Thongchai Busrapan, executive director, said Noble Development opened its Bt5-billion Noble Remix complex on Sukhumvit 36 for bookings on Monday. Buyers promptly booked 268 units out of a total of 504.

Noble Remix, which will have 9,000 square metres of retail space and 6,000 square metres of office space as well as 504 residential units, will open again for bookings on Sunday.

"We believe that the rest of the condominium units in Noble Remix will sell out on Sunday," Thongchai said.

Construction of the complex will begin next month and it is due for completion before the end of 2008.

Following the high demand for its condominium project, the company plans to launch a new project in the second half of this year in a prime central business district location. Its value will be about Bt2 billion.

Thongchai said demand for condominiums had continued to grow, but it is dependent on location. Best locations are near mass-transit services such as the skytrain or the subway.

The company this year also plans to spend Bt1 billion buying new land for development. Of this, Bt400 million has already been spent and the remaining Bt600 million will spent before the end of the year.

With initial success in selling residential units at its Noble Remix project, the company may also adjust its pre-sale target for 2006, which currently stands at Bt2.7 million.

Thongchai declined to release a new figure, saying it depends on Sunday's bookings of units at Noble Remix. He said not only pre-sales will exceed estimates, but revenue will also rise above the expected Bt2.5 billion this year.

The company's pre-sales up to the end of April were worth Bt1.5 billion - Bt1.1 billion from condominium projects and Bt422 million from detached homes.

When Monday's Bt1 billion sales in Noble Remix are added, the company has already logged pre-sales of Bt2.52 billion, just short of its Bt2.7-billion target for the whole year.

However, if Noble Development succeeds in selling the rest of Nobel Remix, worth Bt1.43 billion, on Sunday, its pre-sales will rise to more than Bt3.9 billion.

"The market signs lead us to believe that our pre-sales this year will be higher than our estimate," Thongchai said.

Nobel Development Plc has reported total sales amounting to Bt495.3 million in the first quarter of this year, up 27 per cent on last year's first quarter, and a net profit of Bt92 million, down 1.3 per cent from the figure for the corresponding period last year.

Thongchai said the lower net profit in the first quarter followed the loss of a tax incentive and the need to pay Bt12.4 million in taxes.

Somluck Srimalee

The Nation