is also partnering with Mitsubishi Estate Group, Japan’s largest
developer by assets value, to build three Bangkok condos up in the country worth
THB7.5 million.
As previously mentioned, Japanese investors are getting even keener on Bangkok real
estate and a lot of them are willing to purchase a property as a second home or as a
retirement residence.
According to BTS Property Group search records, Japanese are both looking to buy and
to rent in Bangkok. They are mostly focusing on prime areas from Sukhumvit 22 (Phrom
Phong BTS) to Sukhumvit 63 (Ekkamai BTS). Most of them are buying/renting units of
35 to 50sqm with a budget of 4 to 7MB that can be rented out up to 40,000THB/month.
In fact, and according to Property agency CB Richard Ellis (Thailand)’s managing
director, Aliwasa Pattanthabutr: “Since the devastating earthquake and tsunami that hit
Japan in 2011, Japanese buyers had become interested in expanding their investment in
Asean, and especially in the Bangkok condo and Thai resort-home markets.”