Zero-dollar retail? Chinese plan for biggest centre in Thailand sparks fears
A Chinese retail giant’s plan to create the largest retail and wholesale centre in Thailand has sparked fears the Kingdom will be flooded by cheap goods from China.
Samanea Group currently operates 50,000 sqm of retail space for over 500 shops and 100 service providers at Samanea Plaza on the outskirts of eastern Bangkok.
The plaza sprawls over a 200-rai plot located on Bangna-Trat Road in Bang Sao Thong District, Samut Prakan province.
Samanea Group reportedly plans to open the rest of the plaza this year,
offering total retail space of 300,000 sqm for shops selling products from China. The complex will also include a new hotel, office buildings and a condominium.
Alarmed at the expansion plan, a group of Thai importers have asked the government to probe Samanea Plaza for Chinese investment operating under Thai proxy ownership.
Similar scams operating in the Thai tourism industry have been branded zero-dollar tourism as profits go to China.
Thai authorities recently launched a nationwide investigation into illegal Chinese investment in Thailand fronted by Thai citizens, following revelations that triad criminal networks were operating in the country.
Samanea Plaza currently sells household products, electrical equipment, kitchenware, furniture and tools mostly imported from China. It has also lured local retailers by waiving rent for up to 17 months.
Krungsri Research reportedly forecasts that the Chinese retailer’s fully-fledged operation would “create a ripple” in Thailand’s 2.7-trillion-baht retail and wholesale markets.
“Samanea has a strong advantage as they directly import products from Chinese manufacturers, while Thai retailers have to order Chinese products through middlemen and therefore get higher prices,” said the research house.
Samanea registered its first subsidiary in Thailand, Samanea Holdings (Thailand), in November 2015 with capital of 1.02 billion baht. A month later, Samanea Bangna Ltd was established with registered capital of 2 billion baht.
Founded in 2018 and headquartered in Singapore and Guangdong, China, Samanea Group develops and operates large-scale business complexes in the greater Asia region featuring conference and exhibition spaces, business hotels, office buildings and commercial flats.
Samanea operates in eight cities across Greater Asia – Yangon (Myanmar), Phnom Penh (Cambodia), Jakarta (Indonesia), Bangkok (Thailand), Sydney (Australia), Dubai (UAE), Manila (Philippines), and Dhaka (Bangladesh) – and is seeking expansion to Vietnam, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Malaysia.
