One of Thailand’s leading property developers Origin Property PCL (ORI) has formed an alliance with Fulcrum Global (Fulcrum), a leader in international real estate based in Hong Kong, to be its investment partner as well as sole foreign distributor for the company’s flagship projects.
The deal is expected to generate in excess of Bt4 billion from the overseas market in 2018, reaching Bt15bn over the next three years.
Peerapong Jaroon-ek, chief executive officer of Origin Property Pcl (ORI), whose brands include Park Origin, Knightsbridge, Notting Hill, Kensington and Britannia, said that it plans to expand outside Thailand as part of its goal of building The Empire of Origin. To help achieve this it has established a strategic partnership with leading international property investment firm Fulcrum to be its investment partner and distributor for ORI’s flagship projects overseas.
He said: “Fulcrum has an excellent track record both as an investor as well as distributor with hugely successful projects in Thailand, the United Kingdom and Japan. Based on our experiences in working with Fulcrum, we are confident this collaboration will not only achieve strong sales volume, but also cement Origin’s reputation as a best-in-class Thailand developer.”
Benyapa Permpul, senior vice-president international business of ORI, said the company been tapping into the overseas market since July last year via the dealership system and had generated more than Bt1.2bn in sales revenue in the second half of 2017. As a sole distributor, Fulcrum will leverage their deep customer and market understanding to improve sales activities in overseas markets such as mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau, Taiwan, Singapore and Malaysia. Fulcrum will also be a significant business ally of ORI to capture new buyer markets and segments, especially in the European market.
Ms Benyapasaid: “Once the alliance is formed, we target to generate Bt4bn this year from the overseas market. This should also be the key driver to push total sales volume beyond our earlier projection announced at the start of this year. We also target overseas sales volume to reach Bt15bn over the next three years.”
To enhance the alliance, Origin will be opening a sales office and showroom with Fulcrum in Hong Kong to promote Origin’s brand overseas, as well as provide local-language customer service support. With a local showroom, potential buyers can obtain a better understanding of ORI’s projects without the hassle of having to make a trip to Thailand.
Frank Leung, managing director of Fulcrum, said it is an exciting opportunity to deepen Fulcrum’s alliance with ORI following its success as an investor in acquiring more than 450 units of Park 24. Together with the developer, Fulcrum launched the “The Park at EM District”, a serviced apartment managed by Ascott Limited, which can be purchased by buyers who are interested in acquiring a landmark property with stable rental income and strong management. The project has been a resounding success both with Thais and overseas buyers.
In addition to direct investments, Fulcrum also worked with ORI to promote its projects in the international market, launching projects such as Knightsbridge Prime On-nut, the Knightsbridge Space Rama IX and Kensington Sukhumvit Theparakin the overseas markets with strong sales exceeding Bt1.5bn.
Leung said: “Thailand’s condominium market is extremely attractive for overseas buyers. It is estimated that the international market for Thai property exceeded Bt120bn in 2017, with the market expected to grow by more than 40 percent in 2018. ORI’s projects set the benchmark in terms of location, project concept, unit layouts, facilities as well as irresistible value.”
According to a survey by Juwai.com, Bangkok is ranked as the second most attractive property market for Chinese buyers of international real estate. In addition to an outstanding track record of capital appreciation over the years, a strong tourism industry along with being one of the key beneficiaries of China’s One Belt One Road initiative* make this the destination market of choice for buyers of international real estate. ORI and Fulcrum’s strategic alliance will allow both companies to put their best foot forward to reach ever greater heights together.
Origin has three core businesses:
1 Project Development, with condominium development of around 46 projects with a combined value of more than Bt65bn.
2 Recurring Income business such as hotels, service apartments, office buildings and retail spaces, and
3 Service business such as property management services, property brokerage services and property consultancy. It has the vision and breadth to continuously expand into new businesses to achieve its goal to become a fully integrated property developer and operator.
Established in Hong Kong in 2008, Fulcrum Global is an investor, developer and distributor of overseas property with assets under management exceeding Bt16bn. It focuses on city center property investments in the UK, Thailand and Japan, partnering with some of the best developers in these countries. With its extensive distribution network across Asia, Europe and Africa, the Fulcrum platform creates unparalleled access in promoting its projects to a wide investor base.
*One Belt One Road is the mega infrastructure initiative which will establish links for China with 70 countries across Asia, Africa, Europe, and Oceania.
