YEAR-END SPECIAL
Construction companies doing more business abroad
Somluck Srimalee
The Nation



BANGKOK: -- Investing more overseas is the trend for Thailand’s construction and property firms as they have seen business opportunities and a need to balance their portfolios.

"We have been expanding our investment abroad since 2010 as part of our aim to boost annual revenue to Bt100 billion by 2020. This is also a way to learn how to do business overseas to balance our portfolio," said Thongma Vijitpongpun, president and chief executive of Pruksa Real Estate.

Pruksa began investing in India, Vietnam and Maldives in 2010, though it has since pulled out of Maldives and suspended its investment in Vietnam but is still doing business in India.

"This is a good learning experience on how to do business overseas - what we can do and when we have to withdraw from the market. However, if we see a business opportunity, we will still expand our investment overseas, especially in Asean countries," he said.

Land & Houses, Sansiri, Supalai, TCC Land Co, CP Land and Singha Estate have also been investing outside Thailand, in the residential, hospitality, and office segments. For example, Singha Estate has taken over a hotel in Britain in a deal worth Bt2.25 billion.

This activity outside Thailand is not confined to real-estate firms; construction and industrial-estate companies are also investing abroad, especially in Asean countries.

Italian-Thai Development and Ch Karnchang were the first two construction firms to foray into Asean nations.

ITD has been constructing infrastructure in Myanmar and Laos.

Ch Karnchang is also working in Laos, on hydropower-dam construction, and is also studying planning to do business in Myanmar in the new year.

Amata Corporation and Rojana Industrial Park were the first two Thai industrial-estate companies to expand into Asean. The former has established an estate in Vietnam, while Rojana is in a joint venture with ITD for a project in Dawei, Myanmar.

"Demand for construction of infrastructure projects in neighbouring countries will grow strongly when the Asean Economic Community becomes effective," said the chairman of Ch Karnchang's executive board, Plew Trivisvavet. "This is a business opportunity for Thailand's construction firms to expand their investment in Asean."

After its initial success in Laos, Ch Karnchang will explore opportunities in Myanmar next year, and then will study doing business in other countries in Asean, he said.

Investing abroad can be a way for Thailand's largest property, construction and industrial-estate companies to increase their returns.

"When we invest overseas, the investment has to generate a higher return than a similar venture in Thailand, because we have to consider the business risk," Land & Houses managing director Adisorn Thananun-Narapool said after the company invested in a project in the United States early this year.

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/business/construction-companies-doing-more-business-abroad-30275854.html


-- The Nation 2015-12-30

If they are building anything overseas they would have to be using local qualified tradespeople not the cowboys we see here.

I hope they are forced on a reciprocal basis to have majority local shareholders for businesses owning land or doing property business. That should make them feel right at home.

Presumably, they'll be looking to countries whose safety standards and enforcement of planning and building regulations are on a par with LoS. After all, no point in expanding operations, then paying extra just to meet pesky legal requirements.

If they are building anything overseas they would have to be using local qualified tradespeople not the cowboys we see here.

That will depend on what is meant by 'overseas'.

If the Junta keeps falsely convicting foreigners and sentencing them to death on trumped up charges, overseas business opportunities for Thai companies will dry up.

If its anything like you see here in LO, I can see plenty of future lawsuits against the Thais craftsmanship,

If its anything like you see here in LO, I can see plenty of future lawsuits against the Thais craftsmanship,

Lawsuits for the most part are a waste of time benefitting only the lawyers involved. Everyone

knows after a project is finished and sold the construction projects LLC is closed leaving nobody

to sue and no assets. That is standard operating procedure.

The only reason is because the government hires The Chinese company to do there jobs.

I saw this companies website today while browsing for pool builders. I read a lot of great reviews and testimonials so I might give them a shot.
Some great pools and houses on the facebook page and they have live updates of current projects too.

https://www.togetherconstructionthailand.com/

 

https://www.facebook.com/tconstruct/

 

It seems you can get a good build even in Thailand :)