Raimon refutes Deva links
Raimon Land Plc said in a clarification to the stock exchange yesterday that the company and its controlling shareholders had no previous connections with Deva Property, from which it will buy a plot of land in Phuket worth Bt559.5 million.
Churairat E Bonython, identified by the Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET) as a person who had links between Raimon Land and Deva Property, had resigned from the listed property developer in July 1, 2002, the company said in a filing. Churairat was Raimon Land's managing director while serving as adviser to the president of Deva as of January 4, 2005. In 1998, Raimon Land sold 301,500 shares, or 45 per cent, in Amornburi land company, to Pongsan Prayoteamornkul, who is not connected person, at a price of Bt80 a share for a total of Bt24.12 million. The SET had ordered Raimon Land to clarify its relationship with Amornburi after it found that Deva bought the land plot in question from Amornburi for Bt350 million on March 31, 2004. Raimon Land said that the company deposited 10 per cent of the land plot's value with Deva during a contract-signing ceremony. The remainder will be payable on the date of the transfer of land ownership, scheduled for no later than June 26, 2006. "The company employed Brook Real Estate Co Ltd to conduct an appraisal of the land price," the company stated in its filing. "On January 20, 2006, the appraisal was conducted by means of a 'market comparable approach' with the approximate value of the land at Bt559.5 million, which is comparable to the market price of the land. The purpose of the land appraisal was to be a reference for negotiation of the sale price." The company explained that value of the market comparable approach was based on the market price of other similarly sized plots near the company's land. "In addition, Raimon Land in March this year again assigned First Star Consultant Co Ltd to conduct an appraisal of the land price and First Star also used the market comparison approach in conducting the appraisal. Based on the appraisal, the land's was worth Bt559 million, or approximately Bt15 million per rai," the company stated. The decision of Raimon Land's board of directors was based on the appraisal price of the land by Brook Real Estate and the project analysis prepared by its management. As a result, the company said it would receive a good return on the investment which will benefit the company and its shareholders in the future. "The board and the audit committee see the potential of the consumer market in Phuket Province, which still has a need for resort condominiums and/or resort villas," the company wrote in its filing.
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