Vimarn Suriya Co, the developer of the luxury mixed-use project Dusit Central Park, wants to tap potential buyers in Saudi Arabia through roadshows in the Middle East before the summer holiday.
Chief executive La-ead Kovavisaruch said a roadshow in Saudi Arabia planned for last week to introduce the residential project was postponed due to the Russia-Ukraine war.
"Property buyers in the Middle East have high potential, but many of them prefer London and Paris over Bangkok," she said. "We will educate them about healthcare in Thailand as our country is renowned for world-class medical facilities."
Ms La-ead said the Dusit brand was also well known among people in the Middle East as Dusit International, its parent firm, had a strong presence in the region with seven hotels in three countries, comprising four in the United Arab Emirates, two in Qatar and one in Oman.
Dusit International also plans to open a new hotel in Bahrain this year under dusitD2 brand.
China was another potential market for Dusit Central Park as its parent firm had nine hotels in the country and plans to open three new properties in the future.
Outside Thailand where Dusit operates 15 hotels, China was the second largest destination.
Launched in August last year, Dusit Residences and Dusit Parkside, the branded residential development in Dusit Central Park, recorded 40% sales at present.
The company expects to increase the sales rate to 60-70% by the end of 2022.
"We will have roadshows in the Middle East before the summer season starts in May," she said. "Our roadshow plan will include countries that are already open for overseas visitors like Singapore, while China and Hong Kong will follow in the third quarter."
The vast majority or 95% of buyers were Thais and the remainder expats.
Some buyers were unit owners at several existing projects on Soi Mahad Lek Luang 1-3 as those projects were leasehold with contracts ending between 2019 and 2025.
Dusit Residences and Dusit Parkside are leasehold residential projects being managed by Dusit International.
With a leasehold contract of 58 years in total, unit prices cost around 340,000 baht per square metre on average.
"Our projects will be the first which offer a leasehold period of longer than 30 years," she said. "For high-net-worth individuals, the price is not high. They can save money from buying a leasehold property to invest, compared with a freehold one in the same location and segment."
