Thailand's investment climate scaled to new heights in 2023. Foreign investors submitted 1,394 applications for investment promotion with a combined investment value of US$18.9 billion dollars – an increase of 72 per cent over last year, mainly due to more large projects.
This growth underscores the geopolitical push for companies to diversify their operational bases and Thailand's allure as an investment destination. Leading the charge, China is the top investor in Thailand, with investments in the electronics and automotive industry, including electric vehicles (EVs).
Singapore has significant investments in solar cells and electronics – both high-value sectors. This is complemented by Japan's focused investment in innovation-driven sectors like aerospace and medical equipment.
Singapore New Investment in Thailand
Banyan Group launches largest private residential project in Phuket next to its Laguna resort
Singapore-listed hospitality firm Banyan Group (formerly Banyan Tree Holdings) has embarked on its most ambitious residential development project in Phuket, Thailand: the US$2 billion ($2.69 billion) Laguna Lakelands. The private residential estate will have 6,000 units when completed. The first phase of condos and villas at Laguna Lakelands was launched in Thailand in February.
The upcoming residential project sits next to Banyan Group’s flagship Laguna Phuket integrated resort destination, which opened 39 years ago. It has eight resort hotels, an 18-hole golf course and branded residences.
“Phuket has evolved into a full-fledged holiday destination on a par with international hotspots like Majorca or Ibiza in Spain and the Caribbean,” says Ho Kwon Ping, executive chairman and founder of Banyan Group, which celebrated its 30th anniversary and corporate rebranding in January.
According to Ho, Banyan Group is Phuket’s largest private landowner and hospitality developer, with four sq km (four million sq m or over 43 million sq ft) of beachfront and forested hinterland. Ho reckons the group’s landbank is “about two-thirds the size of Chua Chu Kang town in Singapore”.
Three sq km of the land owned by Banyan Group on the beachfront is occupied by Laguna Phuket. The group intends to develop the remaining one sq km greenfield site into its new “residential lifestyle community”, Laguna Lakelands.
For the past 30 years, the group has focused on developing the Laguna Phuket resort and adjacent plot. “We still have parcels of undeveloped land that we can utilise in the future,” says Ho.
Now, it has decided to develop 276 acres (about 112ha) of the hinterland portion of its land into a private residential community to capitalise on the strong demand for premium homes in Phuket.
Source: UOB, 30 APR 2024 / Edgeprop.sg, March 8, 2024, Retrieved: 30 May 2024
