Luxury property complex in Thailand seeks more overseas buyers

[BANGKOK] Reignwood Group is ramping up efforts to attract international buyers to its luxury residential property complex in Thailand, betting overseas demand can offset the prolonged domestic property slump.

The closely held Beijing-based conglomerate will intensify marketing through its offices in Singapore, Beijing, Hong Kong and London, with more roadshows planned in hubs including Dubai, chief executive officer Woraphanit Ruayrungruang said.

While most of the 50 billion baht (S$2 billion) investment has been made, there remains some additional cash to further develop the 800-acre Reignwood Park on the outskirts of Bangkok.

The overseas push comes as Thailand’s property sector grapples with weak local demand and rising unsold housing stock, pressured by a slowing economy, political uncertainty and tighter mortgage approvals. Foreign demand, particularly from Chinese buyers, once the largest group of overseas purchasers, has also softened amid geopolitical tensions, trade disputes, safety concerns and a deadly earthquake.

“We are beginning to look out for more overseas customers as we have confidence our facilities will attract their interest,” Woraphanit said. “The Thai property industry faces some challenges, but luxury and community-focused offerings still hold strong.”

About 30 per cent of Reignwood Park’s residential units have been sold so far, with Thai buyers accounting for roughly 70 per cent of purchases. Existing foreign homeowners hail from South Korea, Myanmar and China. The company aims to lift the share of overseas buyers to about 40 per cent, Woraphanit said.

Unsold homes in greater Bangkok totalled about 228,000 units in the first half of last year, roughly 10 times the number sold and the highest level in at least eight years, according to Thai Condominium Association data. Developers, including Ananda Development, Raimon Land and Origin Property, have also stepped up efforts to court foreign buyers to cushion weak domestic demand.

“Reignwood is facing a very tough task for such a huge property project under the world’s volatile economic and financial environment,” said Sopon Pornchokchai, president of Agency for Real Estate Affairs, a property consulting company. “There is still some foreign demand for luxury properties in Thailand with the country’s well-known weather, living costs and medical care.”

Woraphanit’s father, Chanchai Ruayrungruang, started Reignwood Park project in 2020 as a private residential enclave where he could enjoy golf with close friends during the Covid-19 pandemic.

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Officially opened in 2024, the project has since expanded to include an international school, a sports complex and a shopping mall. The project includes 41 residential estates and 453 detached houses which are priced from about US$500,000 to US$10 million.

Chanchai, also known by his Chinese name Yan Bin, founded Reignwood Group in Thailand in 1984 as a trading and tourism company. Born into a poor family in China’s eastern province of Shandong, he moved to Thailand with his family when he was young.

After making a small fortune in real estate, the tycoon started to invest in his homeland. In 1995, he introduced China to Red Bull, the highly caffeinated beverage invented in Thailand in the 1970s.

The group also owns several marquee real estate projects around the world, including Ten Trinity Square and Wentworth Club in the United Kingdom.

Chanchai rose to prominence in China as the mainland distributor and bottler of Red Bull under a partnership with its founding Yoovidhya family that ended in 2018. The group’s businesses now span beverage, energy, property and financial leasing.

In 2015, he became Thailand’s second-richest person with about US$8 billion wealth, though he is not on the Bloomberg Billionaires Index of the world’s 500 richest people.

Reignwood now plans to focus on its core businesses, including Reignwood Park in Thailand and beverage operations in China, while exploring new investments in medical equipment, robotics and hotel management services, Woraphanit said. BLOOMBERG