A CP Group subsidiary, CP Land Co Ltd, plans to develop at least five new property projects worth five billion baht in Bangkok and the provinces, and to raise funds through the stock market for more expansion within the next two years. The projects would include an office building, home offices and rental spaces on a 20-rai site in Khon Kaen, said Sunthorn Arunanondchai, the president and chief executive of the real estate and land development business group of the country's largest agribusiness conglomerate.
He said the company would also find partners with expertise in design, development and construction to develop a condominium in Pattaya.
The project, CP Land's first development with partners, would consist of 10 seven-storey buildings with a total of 700 units sized from 45 to 140 square metres and priced starting at 1.9 million baht.
The south Pattaya project worth two billion baht would be located on a 30-rai site, with construction to start in October and finish in 2009, said Mr Sunthorn.
By the fourth quarter of this year, CP land also plans to launch two residential projects in Bangkok. One would consist of three eight-storey condominium buildings with 550 units worth a combined 700 million baht. The other, called Cozy Park and worth 960 million baht, will occupy a 70-rai plot on Pracha Ruamchai Road in the Min Buri area. It will have 274 detached houses on lots from 50 to 100 square wah with prices starting at 2.5 million baht, Mr Sunthorn said.
The company is also tapping into rapid business growth in Nakhon Si Thammarat, spurred by the craze for the Jatukarm Ramathep amulets that originated in the southern province. It intends to develop a 69-rai site in Muang district for residential and office use.
As well, it is considering a 20-rai plot at Bang Na-Trat Km 8 for the CP Group's new headquarters. The investment cost of the high-rise office would be between 30,000 and 40,000 baht per square metre.
Currently, CP Land has about 5,000 rai nationwide, including 3,000 rai in Pluak Daeng district of Rayong, where it plans to develop more industrial estates.
Mr Sunthorn said CP Land would also consolidate its 10 subsidiaries to save costs and improve management efficiency. They include CP Plaza, which operates the Fortune Town IT Mall, Fortune office building and Grand Mercure Fortune Hotel on Ratchadaphisek Road.
Other CP Land assets include the existing CP Tower I and II corporate headquarters on Silom Road in Bangkok and CP Tower III in Khon Kaen, on which construction is nearly completed with an investment of 200 million baht.
Established 20 years ago, CP Land employs 1,000 people and has registered capital of two billion baht, which it aims to increase by raising funds in the SET by 2009.
''We have to be bigger than now,'' said Mr Sunthorn, who has been with CP since 1989. ''We are not big, just a real estate firm with fixed income from rental property.''
''Our president, Dhanin Chearavanont, envisions CP Land as a property developer of projects located close to mass transit.''
Most of the residential projects CP Land has developed are in the middle-priced segment for buyers with household incomes around 30,000 baht per month.
Exact revenue was not disclosed but last year CP Land earned a profit of about 500 million baht. Most of the revenue came from rentals but property for sale, started late last year with a townhouse project worth 200 million baht on Navamin Road, generated 10%.
''We are quite low profile as we want to do rather than to say,'' said Mr Sunthorn. ''The CP Group has many plots of land and we will consider which ones have potential for development and CP Land will do it.''
CP Land faced financial problems at the time of the 1997 economic crisis, when its debt doubled to 10 billion baht as it had borrowed a lot of dollars.
''Since then we paid debt continuously and paid off the whole debt in 2005 and started new property developments. All of our assets now are debt-free.''
Source: Bangkok Post
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