SET-listed Amata Corp, Thailand's top industrial estate developer, plans to prepare an additional 6,000 rai this year valued at two billion baht as the investment climate has improved after the new government took power.
''Despite the coup, land sales were strong last year,'' said Viboon Kromadit, Amata's chief operating officer. ''The prospect is even brighter as politics seems to have got back to normal as we already have a government from the election.''
The company plans to finish developing the 6,000 rai this year and expects to sell out the whole area in 2010.
With sales last year of 1,772 rai, Amata topped rival Hemaraj in terms of land sales and broke its own record high in 2005, Mr Viboon said.
Amata's sales represented 35.7% of the industry's overall volume, he added. Last year Amata spent 1.4 billion baht to acquire a new land bank. Out of the company's 26,000 rai at its two industrial estates, only a few hundred rai of developed land are for sale at the moment.
In 2008, Amata set a conservative land sales target of 1,700 rai. It expects revenue to grow to about five billion baht from about 4.4 billion this year.
Only 7% of total land sales were generated from an industrial estate in Vietnam, while the rest came from Amata City and Amata Nakorn in Thailand. About 78% of total revenue came from land sales and the rest from services. By 2010, the company wants services to account for 80% of total revenue.
To achieve that target, it is seeking strategic partners to develop more services and utilities at its estates.
The developer now operates 14 joint ventures that provide power and water supply as well as job recruitment. It targets 50 ventures by 2010.
Amata aims to have 1,000 factories operating at its estates by 2010, up from 600 now. The automotive industry currently accounts for 35% of total clients. The sector's prospects remain strong, partly due to the government's eco-car scheme.
Japanese companies remain the first among foreign investors at Amata's industrial estates, while a number of Chinese firms have increased investment, particularly in the automotive and food sectors.
Amata shares closed yesterday on the Stock Exchange of Thailand at 16 baht, down 90 satang, in trade worth 40.8 million baht.
Source: Bangkok Post by Nareerat Wiriyapong
Tuesday March 11, 2008