Prasert Taedullayasatit

SET-listed Ananda Development disposed of shares in five serviced apartments worth a combined 2.54 billion baht to realise revenue in the second quarter after condo sales to buyers from Myanmar were unable to be transferred the past few months.

Prasert Taedullayasatit, chief executive of Ananda's property business, said many developers including Ananda were unable to realise revenue from condos purchased by buyers from Myanmar since April.

"These units, valued at billions of baht in total, were stuck at the offices of the Lands Department after the Myanmar government cracked down on Thai condo purchases by Myanmar buyers in April," he said.

This will impact condo transfers and the revenue of developers in the second and third quarters of this year, as buyers from Myanmar were an emerging market for Thai condo purchases, said Mr Prasert.

The number and value of condo transfers by buyers from Myanmar have been rising and tend to be large, in contrast with purchases by local buyers, he said. The major foreign buyer market of China has recovered slower than expected, said Mr Prasert.

In the first quarter of 2024, residential transfers in Greater Bangkok to buyers from Myanmar rose by 333% to 2.1 billion baht, trailing only Chinese buyers, who recorded 5.36 billion baht, down 8%.

Ananda transferred residential units worth 3.34 billion baht in the first quarter, a dip of 3% year-on-year. Some 2.9 billion baht was from condo transfers, down 10%, while low-rise houses doubled to 432 million baht.

The company's transfer value to foreign buyers nearly tripled to 1.2 billion baht from 485 million year-on-year. The proportion of foreign transfers also surged to 36% from 14%, while that of Thais dropped to 64% from 86%.

Ananda reported on Monday the sale of ordinary shares of five subsidiaries, in which it owned 51% of each, totalling 2.54 billion baht. The shares were sold and transferred on June 30, 2024, to Mitsui Fudosan Asia Development (Thailand) Co, which owned the remaining 49% of each subsidiary.

The buyer is a subsidiary of Japanese developer Mitsui Fudosan, which has more than 30 joint venture condo projects with Ananda since 2013.

The five apartments are Ascott Thonglor Bangkok with 451 rooms worth 3.47 billion baht, Ascott Embassy Sathorn (393 rooms worth 3.34 billion), Somerset Rama 9 (445 rooms worth 2.5 billion), Lyf Sukhumvit 8 (196 rooms worth 644 million), and Somerset Pattaya (324 rooms worth 1.9 billion).