Date Added:
15/12/2009
After an extended period of unprecedented triumph, Koh Samui´s residential property market has recently been suffering from a sales slump. The government´s planned crackdown on foreign companies with nominee shareholders, combined with a number of high-profile land encroachment investigations have caused a significant drop in investor confidence, although the construction and tourism sectors continue to boom.
Most of those involved in the property sector see the slow down as temporary, but many also feel that new approaches to foreign ownership are needed to re-establish investor security.
An email circulated to the local press and business community on Koh Samui last month claims to offer exactly such a new option for foreigners that want to invest in property on the island. In what appears to be an extension of existing laws and exclusive to Samui, a Thai company known as Thailand Long stay Management (TLM) is offering perpetual 30-year leases through a special government-backed programme.
Although the firm is privately owned, one of its main shareholders is the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT). TLM says the TAT wants to promote and develop legitimate long-term stay in Thailand in order to "increase investment and spur the country’s economic growth." It is therefore offering a "Vacation Investment Program" (VIP), through TLM, which purportedly allows private foreign investors to enjoy perpetual leasehold on a residential property. |
