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In the next four years, office space will be limited and rents are expected to continue to rise. The demand for offices would probably be much higher if Thailand promoted itself as an attractive location for companies providing services to the domestic economy and developed Bangkok as a suitable city for their regional headquarters.

One of the drivers of demand for office space is demand from multinational companies (MNCs). Other Asian cities, such as Singapore, Hong Kong and Shanghai, have benefitted greatly from such demand, both in terms of benefits to the property sector and in terms of jobs created for locals. These countries have established policies that provide incentives to encourage MNCs to use their countries as a place to establish a branch to serve the domestic economy and conduct regional and global operations. 

Thailand's abundant land and major ports, and its improvements in infrastructure and transportation, including the mass transit systems, as well as its ability to offer value in terms of quality of office and residential accommodation against cost, make it a suitable location for service industries as well as a manufacturing base.

There are many reasons why a company chooses to set up operations in a particular country instead of another. One is accessibility; Thailand, especially since the opening of the new airport, is as easily accessible as any other country in the region. The size of the local economy is also often important and Thailand has developed rapidly over the past two decades, even though it trails regional competitors, such as Singapore and Shanghai, in terms of infrastructure.

Other, more significant reasons concern government incentives. Some countries, such as Singapore, offer a strong package of benefits to any company that sets up its regional headquarters there, or wishes to provide services to the local economy. These benefits include lower taxes, easier authorisation for the employment of foreigners (work-permit rules and visas), limited bureaucracy and others.  In short, these countries make it easier for companies to set up an office.

Also important is the quality, training and availability of local staff. While a company setting up regional headquarters will no doubt hire foreign workers, a sizeable portion of the workforce will be nationals of the host country.

Thailand has been very active and successful in attracting foreign-direct investment in the manufacturing sector but continues to lag behind competing countries in attracting investment in the service sector and regional offices. We need to boost the office market as well, to create jobs that employ the next generation of Thais who are entering the market with suitable qualifications.

There will also be knowledge and knowhow transfers from foreign workers to local staff, all of which will definitely add value to Thailand's overall economy.