Since completing a 33-year career as one of the Kingdom's most distinguished public servants, former central bank governor MR Chatu Mongkol Sonakul has been busy delving in the property front.

In a recent interview, Chatu Mongkol said the recent opening of the nine-rai Hilton Millennium Hotel on the Thon Buri side of Bangkok and the acquisition of the 55-rai Jungceylon project in Phuket were projects he had secured with Singapore-based City Development (CDL).

The two properties, each costing Bt4 billion, are the result of his MTR Asset Management Company's collaboration with CDL.

The Singaporean partner will continue to actively seek and explore real estate investment opportunities in Bangkok and other parts of Thailand, said Chatu Mongkol.

This will be done either directly or through Recap (Real Estate Capital Asia Partners) and in conjunction with MTR Asset Management, said the partners.

Recap is a private real estate fund in which CDL has a significant interest, with a US-based investment fund and other limited partners.

Chatu Mongkol said his 30 years in the Finance Ministry and three years at the Bank of Thailand had armed him with a wealth of experience in real-estate matters. His forte, he said, lay in his ability "to identify prime sites, estimate their value and secure financing to fund projects".

Trained as an engineer at Britain's prestigious Cambridge University, Chatu Mongkol said the field was perhaps the most invaluable in banking. "Three quarters of investment bankers are engineers by training. Engineers are the best people to evaluate whether a factory is working well or not. Accountants and economists won't be able to provide such assessments."

Meanwhile, Chatu Mongkol's key partner, Kwek Leng Beng, the executive chairman of Hong Leong Group Singapore - which includes property giant CDL and Millennium & Copthorne Hotels Plc (M&C) - said he was keen to expand his portfolio in Thailand.

The Millennium Hilton Bangkok is his first Thai hotel property. Originally a Sofitel property, it was recently "totally rebuilt" after being abandoned at the time of the 1997 financial crisis. It was then taken over by the state-owned Thai Asset Management Corp, said CDL.

Three years ago, CDL and US-based real estate fund Westbrook Partners jointly made a successful bid for the property. The 543-room, 32-storey hotel was redesigned and reconstructed into a five-star property complete with restaurants, spa facilities, ballrooms and meeting rooms.

Kwek said he had been told the hotel was located on the wrong side of the river. Nonetheless, he proceeded to snap it up.

"As you can see now, what some said was the wrong side of the river has become the right side as we can enjoy the great skyline of Bangkok from here," he said.

CDL recently bought a 95-per-cent interest through Recap in the Jungceylon project, off Patong. The hotel and retail complex is expected to contain about 204,000 square metres of built-up area and stands to become the largest exhibition site in Phuket.

Jungceylon involves about 90,000 square metres of lettable retail space, more than 900 parking spaces, and a hotel with more 400 rooms, said Kwek.

He anticipates Jungceylon being the largest shopping and retail complex in Phuket in the near future.

"This project aims to inject confidence back into both the tourism and retail," following the deadly tsunami of December 2004," said Kwek, adding that Jungceylon and the Millennium Hilton Bangkok are two of several investment projects the group is undertaking with its Thai partners.

A third property - Millennium Residences - near mid-Sukhumvit in Bangkok is also moving ahead. Through the Recap fund, the CDL Group has significant holdings in Millennium Residences. The project involves the development of a 604-unit residential condominium with parking for 1,000 cars, and a retail building.

Millennium Residences is scheduled for completion by the end of 2008.

Kwek said CDL was also involved in the commercial property sector in Bangkok - the Exchange Tower and another hotel, the Millennium Sukhumvit Hotel.

CDL recently acquired an interest in Exchange Tower - formerly known as Pornpat Tower - in Bangkok. Exchange Tower, which is a Grade-A office building and modern retail mall, offers about 42,000 square metres of lettable retail and office space and a gross floor area of about 85,000 square metres.

It is located at the intersection of Asoke and Sukhumvit roads, enjoying access to both the Skytrain and subway systems. The renovation of Exchange Tower should be completed soon.

Through its subsidiary M&C, the CDL Group also entered into a joint venture with the Srichawala family to start construction of a five-star hotel, the Millennium Sukhumvit Bangkok.

The 326-room hotel will be completed by end of next year and will be managed by M&C.

Itthi C Tan

The Nation