Thailand’s largest industrial estate developer, WHA Corporation Public Company Limited (SET: WHA), anticipates a significant uptick in land sales in the latter half of 2024, propelled by heightened interest from foreign manufacturers and companies.
Chief Financial Officer Natthapatt Tanboon-Ek revealed that the Bangkok-based company projects land sales to reach 224 hectares from July to December, marking a substantial 40% surge compared to the first half of the year.
Notably, the surge in sales is expected to be primarily driven by major contracts, including two data-center projects slated for completion in the upcoming months. While specific buyers were not disclosed, WHA Corporation is poised to capitalize on the rising demand for industrial land, particularly from companies like BYD (Build Your Dreams) Limited, Chongqing Changan Automobile Ltd, and Western Digital Corp, who are drawn to Thailand’s incentives designed to attract new investments.
With the aim of rejuvenating economic growth and employment, Thailand has introduced tax incentives to entice international investment, a strategy endorsed by the ruling Pheu Thai party. The delayed government budget and high household debt have prompted a strategic shift towards foreign investment to stimulate the local economy.
Mr. Natthapatt expressed optimism about WHA Corporation’s performance in the latter part of the year, citing a surge in demand that has enabled the company to raise land prices significantly compared to 2023. Chinese companies, particularly in sectors like automobiles, electronics, and electrical appliances, constitute more than half of the new land buyers, further bolstering WHA’s outlook for 2024.
Buoyed by a robust first half that saw its net income nearly double to 2.65 billion baht, WHA Corporation is on track to achieve record sales and net income this year. The surge in property sales aligns with Thailand’s broader investment landscape, as demonstrated by the approval of investment applications worth 458 billion baht in the initial half of the year, primarily in electronics, automobile, and electrical appliance projects.
Foreign companies such as Amazon.com Incorporated’s web services division and Australia’s NEXTDC Ltd have also announced plans to invest in new data centers in Thailand, leveraging the growing demand for artificial intelligence (AI) and cloud-computing services.
As part of the plan to boost foreign investment, earlier this month, Thailand’s Board of Investment (BOI) approved incentives for joint ventures (JV) between Thai and foreign companies to manufacture automotive parts for vehicles utilizing all types of propulsion systems.
Meanwhile, BOI also announced earlier this week the approval of Western Digital Storage Technologies (Thailand) Company Limited’s 23.5 billion baht ($693 million) project aimed at expanding hard disk drive production in the country.
WHA Corporation’s positive performance is reflected in its share price, which has surged nearly 4% this year, outperforming the benchmark SET Index.
