Construction & Real Estate
From The Report: Thailand 2014
View in Online Reader

Even though the minimum wage has gone up and there is no shortage of work, the construction sector in Thailand is facing a serious dearth of labourers. As developments in neighbouring countries have increased employment opportunities there and the minimum wage has risen across Thailand, companies have faced difficulties in finding workers for building sites. However, despite some setbacks following floods in late 2011, the sector has been resilient and grew by more than 7.5% over 2012, a trend likely to continue in the years ahead. In order to facilitate new projects under the government’s infrastructure drive, a new public-private partnership law has been designed to encourage private investment by making regulations more transparent and clear. Meanwhile, the rise of the middle class has maintained the affordability of purchasing property and there is especially high demand for condominiums in Bangkok. While prospective foreign buyers, especially from Russia and China, are seeking to get onto the property ladder, restrictions on foreign ownership and financing remain in place. The advent of the AEC at the end of 2015 may have a profound effect on the market as well.

This chapter contains interviews with Yuthachai Charanachitta, President and CEO, ITALTHAI Group; Apichart Chutrakul, CEO, Sansiri; and Chanond Ruangkritya, President and CEO, Ananda Development.

Articles from this Chapter

Overview

Labour pains: Contractors begin to look further afield for construction workers
OBG
plus

Even though the minimum wage has gone up and there is no shortage of work, the construction sector in Thailand is facing serious dearth of labourers. According to Chakporn Oonjitt, the executive director of the Construction Institute of Thailand, the number of people, both skilled and unskilled, employed in the industry has been well over 2m for years. In the first quarter of 2013 the total hit 2.84m, but several factors have combined to make it difficult to maintain full staff on building sites. A…

Interview

OBG talks to Yuthachai Charanachitta, President & CEO, ITALTHAI Group
OBG
plus

Interview:Yuthachai Charanachitta How dependent will Thai contractors be on government projects in 2014? YUTHACHAI CHARANACHITTA: I fully support the government’s policy of allocating funds for big infrastructure projects, especially those related to logistics that can boost trade and mobility. This includes the high-speed train and new roads to link south China with Malaysia and Singapore. There are, however, a number of challenges to getting these big-ticket projects started. Even some…

Overview

Riding high: Condominium market thrives on mass transit routes
OBG
plus

Several factors have converged to create a high demand for condominiums in Bangkok that remains strong despite Thailand’s periodic habit of threatening its own economy through political unrest. It has become a rule of thumb that, wherever the mass transit lines are expanding, condominium developers are alongside the new routes. Avoiding Bangkok’s notorious traffic jams has become a key issue in the sale of housing close to either the mass rapid transit (MRT) underground routes or the overground…

Analysis

New horizons: Rising office rental prices see Bangkok’s CBD expand to new areas
OBG
plus

High land prices in the central business district (CBD) area of Bangkok, combined with sluggish rental rates until recently, have discouraged developers from delving back deeply into the office market. However, that could all be about to change as the vacancy rate in CBD Grade-A space was reported to have fallen below 10% for the first time in 20 years, while some rentals have crept up to around BT950 ($31.07) per square metre (sqm). According to real estate consultancy firm CBRE’s Bangkok office,…

Interview

OBG talks to Apichart Chutrakul, CEO, Sansiri
OBG
plus

Interview:Apichart Chutrakul Is positive growth in the Thai property market leading to concern over a real estate bubble? APICHART CHUTRAKUL:When speaking about a “bubble” in real estate, we mean that there is too much supply or too little demand. But in the Thai market, there is always plenty of demand. In certain segments there may be too much supply; however, looking at growth around the country, it is fairly stable for Bangkok and for upcountry. Major developers are diversifying…

Interview

OBG talks to Apichart Chutrakul, CEO, Sansiri
OBG
plus

Interview:Apichart Chutrakul Is positive growth in the Thai property market leading to concern over a real estate bubble? APICHART CHUTRAKUL:When speaking about a “bubble” in real estate, we mean that there is too much supply or too little demand. But in the Thai market, there is always plenty of demand. In certain segments there may be too much supply; however, looking at growth around the country, it is fairly stable for Bangkok and for upcountry. Major developers are diversifying…

Interview

OBG talks to Chanond Ruangkritya, President & CEO, Ananda Development
OBG
plus

Interview:Chanond Ruangkritya In what ways has the recent political climate affected the pace of property development? CHANOND RUANGKRITYA: Thailand has lacked a functioning government that supports the private sector for over a decade and, as a result, the business community has become very adept at riding out political uncertainty. The property market always rebounds strongly after a disruption, especially in Bangkok, so developers need to be ready for an explosion of pent-up demand. We…