Thread: CB Richard Ellis Thailand urges property buyers not to panic

CB Richard Ellis Thailand urges property buyers not to panic



The Thai branch of international real-estate and property-investment firm CB Richard Ellis has urged foreign property owners and prospective buyers of Thai real estate not to panic or abandon their interest because of proposed changes to the Foreign Business Act.

It says they should focus on foreign quotas for condominium ownership and leasehold properties developed by well-known and established companies.

CB Richard Ellis Thailand managing director Aliwassa Pathnadabutr said the proposed changes might affect large foreign investments in property projects and the construction industry but not private investment in a second home in Thailand.

The company has looked carefully at the "real effect" of the government's proposals in conjunction with major law firms and has considered the psychological affects and the perceptions of both foreign businesses in Thailand and foreign purchasers of Thai property, she said.

The danger of the proposals is that they might be seen as a rejection of foreign investment, with large potential losses for both the real-estate and the construction sectors of the economy. They might also be viewed as poor public relations on the part of Thailand internationally.

Aliwassa said her company's first piece of advice to all clients is that the proposals are not yet law.

Second, a detailed reading of the proposals shows them not to be as harsh as the headlines have presented them. Most businesses that will be redefined as foreign will be largely unaffected and allowed to continue, with time to amend their structure if necessary.

Therefore, she said, most office tenants should not be affected, although demand from incoming tenants might well be reduced.

The Nation