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Mark Bowling is senior sales manager with Colliers International’s Pattaya office on Second Road opposite Central Festival. The branch office was voted Best Agent (Eastern Seaboard) in the 2010 Thailand Property Awards. He joined Colliers International in early 2009 having been sales manager with a local property development firm since 2006. Mark has had a successful career in international sales and marketing spanning more than 20 years both in Thailand and the UK. He can be contacted at mark.bowling@colliers.com
The Indian influence
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hile out with some HNW (high net worth) clients from India I was asked: “Are there any good Indian restaurants in Pattaya?” I thought for a moment and suggested the newly renovated Maharani in the Royal Cliff. Then, while we were driving along, one of the group pointed out an Indian restaurant on Second Road, then another, then another and so on. My point is that the influence of people from the Sub-Continent here in Pattaya is steadily – and almost indescernably – growing. Which can only be a good thing for the city’s prospects, given that the Indian economy is booming while many Western markets are heading in the oppposite direction due to poorer economies, job uncertainty and weaker exchange rates. Largest democracy India is a democracy, the world’s largest, with a population of 1.21bn which is just a shade under China’s non-democratic 1.34bn. GDP of India is currently ranked 4th in the world in terms of PPP, which is calculated on the INR rather than US$. India is growing at a rate of 8-9 per cent per annum whereas most other Western economies struggle to maintain positive growth and only China is currently growing faster than India, though not considered to be as sustainable in the long term. In terms of foreign currency reserves India is holding more than twice that of the USA with $320bn compared to $143bn. Foreign exchange reserves are important indicators of ability to 36•REm•Issue 130•03/2012
Higher inflation in India makes Thailand very affordable to the emerging middle classes. Relatively low property prices and a higher standard of living are a major attraction for many potential buyers.
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By mark bowling repay foreign debt and for currency defence, and are also used to determine credit ratings of nations. The British Stock Exchange’s stock index of India is the world’s fastest growing market and by far outpaces the USA, China, Japan, UK and the European Union. More mobile phones While much of the so-called affluent world struggles to retain employment, India leads the way with pay increases of 11 per cent while America achieves just 2.8 per cent. India has now also surpassed the USA with 650 million mobile phone users and is still growing. So what do these facts and figures mean for Pattaya and in particular the property market? Higher inflation in India makes Thailand very affordable to the emerging middle classes. Relatively low property prices and a higher standard of living are a major attraction for many potential buyers. Unlike a large percentage of the Russian guests we see here, almost every Indian we see in Pattaya can speak relatively good English. Just like five or six years ago
when the Russians first started putting their toes in the water, we see a large number of Indians expressing an interest in the same manner for both high- and low-end properties. It’s early days, but I feel they will be major players in the not too distant future. Many Indian hoteliers and developers are also looking at getting a foothold here, which demonstrates that they mean business and are here to stay. Interestingly enough from the latest data I have from the Ministry of Tourism and Sports, Thailand, we can see that there were 851,077 visitors from Russia accounting for 4.98 per cent and 838,256 from India accounting for 4.90 per cent of the visitors to Thailand in 2011. Indian visitors have increased 23 per cent since 2010 but, even more surprisingly perhaps, the Chinese show an increase of 53 per cent year-on-year from 997,442 to 1,571,294 over the same period. China, too Whether the Chinese will show the same interest in the property market remains to be seen, though I would say it’s a foregone conclusion as the majority of nationalities coming to Pattaya inevitably find themselves buying property here after falling in love with the place. If only one per cent of the visitors from China, India and Russia bought a condo here it would mean sales of 32,606 units! With the imminent influx of so many Indian and Chinese, we Brits, who love their restaurants, have never had it so good!