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Published on July 28, 2007

UK Land International (M) Sdn Bhd, a subsidiary of the United Kingdom's top land trading company, UK Land Investments International, will kick off a series of workshops to test the Thai market for the rest of this year, offering Thai investors the chance to invest in land in London with an option to resell upon request.

UK Land International, established a year ago in Malaysia, will offer 227 plots for sale, setting a flat price of £8,500 (Bt578,000) per 100 square metres. The land, with plots ranging from 100-500 square metres, is in the company's phase 4-7, of which sales began this month.

Thirty-five per cent of the plots have been sold.

According to statistics collected by the firm, land prices in the UK have increased 370 per cent over the past decade, compared to 110 per cent for the S&P500, 109 per cent for the NASDAQ and 56 per cent for FTSE All Shares.

Of the total land offered for sale, UK Land Investments International will hold 30 per cent.

The remaining is divided for sale to targeted markets.

The firm offers the opportunity to resell the land in three stages. In the first step, after investors are charged 10 per cent of the total price once they buy the land, they can resell whenever they want. The fee for reselling the land is £500. The company has set three to seven years for this stage.

The second stage is when the parent company prepares and submits an outline planning application for approval by the British authorities. This stage will take one to two years.

The last stage is when the land is ready for sale to developers. The fee to resell at this stage depends on a number of factors.

The first three phrases were sold in six months after the project commenced in November last year.

William Yap, sales director of the company, said the second phase was faster than the first as the firm had opened a new branch in Hong Kong. It plans to open branches in Singapore, Indonesia, South Korea, China and Thailand if the six-month testing period yields satisfactory results.

Chan Keng Fook, chief executive officer of UK Land International, said the company would conduct the workshop continuously and hold an exhibition to inform Thai investors about the new product.

"It's a new product in Asia. The feedback in Malaysia is satisfying," he said.

According to Chan, the target group is people who have sent their children to study in the UK, who themselves are UK student alumni or who used to work in the UK.

"These people know the UK and its potential growth very well. It's a must for investors to know what they are about to invest in," said Chan.

The firm had expected to focus on an exclusive approach, but thanks to the Bank of Thailand's recent relaxation that allows individual investors to invest up to US$1 million overseas without permission, the target group has widened.

"We planned to put this product to the Thai market prior to the BOT's announcement. However, the announcement is good news for us and also for Thai investors."

Earlier the BOT allowed individual Thais to invest an amount not exceeding US$500,000 per year in property aboard.

Piyarat Setthasiriphaiboon

The Nation

Kuala Lumpur