After working out a joint venture condominium development project with a Thai partner earlier this year, Japanese construction firm Shinwa Group plans to develop townhouses, detached houses and retirement home projects worth 2-3 billion baht.
Group director Tomoyasu Yamabe said the company will apply housing development and construction innovations it uses in Japan at new housing projects it wants to develop in Bangkok, starting with a home office in the Srinakarin area next year.
"Our business started in construction 60 years ago and we entered property development 22 years ago," he said.
"From our construction experience, we developed innovations in residential projects, including condominiums, townhouses and single houses."
Shinwa will be the first Japanese firm to develop single houses or townhouses in Thailand since 2013, with the joint venture being the first for a Japanese developer since the 2008 financial crisis.
"We select land plots for residential development ourselves," said Mr Yamabe. "Other Japanese developers that have entered the Thai property market since 2013 just inject funds, while their Thai partners seek out land plots."
The company is also interested in retirement home projects, targeting Japanese retirees who want to settle down in Bangkok. The new projects being launched next year will be done via a joint venture with Woraluk Property Co or another player.
Shinwa earlier this year formed a joint venture with Woraluk Property for a condominium project, Runesu Thonglor 5, an eight-storey condominium on a one-rai plot on Thong Lor Soi 5, with 156 units worth 1.2 billion baht.
Of the total, 25 units on the first and second floors will have dual floor in a Runesu structure, an innovation Shinwa has applied in Japan for decades. The project has sold out, with 65% coming from investment buyers, he said.
The structure allows for recessed space between the floor of one level and the ceiling under it, maximising the unit's area. The additional space is hidden underneath the unit's floor and can be used for storage, work or space for a small bed.
Other characteristics adopted from Shinwa will include noise-reduction walls, rapid-dry floors and deodorising/dehumidifying tiles imported from Japan.
Shinwa is also interested in developing a new condominium project with Runesu features next year in the Thong Lor, Ekamai or Asok areas, as these locations are popular among Japanese expats.
Shinwa is in talks with a local developer in Malaysia that is interested in adopting Runesu features to differentiate its products amid a bubble in the property market there.