SEVP Uthai Uthaisangsuk hopes to boost Sansiri’s skyrocketing sales volume further with “Open Borders,” which caters specifically to foreigners looking to buy property in Thailand.
by Percy Roxas.
As the senior executive vice president for business development and project development (SEVP-High Rise), Uthai Uthaisangsuk has seen how the 30-year-old Sansiri Public Company Limited grew rapidly. Being responsible for policy management, business development, and high-rise project supervision, he has overseen many successful projects and has helped to ensure the company’s strong performance over the years.
Last year, another challenge beckoned and it looks as promising as ever: Sansiri’s international markets division, called “Open Borders,” which he also supervises. It aims to expand further its business through the sale of high-rise projects to foreign buyers.
In fact, the Kasetsart engineering graduate and a master’s degree (business administration) holder from Middle Tennessee State, USA (among other credentials), revealed that the “Open Borders” department already sold some THB 1.5-billion of property to Thai and foreign buyers last year. He aims to double that figure by the end of this year. Three multi-billion baht projects along the BTS routes were sold right on the first days of their pre-sales periods.
The affable Uthai has been with the Sansiri group from the beginning and he’s proud to be part of the company. “Sansiri has developed almost 280 projects in Thailand, including the one in London, England, to date,” he tells us. “With its strong 31-year track record in Thailand and loyal customers both in the country and overseas, Sansiri is now ranked as one of Thailand’s top three property companies.”
The winner of the 2013 Southeast Asia Property Awards (Best Developer -Thailand) has achieved, just over the first nine months of 2015, total sales of THB 20.5 billion, or 60 percent of the year’s target of THB 33-billion. That’s a record however one looks at it. “This has set us well on our course to meet our sales aspirations for 2015,” he says. Sansiri targets THB 30-billion sales and THB 35-billion in revenue for 2015.
But like his colleagues at Sansiri, Uthai does not gauge the company’s success by sales volume or revenue alone.
“Our president, Srettha Thavisin, has always said that a company’s success does not rely on sales volume alone; we want to be the most preferred brand among our target customers.” In fact, they may already have achieved that. They were awarded ‘The Most Admired Brand – Property Sector’ by the leading Thai marketing magazine, BrandAge. Moreover, Sansiri boasts the biggest fan base and number of followers on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter, compared to their rivals.
Uthai says one of the great joys of working with Sansiri is not only in knowing that the company is leading in the Thai property market but also in knowing that it fulfills its clients’ lifestyle needs.
“Sansiri provides the best products to every market segment – from a THB 1-million condominium unit to a THB 100-million luxury estate,” he says. “Our 200-plus projects nationwide cover every housing preference in the market.”
“We are a partner for living,” he continues. “Sansiri constructs a life, not just a building. That is the reason why we have to continually initiate services and products to deliver to our customers.”
And that is why he is especially excited about heading the “Open Borders.” By concentrating now more than ever on foreign buyers, he hopes to help expand Sansiri’s success even further. The Sansiri brand is already well-known among Thai buyers, so he believes it is about time they branch out to other markets.
During Q4, Sansiri plans to launch new projects with a combined value of THB 21.5-billion. Of these, five will be condominiums while another five will be single houses.
“Sansiri, the only integrated property developer in Thailand, prides itself on serving its customers for life. When we build and sell a property to homebuyers, we become their lifelong partners. We position ourselves as a ‘one-stop shop for all things real estate’. We believe that this will be highly appealing to foreign investors,” he says.
“Open Borders” is backed by Sansiri’s sister company, Plus Properties, which is charged with running property management in all of their properties, including residential services, maintenance, brokerage advice and rental property management.
“This will be particularly attractive to our foreign customers in Thailand,” Uthai says.
And Sansiri is more than just a property company, he says. “We strive to enhance the quality of life and create a pleasurable living experience for our stakeholders, including customers, business partners, employees and relevant communities in order to create a good life for everyone,” he explains as he cites Sansiri’s advantages.
“We strive to provide best in products and services that cover all market segments both in Thailand and overseas; and most of our projects provide yields from rent that reaches up to 5-7 percent.”
“Clients can rely on Sansiri as a trustworthy brand in Thailand with an outstanding milestone record,” he concludes. “By offering full-range services-from property development to after-sale service-we provide not only homes but also a lifestyle and a unique brand experience.”
