Could beat sales forecast by 10-15%
Amata Corporation Plc projects it will sell nearly 1,300 rai of industrial estate land this year now that political uncertainties have begun to ease. Vibul Kromadit, the company's senior director for marketing and sales, said yesterday the political and economic outlook had improved since the landmark decision in May by the Constitutional Tribunal ruled to disband Thai Rak Thai and ban 111 of its top figures from political activities for five years.
In the ensuing weeks, the interim government has offered several reassurances that elections will take place by the end of this year _ Nov 25 is the current scheduled date.
Since then, Mr Vibul said, foreign investors have grown more confident about the political outlook while economic fundamentals remain sound. Some, who had suspended their investments in Thailand, have made a comeback and are now considering investing again.
''We believe we will be able to achieve the sales goal, which is up 150% from last year, as the political picture is getting clearer,'' he said. ''Moreover, protests by anti-coup groups are not serious as they are lacking in political ideology.''
During the first five months of this year, a number of foreign investors had delayed their investments in Thailand due mainly to political instability.
Mr Vibul said Amata sold approximately 500 rai of industrial land in the first six months of this year, which was better than its earlier expectation given the prevailing conditions.
''If the political situation improves faster than we expected, we may sell 10-15% more land than our forecast,'' he said.
Most investors that are returning are from Asia, especially Japan, China and Australia, as well New Zealand. The highest-potential sectors are automobiles and parts, and electrical equipment.
Last year, Amata sold only 546 rai of land compared to 1,479 rai in 2005. Its revenues totalled 3.42 billion baht compared with 4.43 billion in 2005. About 70-75% of the company's revenues came from land sales and the rest from utilities services.
The company has increased land prices by 8-10% since the start of this year. Average prices are over three million baht per rai at Amata Nakorn and almost two million baht per rai at its Amata City industrial estate.
Mr Vibul said he was worried about growing competition from Vietnam, which has drawn lots of foreign investment. ''I think the [Thai] government should do something to increase the country's competitiveness such as offering high tax incentives to lure foreign investors,'' he said.
He also said the company's board would consider whether to list its Amata Vietnam subsidiary on the Vietnamese stock market within the third quarter.
Amata shares closed yesterday on the Stock Exchange of Thailand at 17 baht, down 10 satang, in trade worth 43.37 million baht.
Source: Bangkok Post by Krissana Parnsoonthorn
Friday July 06, 2007