Asian Brief

• 31 December 2015
• Local News
• 1334 Views

MARINA ONE CAUTIOUS IN SELLING UNITS

M+S Pte Ltd, the developer behind the mega mixed-use project Marina One, took a cautious approach with the launch of residential units in the development by only releasing 150 to 200 of the 521 units in the first block at the official launch on October 11.

Kemmy Tan CEO of M+S told Singapore’s Business Times that the release of the 521 units in the second residential block will also be held back until after the project’s temporary occupation permit (TOP) is issued.

Prices at Marina One Residences will range from S$1,960 to S$3,100 per square foot.

Market watchers believe that holding back half the residential units until TOP is a move to avoid flooding the market with too many units upon the project’s completion in 2017, which could weigh on the rental market in that area.

AYALA LAND WINS BEST DEVELOPER AWARD

Singapore hosted the grand finale of the 3rd Annual Southeast Asia Property Awards 2014 on 16 October to celebrate the region’s best property developers and projects and services.

The most prestigious award for Best Developer (Southeast Asia) was won by Philippines’ Ayala Land Inc.

Terry Blackburn, Chief Executive Officer of Ensign Media, said: “In total, from our regional events we have presented 59 awards to 46 developers. These represent the finest projects and developers in ASEAN. All the Winners of those awards alongside entrants from Singapore, Vietnam and Indonesia competed here tonight and the 32 Winners therefore truly do represent the best of the best in South East Asia. They should all be immensely proud of their achievement.”

The Regional Awards went to:

Best Developer (South East Asia)

Ayala Land Inc. – Winner

Best Villa Development (South East Asia)

Point Yamu Villas by COMO Hotels and Resorts – Winner

Best Condo Development (South East Asia)

The Ritz-Carlton Residences, Bangkok at MahaNakhon by Pace Development Corporation PLC – Winner

Best Commercial Development (South East Asia)

AIA Capital Center by AIA Company Limited – Winner

Real Estate Personality of the Year

James Riady, CEO of Lippo Group – Winner

ASEAN MARKET ATTRACTS DEVELOPERS

Though ASEAN markets offer huge opportunities for developers with the upcoming ASEAN Economic Integration in 2015, some experts continue to warn of the risks, according to a recent article in the Bangkok Post.

The message in the run up to Economic Integration seems to be that investors and develops should start small to be able to think big in the future. Thailand especially is seen as an attractive investment opportunity, despite recent political uncertainty.

“Opportunities in the property sector in Asean members are admittedly large,” said Sopon Pornchokchai, president of the Agency for Real Estate Affairs, told the Bangkok Post.

“But we suggest Thai developers start with small-scale projects to minimise risks before expanding once successful,” he added.

He said as of early this year, Bangkok had the largest number of residential projects among 10 Asean cities with about 1,500, followed by Jakarta (300), Manila (200), Ho Chi Minh City (150) and Phnom Penh (100).

Many ASEAN nations still face the problem of a lack of integrated or robust laws and regulations in the property and construction sectors which makes intra-member business potentially difficult. However, these concerns have not dampened the market too much.

Apichard Detpreechar, senior vice-president and manager for housing loan products at Krungthai Bank, told the Bangkok Post that provinces near the border have high potential for housing development due to the positive from neighbouring countries such as Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam.

According to the Bangkok Post article, Of new home loans totalling 60 billion baht the bank released in the first seven months of this year, 30-40% were in Thailand’s Northeast.

A key issue facing most of the ASEAN nations is human resource expertise in the fields of real estate development and the leading experts all agree that developing human resources through education and training is the key for the success of the ASEAN Integrated Community.

Sopon Pornchokchai, president of the Agency for Real Estate Affairs