AIS board approves investment budget

Astudo Hotel lifts      management role

Astudo Hotel and Resort Management will manage 10 properties this year despite domestic political turbulence and the global economic crisis.

   CEO Anthony McDonald said from early this year, his company would manage The Base, featuring 100 rooms on Silom Road in Bangkok, followed by another one in Manila about mid-year.

   The company will also manage hotels in Pran Buri, Phuket, Koh Samui, Krabi and Koh Chang this year. It is also negotiating the management of another hotel on Sukhumvit Road in Bangkok that is scheduled to open next year, as well as

other hotels throughout the region.

Developers are less confident

Property developers reported feeling less confident about their personal business outlooks in a recent survey, with fourth-quarter confidence falling sharply to 36.3 points, from 43.8 in the third quarter.

   That was the lowest since the launch of the Real Estate Information Centre's Housing Developers' Sentiment Index five quarters earlier. A total of 28 listed and 119 non-listed companies were surveyed.

   The Expectations Index was 40.2 points, down from 58.4, with developers expecting a worsening situation in the first half of the year.

Developers, while negative on financial results, sales, investment, employment and new projects, are positive on operating costs, which have dropped in line with prices for oil and construction materials.