Greenland Group Signs Deal with CP to Build Homes in Thailand

Shanghai-based Greenland Group continues to set the pace among China’s international real estate developers by inking an agreement with one of Thailand’s largest conglomerates to develop luxury properties in the Southeast Asian nation.

The agreement between Thailand’s Charoen Pokphand (CP) Group and Magnolia Quality Development Corporation, a Thai real estate developer run by the daughter of CP’s chairman, means that Greenland now has agreed to take on development projects in eight nations around the world, including the US, Canada, South Korea, Malaysia, Singapore, Australia and the UK, in addition to its native China.

According to a story in the Bangkok Post, the three companies are aiming to build luxury properties in Thailand and they expect to announce their first high-rise project within the first half of this year. No financial details of the agreement were released.

State-run Greenland announced earlier this month that it had acquired its third and fourth parcels of land in Sydney, Australia, and had already announced six new overseas projects during 2014 before the news of its plans for Thailand.

Earlier this year Greenland’s management said the company plans to spend from US$5 billion to $8 billion to buy up international real estate assets during 2014.

Vacation Homes for Wealthy Chinese

The marketing of overseas vacation or retirement homes to China’s increasingly wealthy consumers has become a major objective of the country’s real estate developers in recent years, with several Chinese developers setting up projects in southern Malaysia, and Greenland now having taken on four projects in Australia.

A study released earlier this year by brokerage firm CLSA predicted that by 2020 the outflow of tourists from mainland China would double from the current 100 million per year, to 200 million annually, with Thailand expected to be the number one destination at least for the coming three years.

CP Group Continues to Profit From China Relationships

CP Group is no stranger to teaming up with Chinese companies, after having been the first foreign invested firm to invest in the Shenzhen New Economic Area after China began liberalizing in the 1980s.

Since that first Chinese investment, the Bangkok-based conglomerate, which is active in retail, real estate, telecoms and agribusiness has become the largest investor in Ping An Insurance, and also developed the SuperBrand Mall in Shanghai.

CP’s Chairman, Dhanin Chearavanont is said by Forbes to be Thailand’s richest businessman, with a personal fortune of $11.4 billion.