On Friday, Rawai Cable became the latest company to sign the agreement, which allows CAT to provide 4MB Internet through existing cable connections.

The other companies are Phuket Cable, PA Business Phuket, KPP Rawai and KPP Enterprise.

Furthermore, CAT’s announce their readiness to exploit the recently-launched Asia-American Gateway (AAG) Cable System.

The AAG is a 20,000km cable network connecting Asia Pacific nations with the United States. CAT is one of 19 telecommunications firms combined provides US$500mn in total funding for the AAG project. Phuket Cable signed the MOU with CAT on Thursday.

Theerapong Kusolchoo, vice president of CAT Customer Service-Southern Region, said that the service meant users could still access the Internet despite the absence of telephone lines by using modem or WiFi .

CAT is already supplying the same service in Yala, Songkhla and Pattani provinces, said Mr Theerapong, who signed the MOU on his company’s behalf.

A CAT Internet Gateway, the second in Thailand after Bangkok, is currently being installed in Songkhla.

The new Gateway means Southern Thai Internet traffic, including Phuket, will bypass the capital, increasing stability and speed, he said.

News by Phuket Gazette

The airline currently flight leaving Berlin every Monday afternoon, arriving into Phuket for Tuesday mornings.

Joachim Hunold, Air Berlin’s chief executive officer, says the additional long-haul service to Phuket “reflects their need to make the most of this market opportunity and also in order to strengthen the airline’s position in Berlin for years to come.”

In another hand, the Bangkok Post reports that Mohan Air has organized new charter flights between Teheran and Phuket for Iran’s New Year festival in March, with three flights carrying 1,300 visitors to the resort island as Phuket’s high season wanes into low.

The airline is also said planning on more direct flights to Phuket “later”, while Iran is scheduling increase their number of flight into weekly flights to Bangkok, changed from two fight into three respectively.

News by Phuket Gazette

The west coast of Phuket maybe the best representation of developments in the island. Along the coast with majestic vistas, between Karon and Patong, there is a newly completed road hiking up to a palatial construction of Centara Grand, a luxury five-star-plus resort with 262 rooms sets to open in the next high season. The 1.9 billion Baht investment reflects how promising Phuket’s future is.

Phuket has been seeing the up and down before and after tsunami and both international and Thai brands have been continuously seeing medium and long term benefits on investments in Phuket. But the night when political protest turned to become a horrible bloodshed brought a huge question mark to the continuation of those investments.

The incident severely damaged Thailand social and political stability. The image of Thailand has been changed into a destination tainted by spilled blood of civilians, soldiers, even foreigner.

On Nai Harn beach there is a magnificent resort property The Phuket Yacht Club Puravarna which is already put to the market for sale. The incident in Bangkok definitely hit the seller as property market is inevitably affected, in which situation confidence on getting expected return fades away.

Learning from the picture when Tsunami hit the region back in 2004, significant disaster took a while to unfold, and even longer to recover. Tourists who have been in Phuket when the tsunami swept the continued their stay. They did not pack up and left in a hurry. But will they come back or will others come along are completely different question. Protests started back in March 12th does not show any signs of compromise resulting in escalating level of uncertainty. People may have booked and paid their holiday for April so they may still come. But beyond that bookings may get evaporated.

Tourism facility operators may promote the fact that Phuket is far away from Bangkok, but if government fall and the country runs into chaos, offering discounts are not going to attract tourists. News reported that five star brands have already offering significant discount.

C9 managing director Bill Barnett said despite the delays, new developments continued to enter the stream, with 38 properties offering 6,231 rooms at various stages of advancement in the construction cycle. “Non-traditional product, such as hotel-managed villas and condos, now represent 34 per cent of the upcoming inventory,” Barnett said.

The research shows tourist arrivals declined 14 per cent in the first half of the year, but a combined luxury/upscale/middle-market occupancy rate of 60.4 per cent produced an average room rate of US$141 (Bt4,800).

The report also said branded hotels outperformed non-branded properties in terms of rates by 33.7 per cent, although the non-branded sector outperformed the brands on occupancy by 12.4 per cent. “Looking forward, short-term trading will focus on occupancy at the expense of long-term rate strategies,” Barnett said.

“Cash flow is a key underlying consideration in this market, with most hospitality assets largely carrying low debt ratios. Defying the trends are the high-end tier luxury properties which operate in a favorable supply-and-demand segment and budget-tier hotels that have captured changing demographics are experiencing business from price-conscious travelers.”

The report concluded Phuket’s long-term outlook remained positive with brand concentration, growing airlift and infrastructure improvements, although a recovery has effectively been written off for this year, with prospects pushed into next year instead.

News by The Nation Business – www.nationmultimedia.com

The new conference center, three times larger than any existing exhibition facility in Phuket, is expected to host one or two high profile events every month. RPM was developed by tycoon Gulu Lalvani, founder of Binatone, the world’s second largest manufacturer of digital cordless phones, who is on a mission to promote Phuket as a world class yachting hub.

PIMEX, which runs from December 4 to 7 was the first major exhibition to be held at the new RPM facility. Visitors to Phuket exceeded a record five million last year, up 11.25 per cent from 2006. Despite the troubles in Bangkok over the past few weeks, a spokesperson for RPM said Phuket had been largely unaffected and high season hotel bookings and visitors to the Island are expected to be high.

Andrew Jessop, Langham Hotels International’s vice-president for Thailand, said that the residential component of both hotels would be marketed globally and not just in Hong Kong. “Phuket has such an appeal that you’ll find a lot Europeans, people in the UK will be interested, even North America.” Mr Jessop’s previous experience at the Sheraton Grande Laguna shows that the yield at such mixed-use projects has dropped over the past five to eight years. As the Sheraton project was one of the first of its kind on the island, initially unit owners obtained as much as 20% plus per year. This high return has deteriorated in the face of higher competition from similar developments, and today investors would be doing well if they could get 10%.

A portion of these developments offer guaranteed returns ranging from 3% to 6%. While this is a fair arrangement, investors should be getting more at the better projects. “If it’s a non-branded development you are facing more challenges but hopefully with a branded company behind it, it should be able to do better,” said Mr Jessop. Langham Hotels is also looking at five other management opportunities aside from focusing on Bangkok where it would want to be as close to the Skytrain as possible. Mr Jessop also has experience in the capital, having first come to Thailand to open the Sheraton Grande Sukhumvit Hotel in 1995. “We have three brands and we have potential for each brand. So The Langham is our high-end brand, Langham Place is a cool, hip, chic brand, and Eaton is our four-star brand. We are talking to developers across all three brands because in Phuket there is a lot happening, in Bangkok too, and really Sukhumvit is where it’s all happening.”

While there is no ignoring the political turmoil in Thailand, Mr Jessop points out that Phuket has proved to be very resilient, having bounced back quite well from earlier upheavals including 9/11, the tsunami, the Bali bombings, Sars and the bird flu. “Phuket sneezes but it doesn’t seem to catch a cold,” he said. “Property prices have not really been affected over the years, which is a good thing. I think at the end of the day Phuket is such a brand name of its own, it’s almost divorced from Bangkok to a certain extent in the minds of investors. You can fly in and out of Phuket a hundred times and never go to Bangkok if you don’t want to.”

He is also optimistic about the island’s future, noting that even now, only a few of the international hotel brands are there. Among those that have yet to enter this lucrative market are Four Seasons, Ritz Carlton, Fairmont and Grand Hyatt. “We’re going to see a transition over the next 10 years from owner-operated resorts to branded international chains. I think the customer demands are changing, people’s needs are changing. In the past the guests were satisfied with a beautiful smile, a fruity drink on arrival, some exotic fruit in the room and somewhere to sit on the beach and they were happy. “I think people’s needs today are much more immediate, more refined and personal – ‘what I want, not what everyone wants’ – and that does require a little bit more work behind the scenes to make it happen. So I think we are seeing that transition now.”

In his opinion, Phuket, Bali and Samui rank in that order as the premier resorts in Asia. Phuket’s advantage is that it now has very good infrastructure and is easily accessible from Hong Kong, Singapore and other gateway cities. “Samui and Bali have a similar appeal about them whereas Phuket is slightly more cosmopolitan.” But there is a sparkle in Mr Jessop’s eyes when one mentions Krabi, where he is currently based. “It’s definitely more scenic than Phuket. Certainly the rock formations and the limestone cliffs, even as you are driving through the roads, are just fabulous.”

Written by Nina Suebsukcharoen; Featured on Bangkok Post – bangkokpost.com

Samma said the property market showed a slight drop in the first half of the year following a rise in construction costs and decline in consumers’ purchasing power. However, demand for residential property in Phuket, Pattaya and Hua Hin has shown strong growth.

He also said home-buyers were likely to make their buying decisions before the current tax-incentive package expires next March 30. “At present, local and foreign buyers receive a tax benefit. Due to this, the number of residential-property buyers, especially foreign investors wanting to buy retirement homes in beach destinations, is expected to rise,” Samma said.

A survey conducted by The Nation showed that a number of residential projects in Phuket, Pattaya, and Hua Hin had sold out even at prices of up to Bt10 million a unit. Supharat Group managing director Sumeth Sukahanpatharam, who launched the Pran-a-Luxe luxury-villa project in Hua Hin, said demand for retirement and second homes in that town from both local and foreign buyers had shown strong growth. “Our project, worth Bt660 million, has 47 villas starting at Bt10.5 million a unit. We’ve already sold nearly half of the project’s value,” he said.

Research conducted by CB Richard Ellis shows demand for a luxury residence at beach destinations like Pattaya, Phuket and Hua Hin has risen.

In Pattaya, a number of recently launched projects fall into this category, including The Cove, The Spinnaker and Northpoint projects. About 30 per cent of units in low-rise condominium projects have been sold. Among low-rise projects, the highest sales rates have been seen in units priced at or under Bt5 million inside Pattaya town.

Overall sales for grade-A condominium projects in Pattaya stood at just under 40 per cent for the second quarter. Combined existing and future supply is roughly 3,500 units, but only half of these have been launched since the beginning of last year – a factor in the overall low sales rate. The highest sales rates have been achieved at cheaper projects priced at or under Bt5 million.

In Phuket, demand for residential property has grown, especially in the high-end market, ever since the government announced plans to upgrade Phuket Airport by 2010. Infrastructure improvements have also helped fuel demand for property in Phuket, which has three existing marinas and another three slated to be completed soon.

Written by Somluck Srimalee
Published on The Nation – nationmultimedia.com

The Jumeirah Private Island Phuket project on Koh Raet covers 175 rai off the northeastern coast of the southern resort island. The group acquired the plots from 2006 until early this year from Anchalee Vanich Tepabutr, a well-known landlord and Democrat Party politician in Phuket. The total land investment was not disclosed, but market prices for plots in nearby locations were around 15-25 million baht a rai, he said.

The project was formerly named Barama Bay but the name was changed after successful negotiations with Jumeirah. The venture has received environmental impact assessment (EIA) approval to start construction.

The entire site will cost five billion baht to develop and take three to eight years to complete. It will have a deep-water superyacht marina and 50 luxury villas, 35 of them already sold with 30-year leases to foreign buyers from 15 different countries. As well, there will be a 107- room luxury hotel developed at a cost of 1.65 billion baht.

Villas would be located on a total of 104 rai. Prices excluding land cost will range between 60 million and 150 million baht. The Jumeirah Group will manage the villas for any buyers interested in renting them out. The hotel, occupying 71 rai, will be developed and owned by the subsidiary TGR Beach Co Ltd and operated by Jumeirah, which plans to buy stakes in the subsidiary.

”Two weeks ago we applied for Board of Investment privileges for the subsidiary. This approach will open an opportunity to have foreign investors buy more than half of the stake in the subsidiary,” Mr Dilokpol said. The BoI application process will take two months to complete. ”BoI approval will add value to the subsidiary’s equity. Land values will also rise,” he said. The company also plans to change the island’s name from Koh Raet.

Mr Dilokpol said that the completed hotel would have a value of at least three billion baht while the value of the subsidiary’s shares would depend on the values of the land plots that the hotel owned. ”During the development of the whole project, we will not sell it [the whole project] to the Dubai investor as we want to control development. But after that, we will consider it again,” he said. Besides Jumeirah, six investors and funds from the Middle East, Europe and Hong Kong are expected to bid for stakes.

Mr Dilokpol said the property business in Phuket had been booming for the past five years, especially in the luxury residential and hotel sectors. The group expects the Phuket real estate market to continue expanding by approximately 15% in the second half of 2008. Established in 2004, TGR Group (an abbreviation for Think and Grow Rich) is a 51:49 joint venture between Mr Dilokpol and Canadian investor Edward Powis, a 60-year-old veteran of the North American property development business.

Mr Dilokpol, 48, has more than 20 years of property development and management experience, much of it with multinational companies. He is the middle son of Pol Col Ampol Sundaravej, a cousin of Mr Samak, and Saadchome Banomyong, a niece of Senior Statesman Pridi Banomyong. His grandmother Utumporn is the aunt of social campaigner Mechai Viravidhya.

Educated at Vajiravudh College and at Bromsgrove School in England, he holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees in civil engineering from Ohio University. He began his property career with Arun Chaiseri Consulting and was project director of a golf club in which his father had co-invested. He later joined the trading firm Berli Jucker before returning to the property field as a project engineer with Bovis Lend Lease, a multinational real estate and construction firm.

While working with Bovis, he took part in the deal in which LaSalle Investment Management acquired the Karon Villa hotel from the husband of Anchalee Tepabutr for 1.6 billion baht. The hotel was rebranded as Movenpick and is now owned by a Middle East investor. After serving as country manager of Bovis Lend Lease, he later joined Jones Lang LaSalle as a country head of project development before leaving in 2005 to start his own development business.

Written by Kanana Katharangsiporn
Published on Bangkok Post – bangkokpost.com

Other investors have also asked the province for approval for different real estate projects.

A group of Norwegian businessmen suggested a Phuket bay development project, with technology friendly to the marine environment. Investors from the Middle East have expressed interest in developing logistics for a free trade zone near the deep-sea port.

The increasing demand has boosted land prices in the resort provinces. Phuket land official Tanet Niyom said certain seaside areas, especially those near famous Patong beach, sell for up to 50 million baht a rai. Prices are cheaper in Muang district, but they are still around eight million baht a rai. The value of land trading between 2006 and 2007 stood at 1.5 billion baht, according to the Phuket land office, but officials expect the value to go up to nearly five billion baht this year. The rapid expansion of real estate development indicates that more foreigners want to stay for a longer period.

Officials are currently surveying the exact number of foreign residents, including those who do not properly report to the immigration office. Foreign residents can be categorized into three groups those who want to live here permanently, those who are working here, and those who want to live here for longer periods than their visas specify, according to Sompot Nipakanon, assistant director of the Bangkok Phuket hospital. He said foreigners also appreciated medical services in the island resort. Bangkok Phuket hospital currently serves up to 200,000 people a year, 30% of which are foreigners.

Mr Niran said it was time to turn Phuket into a special economic zone so that local officials would have more budget to further develop all infrastructures, which currently do not match the increasing demand. He also noted the limit of the governor’s power in budget disbursement, as Phuket is not yet a special administrative entity.

Written by Achadtaya Chuenniran
Published on Bangkok Post – bangkokpost.com

Phuket has a total of 50,000 hotel rooms, up from 40,000 three years ago when many properties were still rebuilding after the 2004 tsunami. The association projected tourism revenue in Phuket this year would amount to between 94 billion and 95 billion Baht. The hotel occupancy rate in May and June, the trough of the low season, was only 10-15% compared with 50% in the same period last year. The low rate was attributed mainly to high oil prices and the resulting surge in airfares.

Air tickets normally account for about 60-70% of the total expense of visitors. Phuket has long been popular with Europeans, who are now facing fuel surcharges in the hundreds of dollars on top of the cost of their long-haul air tickets.

However, Mr Maitree said it would be too early to project the precise hotel occupancy rate in the high season, as most of the bookings would be concluded in August. Should bookings decline, he said local hoteliers may need to design special tourism package to attract the visitors. Chittiporn Suthipibul, deputy managing director of Khao Lak Resort in Phang Nga province, said hotel occupancy in Khao Lak from May to October was estimated at only 15%, up from 10% in the same period last year. However, the occupancy rate during the high season was expected to rise up to 85% compared with 70% a year earlier.

Khao Lak currently has 5,000 hotel rooms, about 80% fewer than before the tsunami. Last year, Khao Lak attracted 1.8 million visitors, up from 1.1 million in 2006. The figure was expected to top 2.3 million this year. The industry generated about six billion baht in revenue to the area in 2007, with revenue expected to grow to 7-8 billion baht this year.

Written by Chatrudee Theparat – Published on The Bangkok Post – www.bangkokpost.com