Die Britse Ryk krimp (en nee, dis nie omdat Pieter en Anca in NY is nie)

British Empire Shrinks by Two Soccer Fields With Bangkok Sale2006-05-16 02:15 (New York)
By Lee J. Miller May 16 (Bloomberg)

-- The British Empire shrank by theequivalent of two soccer fields this week, with Thailand'sbiggest retail developer buying a chunk of embassy land in theheart of Bangkok for more than 3 billion baht ($78 million).

The 12.75-acre compound ``was larger than needed,'' theBritish embassy said in a statement. A 3.55-acre section ofgardens was sold to a unit of the closely held Central Group,which will develop the site.

A war memorial and statue of Queen Victoria will be movedoff the plot bought by Central, which already owns a seven-storydepartment store 100 meters down the road and is developingThailand's largest retail, office and convention center a half amile farther down the street -- Bangkok's shopping heartland. ``This is the largest-ever property sale by the ForeignOffice,'' the embassy said. Money not spent on refurbishment andnew staff housing will ``pay for vital investment elsewhere.'' Neither Central nor the embassy would disclose the price,citing a confidentiality clause. Local newspapers including theBangkok Post and The Nation said the price was between 3 billionand 3.5 billion baht. Britain's Telegraph said it was 50 millionpounds ($94 million). The embassy did say that 11 million poundswould be used for refurbishment. Britain bought the property in 1922. At the time, it was inthe outskirts of the Thai capital, which has since sprawled intoa metropolis with more than 10 million people.

`Most Polluted Part'

``The land sold was the most polluted and noisiest part ofthe compound, next to a six-lane arterial road,'' the embassysaid. Central Retail Corp. spokeswoman Wanna Thamromdee wasn'tavailable to confirm the price or provide details of how theproperty would be developed. The price per acre was probably a record for Thailand,according to Colin Wong, associate director at Knight FrankChartered (Thailand) Co. Land & Houses Pcl, Thailand's largesthome builder, was the other bidder.

``There is a limited amount of prime commercial sites inBangkok, so one of the main reasons is just a lack of supply,''Wong said in an interview today. ``Central will probably havebetter return calculations than other people, and it complementstheir existing store next door.''

Never Colonized

CB Richard Ellis (Thailand) Co. handled the sale, saidNgamjai Jearrajarat, the company's spokeswoman. Thailand was never part of the British Empire, and mostgovernment-written profiles point out that the nation, known asSiam until 1939, is the only one in Southeast Asia that wasn'tcolonized. Malaysia to the south and Burma, which forms most ofThailand's western border, were both part of the British Empire. Central is owned by the Chirathivat family, one ofThailand's wealthiest. The investment was through its TiangChirathivat Real Estate Co. Ltd., not the family's main listedunit, Central Pattana Pcl. Tiang Chirathivat is the name of Central Group's founder,who started the multibillion-dollar empire in 1947 when heopened a general merchandise store importing luxury goods fromoverseas. His sons and grandchildren manage the group withassets including the KFC fast food franchise, Central PlazaHotel Pcl, a stake in retailer Big C Supercenter Pcl, and amajor share of the Bangkok Post, Thailand's biggest circulationEnglish-language newspaper.

To contact the reporter on this story:Lee J. Miller in Bangkok at (66) (2) 654-7306 orlmiller@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story:Beth Jinks in Bangkok at (66) (2) 654-7314 orbjinks1@bloomberg.net