TCC Capital Land has halved the number of developments it will build this year with an associated spending cut of 70 per cent.

Chief operations officer Oh Lock Soon said projected growth in residential property sales of 5 per cent only was the reason for the revision.

It planned to start four projects worth Bt10 billion. That is now down to two costing Bt3 billion.

TCC Capital Land is a joint venture between TCC Group, which is the property arm of beverage tycoon Charoen Sirivadhanabhakdi, and Singapore-based multinational CapitaLand.

"We had planned to launch four new residential projects a year, but this year we revised our plans because demand in the residential market is growing only slightly and purchasing power has dropped," Oh said.

The two developments to proceed are at Sathorn and Vibhavadi-Rangsit. It suspended Thon Buri and Kaset-Navamin projects.

The Bt2-billion Villa Sathorn condominiums should be completed next month and the Bt1-billion North Park on Vibhavadi-Rangsit in the fourth quarter.

The Sathorn building is being pitched at "young professionals" with units topping out at Bt3 million. North Park aims for the middle- to upper-income market.

"Although we have cut new projects we maintain our target of doubling last year's revenue of Bt2 billion. These two projects will be ready this year," Oh said.

He added that property demand continued to grow though slower than last year as many home-buyers had delayed purchase decisions as a result of political uncertainty.

However, there is continued foreign interest in residential property, especially central-business-district condominiums.

"We believe Thailand's property market will recover within the fourth quarter of this year when political clarity and consumer confidence return," Oh said.

Chalida Ekvitthayavechnukul

The Nation