PROPERTY / MARKET OUTLOOK

Lalin wants stimulus plan enacted as soon as possible

KANANA KATHARANGSIPORN

The listed developer Lalin Property Plc has urged the government to speedily enact the economic stimulus measures it proposed last week, said chief executive Chaiyan Chakarakul.

Property developers have urged the Finance Ministry to revive the reductions in transfer fees and special business taxes, and also to extend leasehold contracts from 30 to 99 years. They also want to see increases in credit for low-income homebuyers and for the credit bureau to reduce its blacklist period from three to two years.

The measures would help to stimulate consumer confidence, which has declined since last year, Mr Chaiyan said.

As well, he said, the industry was eagerly awaiting news on interest rates from Wednesday's meeting of the central bank's Monetary Policy Committee. Some observers expect the benchmark rate to be reduced by a half percentage point in order to spur sluggish consumption and investment. Mr Chaiyan also pressed the government to stick to the Dec 16 or 23 election date announced by Prime Minister Surayud Chulanont, speed up work on the constitution and open bidding for megaprojects.

Amid unfavourable market conditions and greater competition in the residential sector, Lalin Property will focus more on customer relationships and increase its marketing budget from 60 million baht last year to 80 million baht.

The company has also hired two new marketing experts: one from the listed developer NC Housing and another from the CP Group.

Assistant managing director Paiboon Udomkarnkit said last year's performance was affected by a higher loan-rejection rate of around 17-18%, up from 12-13% in 2005. The company, however, set a target of 2.1 billion baht in revenue by the end of this year, up by 10% from 2006, said Mr Paiboon.

The company will launch four single housing projects in the first half of 2007. Located in Rarm Intra and Theparak, the projects are worth a total of 2.8 billion baht. By the second half of 2007, the company will open two additional single housing projects worth a total of 1.5 billion baht, and it plans to spend 600-700 million baht to acquire new plots of the land for future development.

Lalin shares closed Thursday on the Stock Exchange of Thailand at 4.52 baht, unchanged, in trade worth 397,000 baht.

Bangkok Post

Monday April 09, 2007