Thai Property Giant Central Pattana To Invest $3.6 Billion To Expand Over Five Years

Central Pattana, Thailand’s largest developer of retail properties, said it will invest 120 billion baht ($3.6 billion) over the next five years to expand the numbers of shopping centers, residential projects, office buildings, and hotels it has in the country and overseas.

In the next five years, the company aims to expand in Thailand and overseas to increase its number of shopping centers from 32 to 50, its residential projects from 22 to 68, and its office buildings from 10 to 13. It also plans to increase its number of hotels from two to 37, spanning over 30 provinces and overseas.

Central Retail, another unit of the Central Group, earlier this month said it will invest 100 billion baht ($3.03 billion) to expand its business in the next five years.

Central Pattana, a listed subsidiary of the Central Group controlled by the Chirathivat family, said that it has a plan to achieve net-zero carbon emissions by 2050, partly by increasing its green energy use by 50%.

Its expansion and green energy plans were announced in a statement Tuesday marking the company’s 40^th anniversary. President and CEO Wallaya Chirathivat is saying the company will strive to “create a strong and sustainable ecosystem for the people and the planet.”

More than half of the planned new facilities will be mixed-use development projects, for which the shopping centers will be the key component. The company will also explore expanding to other businesses.

Central Pattana posted revenue of 30.3 billion baht ($935 million) last year, a decrease of 8.3% from 33.1 billion baht ($1.02 billion) the year before because of the pandemic, which hampered the operation.

In a research note on Tuesday, DBS said Central Pattana will have a better business this year. It projected that rental discounts to come down sharply in 2022, which should subsequently result in higher rental revenue and a better gross profit margin going forward.

The Chirathivat family was ranked No. 4 on the list of Thailand’s 50 Richest 2021, with a net worth of $11.6 billion.