Chaopraya sees surge in revenue

Managing director Vichien Paethayanan yesterday told a press conference that the company believed interest rates would be reduced and the new government would have a policy to boost the property sector. Meanwhile, the company has launched six new residential projects that focus on the middle-to-upper market by offering reasonable prices to meet demand.

The first three will be condominiums located close to the mass-transit system, priced from Bt1.1 million to Bt1.4 million per unit.

The next two will be townhouses priced between Bt3 million and Bt3.5 million in the Bangmod and Sathorn Road areas of Bangkok.

The last project will be detached houses that will target the upper market with prices between Bt10 million and Bt15 million. Chaopraya Mahanakorn has also set aside a budget of Bt250 million to buy land for development next year.

"We plan to apply to be a listed company on the Stock Exchange of Thailand at the end of the first quarter this year and will raise funds from the market worth up to Bt250 million to be spent for buying land. We have appointed BT Securities to be our financial adviser," Vichien said.

When the company is listed, it expects sales and revenue growth of between 10 per cent and 15 per cent a year. That will generate a return on investment in terms of dividends of between 7 per cent and 10 per cent.

Chaopraya Mahanakorn has registered capital of Bt750 million and plans to increase this to Bt1 billion this year. The company recorded sales of Bt1.2 billion last year, booking revenue of Bt640 million and a net profit of Bt90 million.

This year, the company expects sales of Bt2 billion that will bring revenue of between Bt1.2 billion and Bt1.6 billion.

The Nation