CP Land Plc, the property arm of agribusiness conglomerate Charoen Pokphand Group, plans to spend 500 million baht this year to take over an office building in Yangon, according to the Bangkok Post.
Vice-president Naravadee Waravanitcha said soaring demand for office space in Yangon prompted the company to invest in Myanmar’s commercial capital.
“Office rents per month in Yangon are as high as 2,400 baht a square metre, more than double the maximum rate for Bangkok’s grade-A office space,” she said. “We believe our investment will break even within five years.”
With a lettable area of 6,000 square metres, a building formerly used by government agencies will have rental rates of $60-80 per square metre per month, Ms Naravadee said.
CP Land will sign a memorandum of understanding to buy an eight-storey office building from a local owner.
Currently, the Myanmar property market sees low demand due to a surge construction projects and other unfavourable conditions in the property market.
Demand for office space in commercial buildings is expected to rise by the time the Asean Economic Community (AEC) launches, according to a survey conducted by House.com.mm.
The AEC is scheduled to launch at the end of this year in order to create a free trade zone in Asean.
Yangon has a total area of 107,000 square metres of office space for commercial use, which is the lowest area among Asean capitals.
Source: ELEVEN
