Israeli firm to buy property
Africa Israel recently revealed its first expansion into Thailand.
The Israeli real-estate company has signed a letter of intent to buy a 47-storey skyscraper, together with a foreign partner, for 209 million new Israeli shekels (Bt1.8 billion), according to the Haaretz daily newspaper. The high-rise, mainly residential, is in the centre of Bangkok. Africa Israel's share of the transaction is 75 per cent.Construction of the building began 10 years ago, but halted at the stage of the foundations and skeleton because of Thailand's economic travails at the time. Africa Israel and its partner intend to complete construction and development into 44 storeys of apartments and three of commercial space. The acquisition, which still depends on due diligence, complies with Africa Israel's strategy of diversifying its investments worldwide to minimise risk. It has extensive investments in Israel, the United States, Europe and Russia. In Asia, until now it had confined itself to the Philippines, where it has a joint venture with a publicly traded company. Africa Israel and the local firm are developing a complex on 58 hectares of land in Manila. Recently Africa Israel also entered the Argentine market, where it bought 50 per cent of an iconic building in Buenos Aires, which it intends to convert into a luxury hotel plus apartments.
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