Showing posts with label Business. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Business. Show all posts

Wednesday 14 October 2015

Chao Phraya riverside to become iconic upmarket utopia, #Bangkok


The Chao Phraya riverside area will be Bangkok's new upmarket lifestyle destination when a number of luxury retail, hotel and condominium projects costing more than Bt200 billion in total are completed over the next two-and-a-half years.

 TCC Land Group is owned by beverage tycoon Charoen Sirivadhanabhakdi.

Eight hotels, with a combined 4,152 rooms and worth up to Bt30 billion, are also expanding their riverside investment.

They are the Anantara Bangkok Riverside & Spa, the Chatrium Hotel Riverside Bangkok, the Mandarin Oriental Bangkok, the Millennium Hilton Bangkok, The Peninsula Bangkok, the Ramada Plaza Bangkok Menam Riverside, the Royal Orchid Sheraton Hotel & Towers, and the Shangri-La Hotel Bangkok. Meanwhile, a number of condominium projects each worth up to Bt10 billion are being launched in the area this year through 2017.

They include the Magnolias Waterfront Residences Charoen Nakorn by Magnolias Quality Development, which is owned by CP Group, and Country Group's Landmark Waterfront.

The existing supply of condominiums on the Chao Phraya riverside is more than 12,394 units from 15 condo projects launched in the vicinity since the start of 2011 through last year.

These projects were worth more than Bt85.75 billion combined at the time of the launch, according to a survey by The Nation.

The part of the survey covering the Chao Phraya riverside in Phra Nakhon district - from Kiak Kai to Bang Pho, Tao Pun, Charoen Krung and Rama III - has found that seven condominium projects were launched since the beginning of 2011, comprising 6,229 units worth Bt35.7 billion.

The projects are: the 397-unit, Bt6-billion Pano Riverside by Krungthep Land; the 224-unit, Bt7-billion Canapaya Residences Rama 3; the Supalai Prema Riva, which has 871 units on Rama III worth Bt5.5 billion in total; the 2,405-unit, Bt5.5-billion Lumpini Park Riverside Rama; the 1,088-unit, Bt3.8-billion U Delight Residence Riverfront Rama 3 by Grand Unity Development; the 950-unit, Bt6.5-billion 333 Riverside by Land & Houses; and the Bt1.4-billion Breeze Narathivas by Eastern Star Real Estate, which comprises 294 units.

Meanwhile, the riverside on the Thon Buri side of the river - from Ratchburana Road to Charoen Nakorn, through to Charan Sanitwong - has seen eight condominium projects launched since 2010, comprising 6,165 units with a combined value of Bt50.05 billion.

They are: Pruksa Real Estate's 1,268-unit Ivy River Ratchaburana, worth Bt2.85 billion; the same developer's 1,820-unit Chapter One Ratchaburana, worth Bt4 billion; the 379-unit, Bt10-billion Magnolias Waterfront Residences Charoen Nakorn; the 350-unit, Bt7-billion Landmark Waterfront; the 833-unit The River by Raimon Land, worth Bt15 billion; the Supalai River Resort by Supalai, comprising 906 units worth Bt3.5 billion; the 123-unit My Resort @ River by Equity Residential, worth Bt2 billion; and the 486-unit Watermark Chaopraya River by Major Development, valued at Bt5.7 billion.

A survey by Colliers International (Thailand) shows that between 2004 and the first half of this year condominium launches on the Chao Phraya totalled 16,450 units, compared with just 2,700 units before the economic crisis in 1997.

Property investment in the area has boosted the price of land located close to the river, from an average of Bt50,000 per square wah (4 square metres) in 2011 to between Bt150,000 and Bt200,000 per square wah, Thai Condominium Association president Prasert Taedullayasatit said, adding that the upward trend would continue in light of the additional development planned from this year onwards.

Condominium sale prices at these locations have also risen, from an average of Bt50,000 per square metre five years ago to between Bt120,000 and Bt200,000 this year.

The latest project, the Magnolias Waterfront Residences Charoen Nakorn, offers the highest price of all, at Bt350,000 per square metre, he said.

The location is booming for both residential and commercial investment because river-view space is limited in the heart of Bangkok, while the mass-transit network is also being expanded to pass through the area, he explained.

The BTS Skytrain route is expanding from Sathorn to Bang Wa, while the MRT Blue Line extension from Hua Lam Pong to Bang Kae, and from Bang Sue to Tha Pra, will be ready for operations in 2017-2018.

These rail developments will help drive the riverside location to become a new iconic location in the capital, with most leading residential and commercial property developers expanding their investment in the area, he added.

Source: The Nation

*****
.
.
Posted by at
Labels: , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Sunday 11 October 2015

Proper safeguards needed for long-term AEC benefits, #Thailand


Asean countries need to integrate appropriate safeguards to ensure inclusiveness and sustainability in any benefits to be brought about by the Asean Economic Community (AEC), experts said recently.

 At a Bangkok symposium on "Shared solutions: Safeguarding sustainable development in the Mekong region", Venkatachalam Anbumozhi, senior energy economist at the Economic Research Institute for Asean and East Asia, said AEC will propel infrastructure investment in the Mekong region.

The benefits of AEC for the subregion include faster and more dynamic economic growth, stronger Asian voices in international forums, an alternative to global multilateral institutions, less poverty and better social indicators.

Yet, the benefits outweighed its costs - greater divide between rich and poor, loss of independence of national economic policies, weaker economic linkages with non-Asian countries and a loss of national culture and identity.

He called for proper environmental safeguards. This issue is challenging as Asean has a diverse mix of environmental and natural resources, a different environmental governance structure, dynamic legal regime, land tenure and taxation, and absence from region-wide institutions and systems to regulate, manage and monitor social and ecological impacts.

To improve regional cooperation, it is important to establish a standard approach that is programmatic, systematic, sequenced, targeted and transparent; to adopt a coherent framework for safeguard policies, legislation, tools and initiatives that compliment and strengthen each other; and to integrate policies in the administrative and legislative dimensions.

Networking and institution building, data and information management, education and training, international best practices and dispute settlement are the strategies to achieve the target.

"Asean is different from the European Union, which has a wide range of diversity. We need to learn how they can move forward with this diversity. Both government-to-government and business-to-business cooperation, coordination and collaboration are needed. Development will largely depend on how far we are going," he said.

At the event, Matthew Baird, of Environmental Counsel Asia, stressed the importance of climate change and environmental impact assessments (EIAs). Countries in the region need to seriously take into consideration the two factors for all investment projects.

"It is time for an Asean framework convention on EIA to ensure the bloc will see further developments in the near future," he said.

The framework convention should cover regional EIA capacity-building, access to information and public participation, registration and training of EIA consultants, transboundary EIA assessment, strategic environmental assessment and screening lists for projects.

According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, compared to the climate in 1961-90, the average global temperature will increase by 1 degree Celsius from 2010-39 and 3-4 degrees from 2070-99.

Average rainfall will decrease by 20 millimetre from 2010-39, then increase by 60mm from 2070-99. Globally, water has been projected to be a key indicator of these changes. The increase in fossil fuel consumption for economic development directly leads to an increase of carbon dioxide emissions as the major man-made cause of climate change.

Actions on climate change were part of the United Nations' new 17 sustainable development goals. Countries are being invited to submit their action plans on the issue to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, as the world is expected to strike a new universal climate change agreement at the UN climate conference in Paris in December.

The Paris agreement will go into effect in 2020, empowering all countries to act to prevent average global temperatures rising above 2 degrees Celsius and to reap the many opportunities that arise from a necessary global transformation to clean and sustainable development.

Over 50 countries have submitted their action plans, including four Asean members - Cambodia, Vietnam, Myanmar and Indonesia.

During the Union Nations General Assembly last week, World Bank President Jim Yong Kim said, "We have no hope of ending extreme poverty unless we tackle climate change".

According to data from the World Wildlife Fund, across the Mekong region, temperatures rose by 0.5-1.5C in the past 50 years. The region is vulnerable to climate change with expected impacts on the region's terrestrial, freshwater, estuarine and marine ecosystems.

According to a report by the Asian Development Bank, Thailand's temperature increased from 1-1.8C in the past 50 years, while Vietnam's temperature increased by 0.7C during this period.

The climate change action plans of the countries in the subregion mainly involve energy policies.

Thailand targets to boost the renewable energy portion to 20.3 per cent by 2022. Vietnam's renewable energy portion will be raised to 5 per cent by 2020 and 11 per cent by 2050. Cambodia aims to raise both the electrification rate and renewable portion to 100 per cent by 2020. Laos aims to extend electricity access to 90 per cent of households by 2020 and increase renewable energy to 30 per cent by 2025.

Seree Nonthasoot, Thailand's representative to the Asean Intergovernmental Commission on Human Rights, said human rights and environmental issues are interlinked.

Asean should adopt people-oriented and gender-responsive development programmes, and needs to develop a CSR (corporate social responsibility) strategy for the grouping. The current discussion on CSR and human rights should be broadened to include other stakeholders.

"Asean needs to incorporate human rights into community vision. Development of regional guidelines and closer cooperation among regional stakeholders is essential. Alignment between NAPs (national action plans) and existing human rights action plans is also needed," he said.

Source: The Nation

*****
.

.
Posted by at
Labels: , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Saturday 10 October 2015

Haze in the South 'easing' #Thailand


Particulate measurements within safe limits in 7 provinces

 NEWS that the dire haze situation in the South has improved comes as the government launched numerous measures aimed at easing the impact of the problem on people and businesses.

The Royal Thai Air Force has even sprayed water over hard-hit densely populated areas of Songkhla province in a bid to protect the health of people.

The smog has played havoc in the Southern region for many days, as winds brought smoke from Indonesia's bush fires.

"Now, the overall haze problem has eased," Government Spokesman Maj-General Sansern Kaewkamnerd said yesterday.


He said Prime Minister General Prayut Chan-o-cha was worried about the haze's impact on people and had instructed relevant agencies to tackle the problem seriously.

The urgent measures are rainmaking operations, water spraying, the distribution of facial masks, and discussions with Indonesia over the problem.

The amount of particulate matter up to 10 microns in size (PM10), Sansern said, had not exceeded the safe limit of 120 micrograms per cubic metre of air in Surat Thani, Phuket, Songkhla, Yala, Narathiwat, Satun and Pattani as of press time yesterday.

Phuket Governor Chamroen Tipayapongtada said the haze situation in his province had shown signs of improving. He said there had not been any more flight delays because of poor visibility after 24 flights to and from Phuket were delayed between 6am Thursday to 6am yesterday.

Suratin Lianudom, a former mayor of Tambon Rassada Municipality, yesterday lodged an open letter with the Indonesian president via the provincial Phuket authority demanding that Jakarta pay serious attention to preventing the haze problem.

"Smog has affected the normal lives of people," he said in the letter.

Suratin said many tourists had been unable to connect with flights back to their home countries in time because of haze-caused flight delays.

Many children and elderly people in Phuket had developed health problems because of the haze, he said.

Yesterday, haze delayed at least four flights at Krabi International Airport, while Ranong Hospital deputy director Dr Arun Sattayapisan said the number of patients at the hospital had jumped by more than 30 per cent in the past few days because of the smog.

"Ranong doesn't have a station to check air quality. So we really don't know whether the air quality has dropped dangerously," he said.

Source: The Nation

*****
.
.
Posted by at
Labels: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)