INFRASTRUCTURE Demand for housing is picking up and initiatives aim to improve health and transport
Firm foundations for the future

By answering its customers’ needs for pre-built homes with added value, Land & Houses has been able to increase its market share from 6 per cent to 30 per cent

he signs of economic recovery and rising affluence in Thailand are no better illustrated than by the state of the nation’s infrastructure, both physical and social. The real estate sector, for example – which took a pounding after the 1997 financial crisis as demand dried up – is just about back on its feet.
Much of Bangkok’s excess housing and office stock has been sold off and demand is again starting to pick up. This is good news for those housing developers that survived the carnage.
In 2002, Land and Houses, a major residential property developer, expects to pay its first dividend to shareholders since the crisis five years ago after wiping out accumulated debts of $54 million. The company specialises mainly in single family homes, where demand has shown particularly robust growth as high as 15 per cent in the past year, and it is one of the few survivors of the 1997 meltdown.
In a sense, the crisis was good for business, as the company was forced to focus on added-value housing products, helping to pioneer the sale of furnished, decorated houses and made-to-order homes.

Anant Asavabhokhin, president of Land and Houses, has put the focus on added value to keep prices steady

Company president Anant Asavabhokhin says this new approach has been well-received in the marketplace. “We used to have only six per cent of the market share at the peak, but now we have 30 per cent,” he says.
Instead of reducing selling prices, like many other firms, it made sure that its products carried added value, for example an extra Thai kitchen, specifically equipped to deal with local cooking styles that can generate more heat, odour and grease.
“Our business concept changed to fulfil our customers’ needs, while selling at the same price,” says Mr Asavabhokhin. “We have shifted our strategy from pre-sold to pre-built houses.”

As well as a more buoyant property sector, air transport is also undergoing a revitalisation. At Thai Airways there is ongoing talk of restructuring to help position the airline as the leading carrier in Asia.
Chairman Virabongsa Ramangkura believes Thailand can use its geographical advantages – halfway along the lucrative Europe-Australia route – to become the region’s first-choice hub.
The government is tackling bottlenecks at Bangkok airport to facilitate this vision, which is also based on the airline’s service-oriented strengths and its key role in the tourism sector.
Crucially, the airline has come through the worst of the period following the fall in air traffic at the end of last year. It is now confident enough to look forward.
“The minister of finance has announced that the government will fully support Thai Airways, not only financially, but also politically and diplomatically,” says Mr Ramangkura.

Thailand is also looking to bolster its comparatively modern health and educational services to support the next wave of growth. In the healthcare sector, the government has introduced the so-called ‘30 baht’ ($0.60) scheme to provide universal care, even to lower income groups and the poor. The health ministry is also looking to crack down on food hygiene standards to improve the health of the nation.
The country has an extensive health infrastructure, from primary medical centres to state-of-the-art hospitals. It also has a thriving private healthcare sector.

Sudarat Keyuraphan, minister of public health, believes both public and private sectors have an important role

Minister of public health Sudarat Keyuraphan believes both sectors have an important role to play in Thailand’s future. “Thailand has a relatively good healthcare service infrastructure with hospitals in all its 76 provinces and 700 districts, and health centres in all its 7,000 sub-districts,” she says. “Among Asean countries, Thailand has become a leading country in providing healthcare services at different levels.”
On the regional level, Thailand has pioneered the control of communicable diseases such as cholera and diphtheria. It has also invested in modern medical and pharmaceutical research facilities.
The country has even developed services specifically for the growing number of retired visitors from abroad, mainly Japan, looking to spend their final years in the sunshine. It is an area that could appeal more and more to British retirees in the future.