At a recent WiT event, when Chris Hemmeter, managing partner of Thayer Ventures, a travel and hospitality-focused fund was asked what he believed the biggest change Covid would bring to hospitality.
He said, “I think the whole world of hospitality, real estate and the monetisation of hospitality real estate is going to be the biggest fundamental shift – happening pre-pandemic but accelerated by the pandemic.”
His words came to mind when I met Vorasit Pokachaiyapat, chief executive of one of Thailand’s leading residential developers, MK Real Estate Plc, in Bangkok and he spoke about how MK was diversifying its portfolio from residences to warehouses and wellness.
In this interview with Bangkok Post, Vorasit spoke about how its foray into these two growth industries would impact positively the publicly-listed company’s performance.
“EBITDA [earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation] from non-real estate business last year accounted for 36% and will rise to 70% in the next few years, higher than our earlier goal of 50% due to the growing trend in the healthcare industry globally and e-commerce expansion in Thailand.”
The company plans to invest three billion baht in warehouses, and has prepared a one billion baht budget for housing business and healthcare ventures.
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