Leading Asian-based villa rental group Elite Havens are moving into Thailand in a big way.
The group has appointed hotelier Femke Beekers as Country Head, and she will be based in Phuket.
Elite currently have more than 200 luxury villas throughout Asia with Bali and Lombok, Sri Lanka and Phuket firmly on their books.
Beekers moves over from Six Senses Koh Samui and is being tasked to resource the group’s expansion throughout Thailand’s resort markets.
C9 Hotelworks, Horwath HTL and Mayer Brown JSM are holding a free seminar focusing on investment in the hospitality & leisure sector in Vietnam. The Vietnam market is seeing a recent rebound and the hospitality & leisure sector is particularly active amongst private equity investors. There have also been recent changes in the law on foreign investment into Vietnam. C9’s Managing Director Bill Barnett will be a featured speaker
Our seminar will cover:
- Hotel market conditions including outlook and opportunities
- Emerging opportunities in hotel branded residences, mixed use developments and yield based leisure and urban real estate offerings
- Update on foreign investment conditions and cross-border M&A issues – regulatory and legal
Date & Time
Tuesday, 20 September 2016
4:00 p.m. Registration
4:30 p.m. – 6:00 p.m. Seminar
6:00 p.m. onwards Cocktail
Location
Mayer Brown JSM
18th Floor, Prince’s Building
10 Chater Road, Central
Hong Kong
If you have any questions or wish to register, please contact Nancy Tsang:
[email protected] | +852 2843 4535
The planned conversion of the Sri Panwa Property Fund into a REIT (real estate investment fund) is expected to change the way many Thai hotel owners approach the marketplace.
According to a story in yesterday’s Bangkok Post the strategic shift is planned within this year and is subject to SEC approval.
It’s understood the REIT would be managed together by Charn Issara and Siam Commercial Bank under specific asset management units.
As to why the fund would shift to a REIT, the major benefit is that loans can be obtained up to 35% of the asset’s value and leveraging of debt up to 60%. Property fund are only allowed to obtain loans up to 10% of the value, hence the benefit of the REIT is significant.
What is significant in the change is the ability to use the capital markets to leverage assets and grow investment. Another key feature of REIT’s versus property funds, is the former is allowed to invest internationally, while the latter is limited to Thailand.
Reports in the press have revealed plans by Charn Issara to expand abroad in a Taiwan joint venture hotel asset.
Looking at the history of hotels using the older property fund regime in the country is the fact that as properties have grown older the debt threshold has limited the ability to upgrade and remain dynamic performing assets.
This limitation has been further magnified high levels of guarantees to fund subscribers, which has hampered capital investment. Another negative has been single asset fund’s that have only one hotel and are subject to operating volatility versus funds which have multiple hotels in different destinations and are able to spread risk.
We’d expect more Thai hotel owners and groups to look at using REIT’s to fund expansion both domestically and overseas, along with using the structure to upgrade assets at a greater pace in the short to medium term.
Over the past few weeks since reports have been hitting the media in Phuket about a crackdown on illegal condominium hotels, brokers, investors and a number of others have been speculating about the future of the sector.
Legal adviser Desmond Hughes from the firm of Hughes Krupica has written a clear explanation of condo hotels and the Hotel Act in the Phuket Gazette.
We’d like to pass this onto readers as an important piece of information.
To read the full story CLICK
C9 Hotelworks Founder and Managing Director Bill Barnett has returned to writing about real estate news, trends and opinion in the new FazWaz Property Insider.
Insightful content follows not only Phuket, but also Thailand and in fact it’s a perspective over the entire Asia Pacific region.
FazWaz is a leading online property marketplace for both developers and buyers.
To view the Property Insider CLICK
Or the Facebook page CLICK
Niseko Japan is one of Asia’s hottest emerging property markets and C9 Hotelworks has covered the latest trends in their newly released real estate review.
With branded hotel residence projects flagged to Ritz-Carlton and Park Hyatt the traditional winter destination is now emerging as a year-round holiday location.
Thai investors and property buyers are key movers over the past few years, with Property Perfect acquiring a controlling stake in the Kiroro Resort a few years ago through a subsidiary company.
Making recent news has also been SET listed group Pace Development who are in the process of acquiring a luxury residential site.
Direct flights to Sapporo from Bangkok have supported interest in a growing property market which understands that for Asian travelers it’s not just about the beach.
Click here to download and read the report.
One of Asia’s leading yachting facilities Royal Phuket Marina has been put into the transaction market.
Developed in 2005 by entrepreneur Gulu Lalvani, the facility features 110 wet berths and a hardstand for 40 watercraft.
The sale includes 100% interest in the marina, the commercial complex along with a beachfront site in nearby Naka Yai island.
Jones Lang LaSalle Hotels have been retained as the exclusive broker.
Overall the offering is over 193 rai and there is a considerable land bank for hotel, residential and commercial expansion.
Yachting is a key island growth industry and a strong economic indicator.
Over the past decade Gulu Lalvani has been a strong investment advocate of Brand Phuket and he is now looking to give someone the upside opportunity to execute a larger integrated offering.
Phuket’s surging tourism numbers are seeing strong demand from international investors as can be seen from the interest in another mega property in Mai Khao, the West Sands project which is in the process of being bid out.
Back of a rising tide of complaints across the country from the Thai hotel sector and more recently the Revenue Department, the Phuket Land Office has reportedly issued warning letters to a number of condominiums across the island.
According to The Phuket News (click to read the story), the underlining letter contains the following-
“Today, there is a lot of news about condominium developers/owners renting out rooms or buildings that they have ownership of to foreigners or tourists on a daily basis (daily rental) rate that generate income as if they were a hotel (under the Hotel Act 2004).
This type of operation is causes a public nuisance for renters in the same complex and creates unsafe places for tourists, which may lead to loss of life and property. It is inacceptable to operate an illegal hotel. The penalty for this is up to one year in jail or a fine of up to B20,000, or both.”
In the past the Thai Hotel Act has been revised back in 2004 to cover the serviced apartment sector which has seen a proliferation of abuse by properties circumventing the law and renting units nightly, whereas the waiver for a hotel license was rentals of 30 days or more.
Now condominiums are under the same scrutiny and the current administration’s push on taxation across all sectors is certainly a leading proponent .If you drive around Phuket you will see a number of billboards for projects offering guaranteed rental returns via hotel-type offerings despite most not having obtained licenses. It’s understood that villa rentals are also under the microscope as well.
Today’s shock Brexit exit has experienced a sudden and rapid reaction from global financial markets, as the pound has taken a literal pounding.
The financial sector does not like volatility and the virtual Pandora’s Box of geopolitical fallout is likely to be a significant disruptor.
In Phuket during the mid 2000’s the pre-GFC depreciation of the British pound was the turning point in a vibrant real estate cycle.
Given the currency is the bread and butter of many investors and also used by other property classes such as retirees or holiday home purchasers, a broad devaluation could have a potential negative impact.
As for tourism, one will have to look forward to the coming high season as the UK is a key Greater Phuket source market for snowbirds and the exchange rate between the pound and Thai baht do have a connection.
Pandora played a starring role today, but the economic fallout from the Brexit have undoubtedly captivated the world and taken front and center stage.
Readers should assume the position and brace brace brace.
