The Treasury Department is certain to grant foreigners a 99-year lease to stimulate the real estate and economic recovery.

Bangkok, 'Pichai' reiterates that the government is moving forward with the condominium rental project for foreigners to rent for 99 years, hoping to stimulate the real estate business, which has 200,000 units left over. He is confident that it will not be a disaster, as foreigners only have the right to use the land, but do not own the land. He points out concerns about NPL debt from rising household debt. He is preparing to discuss with the Bank of Thailand and commercial banks to jointly find ways to reduce NPL debt. Mr. Pichai Chunhavajira, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance, gave a speech and a special seminar on the topic of 'Sustainable Real Estate Development' that he admitted that the real estate business is currently facing problems with the number of remaining condominiums as high as 200,000 units. People do not have purchasing power because of the increasing household debt. It is something that the Ministry of Finance and the government must urgently find measures to help so that the real estate business does not affect the overall Thai economy. However, the Ministry of Finance believes that the policy of allowing foreigners to rent condominiums for a long term of 99 years is an appropriate policy to reduce the problem of the remaining condominiums. However, the rental policy must specify clear criteria for the area or zoning that will allow foreigners to rent each unit of the building, with a limit of more than 30-40 million baht per unit. Foreigners will only have the right to use the building, but the ownership is still the right of the lessor. Therefore, when the 99-year lease is up, foreigners must return the rights to the original lessee. Therefore, it is not a measure to sell the nation as many parties are worried about. This does not require amending the law, but only setting criteria and conditions to create clarity on the rental. The Ministry of Finance also believes that the land of government agencies that is abundant can be developed for renting, focusing on foreigners to re nt the area. This matter is currently under study. If it can be done, it will be good for the overall Thai economy. In addition, the Ministry of Finance is concerned about the increasing household debt problem, especially the NPL debt that is as high as 200 billion baht. Households are in debt from real estate, car, and credit card debt, which account for 90% of GDP. This is considered an increasing proportion. Therefore, the Ministry of Finance will discuss with the Bank of Thailand and various financial institutions to cooperate in solving the NPL debt problem caused by household debt. The people who will understand the most about solving household debt problems are the people who provide loans because they know well how each debt that occurs will be alleviated. If this can be done, it will benefit both creditors and debtors. As for the progress of the Vayuphak Fund, the Ministry of Finance will use the original fund, with an additional 100,000-150,000 million baht. It is expected that operations will beg in within this October. 'Real estate development is tied to whether the economy is good or bad. The economy today has been bad for a long time and is getting worse and growing step by step. But overall, Thailand has a better landscape than many regions. Thailand's area is more than 300 million rai, which is an area for industrial development. If neighboring countries such as the Middle East, Japan, and many other countries still see that Thailand has the potential to come in and do trade and investment, then it depends on management, especially structural issues and infrastructure facilities and technology development, including personnel development, especially the group aged 25-40 years, who will need to enhance their knowledge and skills to support many countries that will come to invest in Thailand in the future,' said Mr. Pichai. Mr. Pornnarit Chuanchaisit, President of the Thai Real Estate Association, said that those who do real estate business, if the house is between one million baht, there will be very few people doing this business because it is not profitable. And what real estate business operators are worried about when they do it is that the buyer cannot get a loan, the business owner must be responsible. Therefore, it is considered quite tiring. And he thinks that if the government sector, especially the National Housing Authority, comes in to take care of the houses that the NHA is taking care of and rent them to low-income earners, it will be considered a good thing. Mr. Uthai Uthaisangsuk, Chief Executive Officer of Sansiri Public Company Limited, said that the real estate business is currently getting worse due to economic problems. People do not have purchasing power because of this problem. Teachers walk a lot. But it is expected that the Thai economy in the second half of the year may grow by 2-2.5%, which should make the real estate business better. Sansiri will not talk about the 99-year lease because it will be criticized. But as a 40-year real estate business, the group's business sti ll has a continuous growth rate even though the economy is not very good. It will focus on developing high quality along with providing a full range of services to meet the needs of high-end customers. Asst. Prof. Dr. Kesara Ranlakpak, Managing Director of Sena Development Public Company Limited, said that Sena will focus on building houses for middle-class people. Over the past several years, Sena has had good partners who can build houses that meet the needs of customers, especially by introducing the energy-saving house project to help residents save on expenses. Mr. Sirasak Jantharama, Chief Executive Officer of Energy Complex Co., Ltd. or Enco, said that this year, Enco, a leader in real estate development and property management, has been operating for 20 years. The company has therefore organized many celebration activities on various important occasions, including organizing a real estate business seminar this time to emphasize the important role of the real estate business as a key factor in drivin g the Thai economy by providing a platform for experts and businessmen to exchange views and experiences, which will be beneficial to the Thai real estate business in the future.' 'For driving Enco's current business, we operate a variety of businesses, including real estate management, real estate development, and building management, to ensure sustainable business growth.' The company focuses on 3 main business groups: Real Estate Management, Space Management, and Real Estate Development. Over the past 20 years, Enco has adapted itself to the social and economic conditions through the B2CS strategy, consisting of B - Beyond, seeking opportunities to expand growth; C - Cooperation, collaborating with potential business partners; C - Competitiveness, increasing competitiveness through internal potential development; S - Speed, conducting business efficiently by delivering products and services to customers on time; and S - Sustainable Way, conducting business sustainably, taking care of society, communities , and the environment. 'Enco expects revenue by 2027 to be more than 3 billion baht, with a short-term goal of having a return on assets of at least 5 percent per year and setting a goal of sharing profits to support society, communities and the environment at least 1 percent of net profit per year. In addition, a long-term goal has been set, expecting a net profit of more than 800 million baht by 2030, which will result from the existing business operations and looking for opportunities to conduct new businesses that are in line with the PTT Group, such as collaborating with companies in the PTT Group to apply artificial intelligence and robotics businesses within Enco's management area, including searching for investment opportunities in projects that are in line with Enco's strategy, which is currently being studied, both in the form of joint ventures and projects that develop areas that Enco or companies in the PTT Group already own, to maximize benefits, supporting business expansion both within and out side the PTT Group to strengthen Enco's real estate management, real estate development and building management to ensure sustainable business growth,' said Mr. Sirasak. Source: Thai News Agency