Chance fades for Metrostar
The Bangkok bomb blasts on New Year's Eve have resulted in a lost business opportunity for Metrostar Property, as potential foreign partners have suspended plans to form a joint venture.
Ratanachai Phatinavin, managing director of the company, said at a press conference yesterday that the negotiations with foreign partners had started in the second half of last year.The partners, who were interested in holding a majority stake in its subsidiary Metro Avenue, included investors from Germany, Japan and Singapore. "When Bangkok was hit by the blasts on New Year's Eve, all foreign investors suspended negotiations. as they were concerned about political risk factors," he said. However, the company has continued to expand its business by launching a new property project worth Bt1.3 billion on Sukhumvit Soi 66, called Metro Avenue Sukhumvit 66. The project will focus on the middle market, with an offering price of Bt55,000 per square metre. Metrostar CEO Veera Buraphachaisri said the company had also set an investment budget of Bt1 billion to buy two plots in Bangkok - on Lat Phrao and Ratchadaphisek roads. "If we conclude the deal to buy the two plots, we will launch other condominium projects in the second half of this year," he said. The company has six property projects: three are condominiums, two are serviced apartments and a retail area, and the last is a town-house development. Somluck Srimalee The Nation
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