They Built That New Office Building At The Corner Of Asoke Intersection

[bkkjames]

In terms of getting rid of nana and cowboy etc...I'm all for it. The sooner that Thailand cleans up its reputation in this sense, the better off it will be. From personal experience, being based in BKK - while nice for me and my family - can somewhat be a disadvantage in a business sense. The sooner the reputation is wiped, the better. Increase foreign investment will more than replace the monies from the 'if it wasn't for me Thailand would fall in a heap' brigade.

I actually do have to defend Thailand's (and by extension my) reputation quite regularly as there is clearly more to the place than easily available and affordable women. However, I do believe that there are other things far more in need of cleaning up than the sex industry to generate foreign investment.

I agree. Far bigger issues here than girly-bars. Start with corruption, ever changing rules, foreign ownership limits etc etc etc.

Concerning BKK's reputation, I have never ever had any business visitor to Thailand say they hate coming here because of it's darker side, usually quite the opposite.

[quiksilva]

As far as I'm aware Interchange 21 only has 4 floors available. Its leased out incredibly well. Partly due to its location and flexible approach to leasing by the landlord.

To say that this is a bad location for business based on the proximity to Soi Cowboy is frankly short sighted. It is at a major intersection, next to BTS and MRT and its competitively priced.

Exchange Tower just across the road has leased very well as has Jasmine City Tower, all of which are occupied by blue chip MNC's and achieve very respectable rental levels.

[bkkjames]

As far as I'm aware Interchange 21 only has 4 floors available. Its leased out incredibly well. Partly due to its location and flexible approach to leasing by the landlord.

To say that this is a bad location for business based on the proximity to Soi Cowboy is frankly short sighted. It is at a major intersection, next to BTS and MRT and its competitively priced.

Exchange Tower just across the road has leased very well as has Jasmine City Tower, all of which are occupied by blue chip MNC's and achieve very respectable rental levels.

Any idea who some of the tenents will be at Interchange?

For some reason, I have this feeling that this building will end up in a sorry state in only a few years (hope I am wrong). For me it's got 'cheap shopping mall written all over it" - filled with MBK like shops in the bottom in a year or two after the first group of business fail because of very high rents.

Would be a nice place for a good restaurant or two but I guess it will be Banks that take up the lower level retail spaces like they do in so many other office buildings.

[quiksilva]

The ones that I know have not publicly announced their relocation yet, so, sorry, but it wouldn't be right for me to say. But suffice to say they are well known MNC's mostly in financial industries (banking, insurance, securities etc).

What are your feelings based on?

Subjective views, can influence decisions to a certain degree but ultimately mean very little when everything else adds up in what is essentially a commercial decision. (Although that can depend on corporate culture too)

Objectively speaking its location, floor plate (not the best but good), access, and price lead me to believe that this will be a viable commercial location for many years to come.

Support retail is another subject altogether, but if the building's population is high enough and/or the building can attract sufficient foot traffic then restaurants and banks can justify paying ground floor retail rents.

[bkkjames]

I guess my feelings are based on the good old days.

Everytime I look at that property, I can only think of beer bars, lolitas, gravel paths, outdoor toilets

[quiksilva]

Hehe not exactly what we could call highest and best use

[thaihome]

is talking to CBRE about moving there and was told there is only 2 1/2 floors still uncommitted.

if CBRE said so it must be true.....

As we were standing in the Exchange Tower lobby looking at the floor directory having just finished looking at the remaining floors, was pretty sure it was true.

TH

PS - Those floors are gone now.

[cynthialee]

will you guys come to grips with los sex image. its all good , its all they have!

getting rid of nana and cowboy will do nothing. other places will pop up.

i really doubt foreign investment stays away from los becoz of loose girls.i bet there loose girls in india and china too.

they stay away coz of government cronyism, bad court system, poorly educated workers, etc. foreign business es are not fooled by all the sexy dressed uni girls. they know whtas up....lol.

los should embrace its sex image. market itself as a place for the discriminating gentlemnan who enjoys the company of equally exquisite discriminating women(never mind these only have 2nd grade education) . take advantage of its rep. not shy away from it.

Edited August 6, 2008 by cynthialee

[thaihome]

will you guys come to grips with los sex image. its all good , its all they have!

getting rid of nana and cowboy will do nothing. other places will pop up.

i really doubt foreign investment stays away from los becoz of loose girls.i bet there loose girls in india and china too.

they stay away coz of government cronyism, bad court system, poorly educated workers, etc. foreign business es are not fooled by all the sexy dressed uni girls. they know whtas up....lol.

los should embrace its sex image. market itself as a place for the discriminating gentlemnan who enjoys the company of equally exquisite discriminating women(never mind these only have 2nd grade education) . take advantage of its rep. not shy away from it.

What makes you say that foreign investment is staying away?

TH

[cynthialee]

just anecdotal evidence.

usually its india, china, vietnam people mention as risers in worldwise business. los is usually not mentioned in same category,

thailand never makes it on the news for its biz acumen. its alway the other stuff , you know another paedplile captured, news at 11......lol.

[bkkjames]

"What makes you think foreign investment is staying away?"

Although companies don't come out and say it publicly, suffice to say that when they choose to set up a factory or office in a neighboring country, it's not only because of favorable conditions on the ground there, part of the process also takes into account corruption, taxation, work permit issues, foreign ownership quotas between prospective countries.

Can you name me 5 big companies that have established a major factory or regional HO in Thailand in the last 3 years? Example XYZ moved their factory from China to Thailand, or XYZ company moved their regional office from Singapore to Bangkok.

I do think that China, Vietnam are fast outpacing Thailand with regards to attracting foreign investment.

[quiksilva]

Nearly every automotive manufacturer has its regional HO here Toyota, Honda, FORD, NISSAN, GM. These of course have been here for a while.

Then Thailand is not usually home to many regional HQ's in the service industry, it attracts more investment in the manufacturing sector.

Although saying that I believe McCann Ericson (ad agency) made the jump in the service sector within the timeframe you mentioned.

If you want major factories in the last 3 years. Well there's a huge list. Industry being what it is you may not have heard of them though, but for one's you may have heard of include RICOH, Suzuki, Fischer & Paykel, Chilington Tools, Tata Motors, Honda's new regional R&D center, Federal-Mogul (brakes), errr is that enough because my fingers are getting tired and the list goes on ....

[bkkjames]

Ok ok quick fingers, you win! but below report from KPMG you might find interesting.

New KPMG International survey finds evidence for shift in balance of global economic power A new survey finds evidence for shift in balance of global economic power. These conclusions come from a global survey of corporate investment plans carried out by KPMG International. Corporate investment strategists from over 300 of the largest multinational companies in 15 major economies were asked where they plan to invest in the next 12 months and in five years’ time.

U.S. to give way to China in investment and influence

Europe remains attractive to investors, especially U.K.

new money to help fuel manufacturing growth in India.

China is expected to overtake the U.S. as the world’s leading recipient of corporate investment in the next five years, and should become the most influential country in IT and telecoms, industrial products and mining, a new study of future global capital flows has found.

India is likely to see the largest growth in its share of foreign investment overall, and should become the world leader for investment in manufacturing. But the European economies are expected to keep their attraction for investors, with the U.K. maintaining a very strong position, especially in financial services.

These conclusions come from a global survey of corporate investment plans carried out by KPMG International. Corporate investment strategists from over 300 of the largest multinational companies in 15 major economies were asked where they plan to invest in the next 12 months and in five years’ time.

They were also asked which countries they saw as dominant in their sector today, and which they expected to be dominant in 2013/14.

The results showed a move away from investments in the U.S., Japan, Singapore and the UAE, and a big increase in flows to Brazil, Russia, China and India (BRIC).

China should receive significant investments from 24 percent of corporates surveyed in 2013/14, up from 17 percent this year. Russia can expect investments from 19 percent in five years, up from 12 percent this year, and Brazil can expect investments from 14 percent, up from 10 percent.

India’s share of investments is estimated to rise by 8 percent to 18 percent, the largest increase recorded and driven mainly by a major increase in investment in manufacturing. By 2013/14, India can expect investments in this sector from 25 percent of the manufacturing companies surveyed, and for two thirds of these companies it will be their first move into the country.

By contrast, the U.S. share of investments is expected to fall by 4 percent to 23 percent, still a very high proportion of global investment, but placing it behind China. The U.S. is also expected to give up its dominance of the mining, industrial products and IT/telecoms sectors, with China taking first place in each case.

Speaking at KPMG’s 2008 EMEA Tax Summit in Barcelona, where the survey was launched, Sue Bonney, Head of Tax for KPMG’s EMA region and a partner in the U.K. firm said, “The majority of the people surveyed saw the next five years as a return to more normal patterns of investment, after a period when the U.S. has had a disproportionately high share of global investment funds.

“But a return to the market conditions of, say, 2003 does not explain the shift in influence that these strategists expect towards the BRIC economies. This does look like the beginnings of a fundamental change in the balance of economic power.”

Although the major European economies can expect to be overtaken by the BRIC economies in their share of investment, this is only because the BRICs do particularly well. The U.K., Spain, and Italy can all expect an increase in foreign investment, and Germany can expect to maintain its current share.

The U.K. should remain the most popular developed economy outside the U.S., increasing its share of investment by 3 percent to 17 percent. In financial services, a traditionally strong sector for the U.K., the country is expected move from second place to equal first with the U.S. in terms of global investment.

“Our survey shows that corporate investors are already planning their responses to a shift in global economic power that has been happening for some time.” said Sue Bonney.

“They help confirm the rise of the BRIC economies as viable alternative places to invest, taking funds primarily from the U.S. economy. The continued strength of the European economies may come as a surprise to some, but the fact that they hold up so well suggests that we may be developing a roughly equal balance of economic power between the Americas, Europe and Asia Pacific. That would indeed herald the start of an entirely new global economic game.”

--ENDS--

[stub]

so this is new building is very close to an area of farang bars... won't it be kind of weird?

Why would it be weird? Bars are open during the evening, office building in use during the day. There are already office buildings in the immediate area so one more won't make a change.

One bar on the corner of cowboy/soi 23 seems to be doing a great lunch trade, and the menus are all in Thai so things can coexist quite happily. Another bar/bistro in soi 23 is doing well and gets as many Thais as farangs in for lunch - sports are pretty universal and they have the best coverage and tv setup.

[thaihome]

just anecdotal evidence.

usually its india, china, vietnam people mention as risers in worldwise business. los is usually not mentioned in same category,

thailand never makes it on the news for its biz acumen. its alway the other stuff , you know another paedplile captured, news at 11......lol.

That’s what you get for only watching CNBC for a couple of minutes a week.

Maybe you find out stuff yourself and not let other people form your opinions for you.

Here is a good place to start.

Economic Reports

Getting away from the farang ghetto every once in a while helps too.

TH

[trajan]

Any idea who some of the tenents will be at Interchange?

For some reason, I have this feeling that this building will end up in a sorry state in only a few years (hope I am wrong). For me it's got 'cheap shopping mall written all over it" - filled with MBK like shops in the bottom in a year or two after the first group of business fail because of very high rents.

Would be a nice place for a good restaurant or two but I guess it will be Banks that take up the lower level retail spaces like they do in so many other office buildings.

I think you are wrong...according to talk on other forums, Citibank will take up a major (majority?) portion of the 34 flr building.....California Fitness will take over some podium space...(if its anything like the Sukhumvit 23 location, the space will be significant)...other usual suspects like Starbucks, restaurants etc.

I personally think the location is fantastic ...central, central...subway and skytrain access....

[russianrobert]

..................if anything, getting rid of thailand's image as a place for sex tourism for the dregs of Western society will only attract more tourists.

most tourists are not interested in buying sex, plus you can buy sex everywhere in asia but everyone in the west only associates sex tourism with thailand and the philipines.

i wish thailand would clean up its image and send all these farang out the door to cambodia.

Now that gets my vote of best post today.

Nana Plaza and that area in Soi 4 are disgusting and should be freeking bulldozed.

Soi Cowboy is a little better because it's more secluded and doesn't seem to impact the area around it so much.

One day Thailand will clean up it's act.

[thaihome]

...I personally think the location is fantastic ...central, central...subway and skytrain access....

All good but to get there in a car (and most people go to work in a car or bus) you have to go through the Asok/Sukhumvit intersection; what a nightmere.

TH

[dantilley]

most people go to work in a car or bus

No they don't - most people I know go to work by BTS or MRT.

[bkkjames]

most people go to work in a car or bus

No they don't - most people I know go to work by BTS or MRT.

The majority of Thais in any office I have worked in in Bangkok either drive, take a minibus. Yes some do take the BTS and MRT, no question, but far from being the bulk.

[0Mix1up]

Why isn't the "bulldoze cowboy and nana" crowd asking the same of the massive and numerous Thai soapies?

(Shhh they don't exist)

[russianrobert]

Why isn't the "bulldoze cowboy and nana" crowd asking the same of the massive and numerous Thai soapies?

(Shhh they don't exist)

Excuse my ignorance but what are Thai soapies?

Edited August 14, 2008 by russianrobert

[tw25rw]

Why isn't the "bulldoze cowboy and nana" crowd asking the same of the massive and numerous Thai soapies?

(Shhh they don't exist)

Excuse my ignorance but what are Thai soapies?

Those are the massive massage parlour/brothels that cater to mostly non-Westerners. The sex industry in Thailand catering to locals/other Asians dwarfs Nana/Cowboy/Patpong enormously, but some people seem to believe than Nana/Cowboy/Patpong are the root cause of Thailands ills.

[russianrobert]

Why isn't the "bulldoze cowboy and nana" crowd asking the same of the massive and numerous Thai soapies?

(Shhh they don't exist)

Excuse my ignorance but what are Thai soapies?

Those are the massive massage parlour/brothels that cater to mostly non-Westerners. The sex industry in Thailand catering to locals/other Asians dwarfs Nana/Cowboy/Patpong enormously, but some people seem to believe than Nana/Cowboy/Patpong are the root cause of Thailands ills.

Thanks for the info. I couldn't possibly comment without trying them first.

[thaihome]

most people go to work in a car or bus

No they don't - most people I know go to work by BTS or MRT.

Considering a Bangkok population of some 10 million or so, the 400,000 that ride the BTS (with maybe another 200,00 on the MRT) each weekday would be considered a rather small minority (about 5% and a lot of them are not commuters), don’t you think? To say nothing of the extremely limited area covered.

Bus ridership is in the millions every day.

Your world obviously revolves around just a few kilometers of Bangkok huge area.

TH

Edited August 15, 2008 by thaihome

[aehn]

so this is new building is very close to an area of farang bars... won't it be kind of weird?

The Fico Group owns the Grand Millenium Hotel and Fenix Tower on the other side of Soi Cowboy. I think its more weird that Soi Cowboy can compete with income generated on that side as well as the Interchange at Asoke and Sukhumvit also owned by the Fico Group which was founded by the Srichawala family.

How long before Soi Cowboy is more profitable as a Hotel than a bar area in a prime Sukhumvit CBD area?

www.sunbeltasiagroup.com

The problem is that all these hotels are not close to the main CBD business area (Silom, Sathorn) and the only thing left to offer tourists on Sukhumvit is foot massages, copy t-shirts, crappy tailors. Asoke is hardly a tourist area. Building another office building or hotel on Soi Cowboy won't make the place anymore attractive.

While people form the ME may like to stumble down suk between dvd's stalls and t-shirts, it's hardly becoming a place for families or for business travellers looking to go experience the city after a day of meetings.

If I was a tourist, I would not want to stay at any of these hotels because of their location. Walk out of the Westin at 7 pm to go experience Suk traffic, and the most frustrating walk to nowhere along the odd numbered side of Suk towards Nana. Great experience, no wonder tourists to Thailand only stay 2-3 days in Bangkok before heading north or south.

Besides buying copy items at MBK, do tourists really spend alot of money visiting Siam Paragon? - they have big malls in Tokyo, Hong Kong, Singapore, Sydney and London all selling the same crap. The prices are not cheaper in Thailand when it comes to brand names.

I don't think Cowboy is going anywhere soon unless the owner of that land thinks he can sell more suits and make more money in the process than the fees he gets for renting out the area currently.

don't be silly. asoke is only a couple stations away from siam/chitlom and it connects to the MRT line. if soi cowboy goes, there will still be plenty of demand for hotels in this area. do you really think everyone staying at millenium is there for soi cowboy? what about all the business travelers? get real, kid. your stuck in a fantasy that the bangkok economy must rely on farang tourism and its just flat wrong. if anything, getting rid of thailand's image as a place for sex tourism for the dregs of Western society will only attract more tourists.

most tourists are not interested in buying sex, plus you can buy sex everywhere in asia but everyone in the west only associates sex tourism with thailand and the philipines.

i wish thailand would clean up its image and send all these farang out the door to cambodia.

Its not Thailands fault they got a reputation like that, it is the narrow minded prudish people like you who are fed upon western belief systems who choose to focus on these aspects of thailand and blow it out of proportion in the western media.

[aehn]

In terms of getting rid of nana and cowboy etc...I'm all for it. The sooner that Thailand cleans up its reputation in this sense, the better off it will be. From personal experience, being based in BKK - while nice for me and my family - can somewhat be a disadvantage in a business sense. The sooner the reputation is wiped, the better. Increase foreign investment will more than replace the monies from the 'if it wasn't for me Thailand would fall in a heap' brigade.

I actually do have to defend Thailand's (and by extension my) reputation quite regularly as there is clearly more to the place than easily available and affordable women. However, I do believe that there are other things far more in need of cleaning up than the sex industry to generate foreign investment.

I agree. Far bigger issues here than girly-bars. Start with corruption, ever changing rules, foreign ownership limits etc etc etc.

Concerning BKK's reputation, I have never ever had any business visitor to Thailand say they hate coming here because of it's darker side, usually quite the opposite.

Nothing wrong with girlie-bars at all

[quiksilva]

most people go to work in a car or bus

No they don't - most people I know go to work by BTS or MRT.

Considering a Bangkok population of some 10 million or so, the 400,000 that ride the BTS (with maybe another 200,00 on the MRT) each weekday would be considered a rather small minority (about 5% and a lot of them are not commuters), don’t you think? To say nothing of the extremely limited area covered.

Bus ridership is in the millions every day.

Your world obviously revolves around just a few kilometers of Bangkok huge area.

TH

Agreed TH. BTS and MRT access are often quoted as the most important factor in office relocations and it is usually the highest on the list of tenants' wish lists (besides financial considerations) but car and bus really are the most popular form of transport and it will continue to be so until the new BTS/MRT lines are completed that will bring this service to where most Bangkok office workers actually live, which is not in the CBD, think Ladprao, Rangsit, Chaengwattana, Thonburi etc.

PS Re vacancy levels, yesterday CBRE told me that only two floors were available too but I was chatting with the owner today, who confirmed that they actually have 4 floors with no committed tenants at this time. In any event, securing so many commercial tenants precompletion is a great achievement and a testament to the location.