Japan's real estate firm List Group has forged a joint venture with property developer Habitat Group for two condo projects in Thong Lor worth a combined 2.8 billion baht.
Hisashi Kitami, founder, chief executive and president of List Group, said Thailand is the third country in Southeast Asia and the fourth worldwide where List has invested in property development.
"Weighing risks and returns, Thailand is the most attractive for investment outside Japan," he said.
"Compared with other Southeast Asian countries, Thailand has more transparency. The country is easy to understand, with less worry about the inflation rate."
After discussions last year, List and Habitat have agreed to establish two joint venture firms -- Habitat Group List and Habitat Group List 2 -- with the Japanese firm holding 38% of each and Habitat owning the remaining 62% stake.
"We hold more than a 51% stake as our key objective is not funding but networking," said Habitat chief executive Chanin Vanijwongse. "Amid the Chinese buyer slowdown, List can help us tap into new markets like Europe, Japan and some Southeast Asian countries."
Mr Chanin said Habitat had discussions with many potential foreign partners but chose List because Habitat did not want a large partner that wanted to invest heavily.
The two joint ventures will be low-rise condos under the Walden brand on two-rai plots on Thong Lor Soi 8 and Thong Lor Soi 13, worth 1.5 billion baht and 1.3 billion, respectively.
Scheduled to launch this quarter, the Soi 8 site will have 117 units sized 32.5-71 square metres priced 235,000-260,000 baht per sq m. The Soi 13 project will have 122 units sized 35-60 sq m priced 185,000-220,000 baht per sq m.
After List Group acquired the exclusive business rights to Sotheby's International Realty in Japan in 2010 and in Hawaii in 2013, it expanded to Southeast Asia.
"We aim to sell 30-40% of units sold at both projects through our global network in 72 countries," said Mr Kitami. "Key markets interested in Thai properties are Hong Kong and Japan."
Founded in Japan in 1991, List Group has sold 5,500 condo units in Japan to date. In 2005 the company started overseas investment in property development in the US, setting up in Hawaii, Las Vegas and Houston, where properties worth a combined ¥5 billion were developed.
In 2017, it invested in property development in Southeast Asia, starting with one project in Singapore, followed by two sites in the Philippines.
The total value of the six properties in Southeast Asia is a combined ¥20 billion.