More than 30 awards are up for grabs for the best in Bangkok, Phuket, Hua Hin, Chiang Mai, Samui, Phang Nga/Krabi, Eastern Seaboard, North East and Songkhla
- Nominations are now open to the general public and will close on Friday, 30 June
- New recognition for Songkhla, the North East, and Universal Design
- PropertyGuru Thailand Real Estate Summit opens one day before the awards ceremony
BANGKOK, Thailand – 1 March 2017
The annual PropertyGuru Thailand Property Awards, which seeks to reward the finest developers, properties and real estate personalities across the Kingdom, will return for its 12th annual edition this September.
PropertyGuru Group, the organiser of the long-running event, expects to receive more than 300 entries from developers with ongoing projects located in the top tier markets of Bangkok and Phuket, as well as emerging destinations of Hua Hin, Chiang Mai, Samui, Phang Nga/Krabi, the Eastern Seaboard, the North East, and Songkhla.
Developers, industry professionals and the general public are now invited to submit nominations for more than 30 categories until Friday, 30 June 2017. Online submissions are accepted via AsiaPropertyAwards.com/nomination/thailand/. “This is a great opportunity to share to the world what are being developed in those locations and to celebrate the key factors that drive the growth of the real estate industry in Thailand,” said Suphin Mechuchep, managing director of JLL Thailand and incumbent chairwoman of the independent judging panel.
Encouraged by the increasing inbound interest from institutional investors – especially the Chinese – JLL’s Mechuchep believes that despite the limited transactional opportunities available to foreign entities, real estate activity within various segments should pick up as soon as more investors learn about the local market and how certain developments in Bangkok and major resort areas could benefit from such support.
An internationally recognised and respected platform that has championed the progress of the Thai real estate sector for over a decade now, the Thailand Property Awards debuted in 2005 when the Southeast Asian property scene was just starting to make global strides.
“The Thailand Property Awards have showcased high quality developments and have well demonstrated an increased recognition and respect gained from the country’s real estate industry,” Mechuchep noted in her speech during the Awards’ 11th anniversary gala dinner. That event was attended by around 600 VIPs and senior industry figures and saw MQDC Magnolia Quality Development Corporation crowned the Best Developer (Thailand) and collect a total of eight awards.
Mechuchep and DTGO Group president Raj Tanta-Nanta, who represents MQDC, both appeared at the exclusive media launch for the 12th edition of the Awards held at the VA Room of Plaza Athenee Bangkok, a Royal Meridien hotel on 1 March 2017. The MQDC executive expressed his gratitude to the judges for giving their winning and highly commended projects the industry’s stamp of approval. “We’re very humbled and proud to win Best Green Development and the Special Recognition in Sustainable Development last year. Our projects are top quality and this year we aim to continue promoting ‘sustainnovation’ in our developments.”
Also present at the launch were: Terry Blackburn, founder and managing director of the PropertyGuru Asia Property Awards; Kamolpat Swaengkit, country manager of DDproperty.com, official property portal; Paul Ashburn, co-managing partner of BDO Thailand, official judging supervisor; and Jaime Rivera, Asia regional manager of Crystal Lagoons, the event’s co-sponsor.
“Time and again Thailand has proven to be one of the region’s real estate leaders – whether it’s the retail, hospitality, villa or luxury residential segment – as we have seen in the quality of entrants in the past 12 years. The Awards are meant to put a spotlight on the strongest aspects of the industry,” said Blackburn.
“We are pleased that developer demand has resulted in new categories for Songkhla and the North East and to debut our new Special Recognition in Universal Design category,” he added. “Universal Design is the design of a built environment that can be accessed, understood and used to the greatest extent possible by all people regardless of their age, size, ability or disability and we are proud to recognise it alongside longstanding awards for corporate social responsibility (CSR) and sustainable development as part of PropertyGuru Group’s own CSR mission.”
Among the major categories in which developers will compete for the Best of the Best honours include: Best Condo Development (Thailand), whose Winner will be picked from condo categories winners; Best Housing Development (Thailand), chosen from the Winners pool of villa and housing categories; and Best Commercial Development (Thailand), chosen from the hotel, retail and office categories.
A special award for Thailand’s Real Estate Personality of Year will also be named by the editors of Property Report. Presented to an individual whose influence and achievements resonate across the Kingdom, the coveted title’s previous recipients include 2016’s Dr Suriya Poolvoralaks, managing director of Major Development, and 2015’s William “Bill” E. Heinecke, founder and chairman of Minor International, a four-time winner last year that swept the hotel categories.
Hari V. Krishnan, CEO of PropertyGuru Group, commented on the Awards programme’s influence and longevity: “PropertyGuru Group’s commitment to Thailand real estate and consumers stems from our company mission to help property seekers make confident decisions through relevant content, actionable insights and world-class service.
“With the longstanding history of success of the Thailand Property Awards, the trust that we have earned with developers, buyers and renters over the years is reinforced. Thailand remains one of our core markets and I have every confidence in its success.”
The top winners from Thailand will be eligible to participate in the grand finals of the Asia Property Awards held annually in Singapore every November, opening up their businesses to new audiences around the region.
The black-tie gala dinner, which happens on 15 September at Plaza Athenee Bangkok, will begin with a two-hour international cocktail networking reception, followed by a lavish four-course dinner, and the awards ceremony proper. Previous distinguished guests include Bangkok’s Deputy Governor Jumpol Sumpaopol, and former Deputy Prime Minister Suwat Liptapanlop, who attended the 2015 and 2016 events, respectively, as keynote speakers.
A day before the 2017 gala dinner, the organisers will also gather the country’s senior industry leaders to share insights and reflect on the local property market at the PropertyGuru Thailand Real Estate Summit on 14 September for a full-day networking conference that will feature regional and global experts.
Both the Summit and Gala Dinner receive extensive coverage through influential media outfits including Asia’s leading luxury real estate, architecture and design publication Property Report, as well as PropertyGuru Group’s market-leading property portals and affiliate websites used by more than 23 million property seekers in Singapore, Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia and Vietnam.
Super early bird tickets and sponsorship opportunities for the Thailand Property Awards 2017 are available. For details, email info@asiapropertyawards.com or call +66 (02) 204 9555.
More information is available on the official website: AsiaPropertyAwards.com/thailand-property-awards/
