The SET-listed Bangkok Land Plc (BLAND) plans to build 13,500 townhouses worth a combined 60 billion baht on a 1,350-rai site in the Srinakarin area over 7-10 years.
Anant: ‘We learned from 1997 crisis’
Chairman Anant Kanjanapas said the company will build 1,000 to 1,500 units a year.
The first phase will be launched in October with 1,000 three-storey townhouses of 7.5 metres in width on 150-200 rai and priced at 4 million baht apiece.
The site, which Bangkok Land bought 20 years ago, will have two new roads _ an extension of Chaturathit Road between Rom Klao and Srinakarin roads and a new one cut from Bang Na-Trat to Soi On Nut and Krungthep Kritha Road.
Bouygues-Thai Co will build the entire project using prefabricated modules.
The contractor and Bangkok Land will jointly build a factory on site, with annual capacity of 1,000 townhouses.
Mr Anant said financing of 1 billion baht for the plant will come from Bangkok Land's own cash flow.
"The 1997 financial crisis taught us the importance of financial strength," said the 72-year-old chairman.
"We will try using our own cash and not bank loans."
Mr Anant said Bangkok Land also expects to receive 12.6 billion baht from conversion of 6.88 billion warrant units for BLAND-W2.
The company will also receive 9 billion baht from establishment of a real estate investment trust (REIT) for Impact Muang Thong Thani, which has 200,000 square metres of exhibition and convention space valued at 18 billion baht excluding food and hotel operations.
The REIT, of which Bangkok Land will hold 50%, will be launched in July or August, while Kasikornbank and Maybank Kim Eng Securities (Thailand) are studying its establishment.
Mr Anant said the large housing project in the Srinakarin area will contribute most of the company's consolidated annual revenue after accounting for 30% this year.
For fiscal 2012's first nine months ended Dec 31, Bangkok Land achieved revenue of 3.02 billion baht for a net profit of 1.44 billion.
Some 1.87 billion baht was from rents and services at Impact Muang Thong Thani and 1.14 billion from property sales, with miscellaneous operations making up the rest.
It expects revenue of 4 billion baht for the full fiscal year and will pay higher dividends than last year.
Fiscal 2011 saw the first dividend paid in a decade, two satang a share.
Bangkok Land now has on hand the Double Lake condominium project in Muang Thong Thani, comprising three phases of 149 units each priced between 1.9 and three million baht.
The first phase is 86% sold. Early next year, Bangkok Land will spend 1 billion baht to develop a 1,000-room hotel at Impact Muang Thong Thani, which will take 18 months to complete.
It also plans to expand its exhibition area by 100,000 sq m covering 30-40 rai at a cost of 5-6 billion baht.
"The exhibition expansion plan is just awaiting clarity over the mass-transit Pink Line, which the cabinet is expected to approve soon. But even if they don't agree to extend the project to Muang Thong Thani, we'll build a link to it ourselves," said Mr Anant.
Shares of BLAND closed yesterday on the Stock Exchange of Thailand at 1.96 baht, up three satang, in trade worth 629 million baht.