Raimon Land

[johnb]

Raimond Land have just advised their shareholders that CEO Nigel Cornick has resigned effective 1st March 2009 and been replaced by Hubert Viriot ( one of its currect Directors)

Anybody know the back-ground to this??

Cheers

Johnb

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RAIMON ANNOUNCES BONUS ISSUE TO SHAREHOLDERS Appoints New CEO

Mar 03, 2009

BANGKOK; 3rd March, 2009 – Raimon Land PLC (RAIMON) today announced the resignation of its Executive Director and CEO Nigel Cornick effective 1st March, 2009. Mr. Cornick has also resigned from the Board of Directors of Raimon Land and its associated companies.

Raimon Land simultaneously announced the appointment of Hubert Viriot, one of its current Directors, as Chief Executive Officer. Mr. Viriot is also an executive at IFA Hotels & Resorts, a major shareholder of Raimon Land.

The shareholders are committed to the ongoing success of Raimon Land, and plans are to inject further capital to assist in the current and future operational requirements of the company.

Chairman of the Board of Directors at Raimon Land, Mr. Sompoch Intranukul, said: "I would like to thank Mr. Cornick, on behalf of our Board of Directors, for his contributions in building Raimon Land into the premier real estate developer in Thailand, and congratulate Mr. Viriot on his appointment as the new CEO. We look forward to continuing the execution of the Company's strategy moving forward."”

The Directors today also announced a stock (bonus issue) and cash dividend equal to Baht 278.98 million to its shareholders.

Under the proposal, each Raimon shareholder will receive 0.0837 new shares and Baht 0.0093 in cash for each share held at the record date. The cash component of the dividend will be used to cover withholding tax payable by the shareholders on the bonus issue.

Shareholders on the company’s register on the record date, proposed to be 17th March, 2009, will be eligible for the bonus issue shares and dividend.

The board also approved that the auditor undertakes the offset of the share discount with retained earnings totalling Baht 208.58 million.

http://raimon.listedcompany.com/news.html/id/138641

[Pdaz]

People were tired of the propaganda that ole Nige was writing in the BKK Post ?

Dunno, but I know that Raimon have downsized their marketing dept. and several expats have been made redundant.. Maybe they are running short of cash ? Afterall they must have spent a fortune advetising their projects in Pattaya alone.. I belive they said recently that they had done well with 'the river' but other projects were slow to move...

Lets face it their prices were way up there... even without the strong baht..Guess they over-estimated the market for 'high end' condos in Pattaya.

[bkkjames]

People were tired of the propaganda that ole Nige was writing in the BKK Post ?

Dunno, but I know that Raimon have downsized their marketing dept. and several expats have been made redundant.. Maybe they are running short of cash ? Afterall they must have spent a fortune advetising their projects in Pattaya alone.. I belive they said recently that they had done well with 'the river' but other projects were slow to move...

Lets face it their prices were way up there... even without the strong baht..Guess they over-estimated the market for 'high end' condos in Pattaya.

I provided a link to this in another thread on here from the news as reported today on the SET.

here it is..

I don't know it's status but I just read this on the SET....

That the resignation of Mr. Nigel John Cornick, the Company's director

and Chief Executive Officer, be acknowledged and the appointment of Mr. Hubert

Romary Bertrand Viriot, the Company's director, as the Company's Chief

Executive Officer to replace Mr. Nigel John Cornick, be approved

SET News

Edited March 3, 2009 by sbk

[sbk]

In order to rein in rampant speculation, rumor and innuendo, I am closing this thread. Any further news please PM me with the links and I am happy to add them

Edited March 4, 2009 by george
Topic re-opended, please keep this thread civil /admin

[george]

Raimon restructures, new CEO announced

Raimon restructures as its market suffers

CEO exits, foreign investment ebbing

BANGKOK: -- Raimon Land Plc, which announced a restructuring yesterday, has felt the impact of a heavy reliance on both foreign funds and customers in the global recession, says an industry executive.

The company yesterday announced the resignation of executive director and CEO Nigel Cornick, effective on March 1. He also resigned from the board of Raimon and its associated companies.

Hubert Viriot, a director and also an executive at Raimon's major shareholder IFA Hotels & Resorts, will be appointed as new chief executive.

Continued here:

-- Bangkok Post 2009-03-04

[sbk]

EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW

Raimon Land puts 3 new projects on hold

By Nalin Viboonchart

The Nation

Published on March 4, 2009

Developer Raimon Land has frozen all new projects that it planned to initiate this year, due mainly to the global economic crisis.

Marketing director Henri Young said last week that Raimon Land had delayed its plans to build three projects - Amalfi, at Phuket, 185 Rajdamri in Bangkok's central business district, and The Edge at Pattaya - until the economy recovers.

The company has to be cautious with new investment over the next 12 months, he said. It may begin construction of the three delayed projects over the next two years, depending on the economic situation.

Young was unable to give a total value for the projects because this depends on construction costs calculated at the time construction begins.

Amalfi is to be located on 37 rai of land in Phuket, where Raimon Land plans to create a villa-style resort. The project called 185 Rajdamri will be a high-rise condominium in the heart of Bangkok's central business district, while The Edge will be a condominium project at Pattaya.

Raimon Land's decision to back away from new projects this year contrasts sharply with plans by many other developers to go ahead with new projects because they believe Bangkok's property market has improved since the final quarter of 2008. The "top 10" property developers have announced launch plans for projects with a collective market value of Bt30 billion.

"Starting new projects this year is very tough," Young said. "We have to borrow money from banks because each project needs investment of at least Bt2 billion to Bt3 billion, and we absolutely don't have enough cash. And as everyone knows, banks nowadays are very cautious when lending to customers. They require presales of at least 40 to 50 per cent of total project value. It is very difficult for us to achieve that figure amid the economic situation. So, we don't think that we will start our new projects this year."

Young said an alternative means of starting the new projects as planned was to seek partners. Raimon Land is talking with a number of foreign investors who remain interested in investing in Thailand and are looking for a price reduction. These investors have to wait for the proper time to invest, as well, he said.

Consumers are currently avoiding spending because of a lack of confidence in the economic situation. While there may still be demand for condominium units in the Bt1 million to Bt2 million price range, projects with prices ranging from Bt5 million to Bt8 million are very tough, he said.

Raimon Land has yet to see severe liquidity problems among its clients. Those in the company's existing residential projects still have the ability to meet instalments. However, it has seen slow sales in on-going new projects, and is currently unable to predict its revenue this year, Cornick said.

Raimon Land's projects which still have units for sale include The Lofts Yennakart, The River, Northpoint, The Loft Southshore and The Heights Phuket.

Young said the company was looking for new strategies to accelerate sales this year. It will consider customers' needs and select its real target group before deciding how it will speed up sales.

Raimon Land launched a sales promotion campaign at the Chinese New Year by offering price discounts of up to 15 per cent for units at The Loft Yennakart and 5 per cent for units on the north side of The River.

"We want to accelerate sales, but we can't," Young said. "It is not easy to offer sales promotions and get a good response immediately because of fierce competition in the market. However, we have plenty of time for the existing projects, so we're not concerned too much."

Young said accelerating sales also depended on construction completion and the ability to transfer ownership to customers. The Heights will begin transferring this year, while Northpoint is expected to be complete by the end of this year. The company expects to receive revenue equaling about 70 per cent of Northpoint's total project value, while it expects to be selling The River until 2011.

He said that earlier, about half of Raimon Land's clients had been foreigners, but they, too, had been affected by the global economic downturn. Now the number of foreign clients has changed for each project. The company expects the proportion of local buyers to increase this year.

Source: The Nation

[sbk]

Raimon Land CEO Nigel Cornick resigns

by News Desk

Thai property developer Raimon Land PLC today announced the resignation of its Executive Director and CEO Nigel Cornick. Mr. Cornick has also resigned from the Board of Directors of Raimon Land and its associated companies.

The announcement follows months of speculation over Mr Cornick’s position, as the company’s cash flow has come under strain from falling sales figures.

Hubert Viriot, one of Raimon Land’s current Directors and an executive at IFA Hotels & Resorts, has been appointed to replace Mr Cornick as CEO.

IFA Hotels & Resorts, a global property and hospitality company based in Kuwait, became major shareholders in Raimon Land in 2006, in partnership with Dubai-based private equity and alternative investment house Istithmar.

In a statement issued via a PR company, Raimon Land said its shareholders are ´committed to the ongoing success of the company, and plan to inject further capital to assist in the current and future operational requirements of the company´.

Chairman of the Board of Directors at Raimon Land, Mr. Sompoch Intranukul, said: "I would like to thank Mr. Cornick, on behalf of our Board of Directors, for his contributions in building Raimon Land into the premier real estate developer in Thailand, and congratulate Mr. Viriot on his appointment as the new CEO. We look forward to continuing the execution of the Company´s strategy moving forward."

Raimon Land today also announced a bonus issue and cash dividend for its shareholders equal to Bt278.98 million.

Under the proposal, each Raimon Land shareholder will receive 0.0837 new shares and Bt0.0093 in cash for each share held at the record date. The cash component of the dividend will be used to cover withholding tax payable by the shareholders on the bonus issue.

Shareholders on the company’s register on the record date, proposed to be 17th March, 2009, will be eligible for the bonus issue shares and dividend.

The board also approved that the auditor undertakes the offset of the share discount with retained earnings totalling Bt208.58 million.

Source: Asia Property Report

[midas]

Young said an alternative means of starting the new projects as planned was to seek partners. Raimon Land is talking with a number of foreign investors who remain interested in investing in Thailand and are looking for a price reduction. These investors have to wait for the proper time to invest, as well, he said.

Wouldn't it be more accurate say " These investors have to wait to be sure they will be enough buyers for the end product " ?

[MeetJohnDoe]

At last...they finally canned that Thai condo pimp! Now we won't have to put up with any more of his drivel about how great an investment condos are in Thailand in the pages of the Post My heart goes out (ok, no it doesn't, schadenfrueda is a wonderful thing) to those who bought into the ever increasing hype of Raimon Land, Cornick, and others about buying into the Thai condo market these past few bubble years. Sounds like to me that Raimon itself is on the skids...any company owned by, and dependent for construction financing on, some Arabs with increasing shrinking petro-dollars (and lots of their own worthless condos, office towers, and even artificial islands on their books) and a bankrupt investment bank can't be too long for this world.

Real property prices are crashing world-wide, with many markets already experiencing falls of between 30-50% (we're talking like Upper-East Side NYC condos/coops that averaged over US$ 2+ million the past couple years now selling (if you can sell them) for a little over US$ 1M! As the Post article states, SIN and HKG prices are down 30% already and IMO have not yet reached the bottom of this cycle. Anyone who paid over B 100k psm in BKK the past couple years stepped into a big pile of #$!@. There's no reason anything in Bangkok would be worth more than B50-75K psm and that's likely where prices will end up when this cycle runs its course.

Edited March 4, 2009 by MeetJohnDoe

[thaiwanderer]

Land & Houses stated they forecast (with crossed fingers) flat growth. They and Raimon must be in the minority if the sentiments of the article below are to be believed (for which all I can say is <deleted>?)

http://www.nationmultimedia.com/search/rea...eyword=property

Signs of improvement lead to launch of new projects

By Somluck Srimalee

The Nation

Published on March 4, 2009

Developers report more site visitors, increasing presales

The top 10 property developers in the Thai market are preparing to launch new residential projects worth more than Bt30 billion as they glimpse what some believe are the first signs of improvement in home-buyer confidence.

A survey by The Nation last week found that Sansiri will launch 11 new residential projects with a market value of Bt15 billion. One has been launched already and another 10 will follow this week. Preuksa Real Estate plans to launch eight new residential projects worth Bt5.9 billion this month, LPN Development will launch the second phase of a condominium project at Ram-Indra-Laksi worth Bt850 million this week, and Land & Houses plans to launch three new residential projects worth Bt3 billion this month.

Asian Property Development will launch only one project worth Bt660 million this month, but that is the first part of an 11-project campaign for later in the year that will have an ultimate value of Bt17.7 billion. Supalai launched its first condominium project, with a market value of Bt1.7 billion, last month.

Other property firms that are not listed on the Stock Exchange of Thailand are also joining the rash of residential project launches with developments collectively worth more than Bt5 billion. These include Pace Development, which launched a luxury condominium project, Saladaeng Residences, worth Bt2.5 billion, last month. Four Pattana will also launch Baan Busaba, worth Bt200 million, this week.

Sansiri's chairman Apichart Chutrakul said that although Thailand's economy had slumped following the global downturn, his company believed that demand still existed for residential projects priced between Bt3 million and more than Bt5 million.

"I think this is a good time for home-buyers to be buying a residence - when most property developers have launched marketing campaigns to boost their sales in the first quarter," he said.

Sansiri is aiming for presales of residential properties worth Bt5.5 billion before the end of this month, following presale bookings of residences worth Bt2.5 billion after the January launch of its luxury condominium, Quattro. It will boost its chances of meeting the target by launching Living in Style 2009, at Siam Paragon this weekend.

Supalai's deputy managing director Atip Bichanond said his company believed that despite the economic slowdown, real demand for residential projects priced between Bt1 million and Bt3 million would continue to grow if the projects were designed to meet customers' needs.

"We've seen good signs in the first two months of this year. The number of visitors to our residential projects has increased about 10 per cent since the last quarter of last year, when the number of visitors fell more than 50 per cent below normal. As a result, we believe that when we launch new projects at this time, we will create a feeling of confidence among our customers and in the overall property market, that things are better than in the last quarter of last year," he said.

It's a feeling with which others in the industry concur. Preuksa Real Estate's chief executive and managing director Thongma Vijitpongpun said that in the first two months of 2009, the property market had shown significant recovery from the fourth quarter of 2008, thanks to the government's stimulus measures.

Thongma said his company had recorded presales of properties worth Bt955 million in January 2009, up by 19 per cent over the value of Bt800 million in December. The presales pace increased last month, with customers signing up for properties worth Bt1.3 billion, a 38-per-cent increase over January. This shows that home-buyers' confidence is recovering, Thongma said.

"In December, we had 2,500 visitors to our projects, and between 22 and 23 per cent of them made a decision to buy. Now, we're getting between 3,000 and 3,500 visitors to our projects per month, and between 25 and 26 per cent of them are deciding to buy. This is a good sign for the property market after the hard time in December last year," he said.

Pace Development's chief executive Sorapot Techakraisri said that although the economy would grow only slightly this year, the company believed it was a good time for investors to be getting into residential property.

"If investors save their money in the bank or invest it on the Stock Exchange of Thailand, they will get returns on investment lower than 5 per cent. But when they invest in property, they will get an asset that will generate an annual return on investment of between 7 and 10 per cent. This is better than other investment options," he said. Saladaeng Residences is the company's second condominium project. The first was successfully developed on Sukhumvit 44/1 in 2004.

According to a survey by the Agency for Real Estate Affairs (Area), there were 14 new residential projects launched in January with a total market value of Bt17.25 billion. That showed an increase of 113 per cent over the Bt9-billion value of new projects launched in December.

The research showed that new projects launched in January focused on the middle-income market, with prices between Bt2 million and Bt3 million per unit.

[trogers]

"If investors save their money in the bank or invest it on the Stock Exchange of Thailand, they will get returns on investment lower than 5 per cent. But when they invest in property, they will get an asset that will generate an annual return on investment of between 7 and 10 per cent. This is better than other investment options," he said. Saladaeng Residences is the company's second condominium project. The first was successfully developed on Sukhumvit 44/1 in 2004.

According to a survey by the Agency for Real Estate Affairs (Area), there were 14 new residential projects launched in January with a total market value of Bt17.25 billion. That showed an increase of 113 per cent over the Bt9-billion value of new projects launched in December.

The research showed that new projects launched in January focused on the middle-income market, with prices between Bt2 million and Bt3 million per unit.

Such research only do head counts and do not differentiate between bookings that will follow through to transfer and those that are speculative (seeking to resell that piece of paper for a profit). Do bookings of a project launch = sold & transferred?

Those Bt 2-3m per unit usually are condo designed such that you need to leave the front entrance door opened to ventilate the living area...while turning on a light to read the papers at 12 noon.

[Asianrider]

Raimonland always ran slick marketing campaigns, and actually built a decent product too. But I can't help feel with Lofts Southshore they have made a boo-boo because of the poor location, not their normal beach side one.

I went to the launch last year, and a few units had been pre-sold, but mostly to Raimonland staff including the former chief executive !

[samgrowth]

What about Raimon the Loft at Yen Arkat? You think the property value may drop? It is in a very small Soi, not exactly near Sathorn or Rama 4.

[RAZZELL]

Just released new phase on The River? What do people think about this development? North or South Tower?

Is there a price list anywhere?

RAZZ

[Asianrider]

What about Raimon the Loft at Yen Arkat? You think the property value may drop? It is in a very small Soi, not exactly near Sathorn or Rama 4.

I looked on their website but the location doesn't appear walking to any MTR / Skytrain

[samtam]

Lofts Yenakart is in the middle of nowhere, and a really grubby area to boot. The River was grossly overpriced in my opinion, and again the location was awful, neither between nor betwixt - viz not near the BTS extension, on the wrong sise of Taksin Bridge, and you're reliant on a boat to ferry you across the river. Great until the rainy season. Also it is right in the middle of warehouses. How grand is that? As others have suggested, all this hype is finnaly being shown for what it's worth. The same applies to that other stratospherically priced condo - The Sukhothai Residences, at what price, oh yes THB240k psm. Are you kidding?

[ray08]

Lofts Yenakart is in the middle of nowhere, and a really grubby area to boot. The River was grossly overpriced in my opinion, and again the location was awful, neither between nor betwixt - viz not near the BTS extension, on the wrong sise of Taksin Bridge, and you're reliant on a boat to ferry you across the river. Great until the rainy season. Also it is right in the middle of warehouses. How grand is that? As others have suggested, all this hype is finnaly being shown for what it's worth. The same applies to that other stratospherically priced condo - The Sukhothai Residences, at what price, oh yes THB240k psm. Are you kidding?

Agree on all 3 ,the Lofts is in a middle of nowhere place, The river development which i can see from my office is on the wrong side of the river ,very far even from New Bts and the Thaksin bridge is a car park from 4.00 pm every day, also the other side of the river without offending anyone is really very Thai and not a ferang place to live ,except for the 2 hotels, not many places go for dinner or entertainment.

Sukhothai on Sathorn rd ,another carpark in the afternoon with skyhigh prices and i also seen some crazy re-sales ASKING prices ,over thb 240k psm ,people forget this is Bangkok not New York

[RAZZELL]

Agree on all 3 ,the Lofts is in a middle of nowhere place, The river development which i can see from my office is on the wrong side of the river ,very far even from New Bts and the Thaksin bridge is a car park from 4.00 pm every day, also the other side of the river without offending anyone is really very Thai and not a ferang place to live ,except for the 2 hotels, not many places go for dinner or entertainment.

Sukhothai on Sathorn rd ,another carpark in the afternoon with skyhigh prices and i also seen some crazy re-sales ASKING prices ,over thb 240k psm ,people forget this is Bangkok not New York

Very good points. Any suggestions which are the "best" half dozen developments in BKK?

RAZZ

[quiksilva]

How do you define "best"?

[samran]

Kinda wonder what Nigel is going to get up to. Believe he has been here for quite a while.

Suspect there will be a bit clearing out of other management there too before the dust settles.

[ray08]

Agree on all 3 ,the Lofts is in a middle of nowhere place, The river development which i can see from my office is on the wrong side of the river ,very far even from New Bts and the Thaksin bridge is a car park from 4.00 pm every day, also the other side of the river without offending anyone is really very Thai and not a ferang place to live ,except for the 2 hotels, not many places go for dinner or entertainment.

Sukhothai on Sathorn rd ,another carpark in the afternoon with skyhigh prices and i also seen some crazy re-sales ASKING prices ,over thb 240k psm ,people forget this is Bangkok not New York

Very good points. Any suggestions which are the "best" half dozen developments in BKK?

RAZZ

Best half dozen would be too hard to pick as everyone has a different idea of what they consider is good, eg ,I am not a fan of the

Met ,again sathorn rd, and lots of units in one place,yet i have seen posters say it is great ,and Sathorn is considered part of the CBD

If i was to buy ,i really like those big Thai houses ,great value compared to Condo,s , unfortunately not being Thai, and not keen on putting a THB 20m Plus house in a company name not possible in my case .

[RAZZELL]

How do you define "best"?

Well, it's difficult but I'll try

I would say that to be called "the best" a condo would have to fulfil the following criteria.

Within a 10 minute walk to transport links, probably in the CBD, maybe somewhere like Tong Lor.

Have excellent construction, using quality building materials and be well-maintained.

Condo should have large rooms, high ceiling's and include big windows with preferably a view of some kind.

RAZZ

[trogers]

Condo should have large rooms, high ceiling's and include big windows with preferably a view of some kind.

A penthouse 30 floors up a high-rise?

[RAZZELL]

Condo should have large rooms, high ceiling's and include big windows with preferably a view of some kind.

A penthouse 30 floors up a high-rise?

Sounds good. If you've got the money

RAZZ

[trogers]

Condo should have large rooms, high ceiling's and include big windows with preferably a view of some kind.

A penthouse 30 floors up a high-rise?

Sounds good. If you've got the money

RAZZ

If a penthouse is uses as a ruler to measure "the best", many condos will not qualify. I for one, do not like city apartments. And I detest 'dormitory' type of floor layouts.

City apartments are those that you stand at the entrance gate and see multiple floors of car parks and then greens sprouting above the car park roof followed by the apartment units.

Dormitory type speaks for itself - long dark and narrow corridors with little sunlight and ventilation.

My test of a well designed condo building is simple: people can live in it should there be a citywide power blackout from 9am to 4pm. Is there natural ventilation and light in the hallways from staircases and lifts to the entrance of the condo unit? Is the condo unit not deeper than 7m to come to a window or sliding glass door?

Edited March 13, 2009 by trogers

[Ground Engineer]

Condo should have large rooms, high ceiling's and include big windows with preferably a view of some kind.

A penthouse 30 floors up a high-rise?

Sounds good. If you've got the money

RAZZ

If a penthouse is uses as a ruler to measure "the best", many condos will not qualify. I for one, do not like city apartments. And I detest 'dormitory' type of floor layouts.

City apartments are those that you stand at the entrance gate and see multiple floors of car parks and then greens sprouting above the car park roof followed by the apartment units.

Dormitory type speaks for itself - long dark and narrow corridors with little sunlight and ventilation.

My test of a well designed condo building is simple: people can live in it should there be a citywide power blackout from 9am to 4pm. Is there natural ventilation and light in the hallways from staircases and lifts to the entrance of the condo unit? Is the condo unit not deeper than 7m to come to a window or sliding glass door?

Sounds like Northpoint would comply with your test and more!

[Arkady]

What about Raimon the Loft at Yen Arkat? You think the property value may drop? It is in a very small Soi, not exactly near Sathorn or Rama 4.

I looked on their website but the location doesn't appear walking to any MTR / Skytrain

The Lofts is an absolute dead ringer for a project most likely to have lost value since the launch price. It was basically a row of overpriced town houses in a small congested soi not near public transport hyped as something else. As we all know town houses fetch the lowest price per sqm of all residential property. The original developers Kudu couldn't sell it and had to jv with Raimon. All along both said it was practically sold out from the launch but they kept up heavy advertising for a long time which indicated otherwise. I agree that the River must in difficulties now too, owing to its awkward location. Raimon had a sh*tload of inventory on its balance sheet at the end of 2008 and has a lot of commitments to future projects that are mostly targeted at foreigners who have now fled the market and could only legally buy 49% of the units anyway.

[RAZZELL]

I agree that the River must in difficulties now too, owing to its awkward location.

What are the prices in The River?

Does Le Raffine fit the bill?

RAZZ

Edited March 14, 2009 by RAZZELL

[Crash999]

The Lofts is an absolute dead ringer for a project most likely to have lost value since the launch price. It was basically a row of overpriced town houses

You're thinking about Lofts Sathorn not Yennakart. Sathorn is townhouses and did sell well:

http://www.theloftsbangkok.com/sathorn/introduction.html

Yennakart is a condo building:

http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=225775

The location is not on Skytrain or Subway routes but the prices at completion were up to 50% less of buildings that were- so it depends what one is looking for.

[Crash999]

Sounds like Northpoint would comply with your test and more!

Northpoint is turning out nicely- a friend of mine lives in Sky Beach next door and overlooks the building site. The buildings themselves are very pretty. Hope they have the capital to complete the project.