A research produced by
Thailand’s economy contracted 0.6% year-on-year (y-o-y) in Q1. The economy weakened more than expected in the first quarter of this year as domestic activity was hampered by the prolonged political deadlock which affected domestic spending and investment as well as tourism activities. Notwithstanding, the political tensions took a turn on 22 May with the military coup d’état, which has so far lifted overall consumer and business sentiment nationwide. In light of H1 economic performance, the Bank of Thailand lowered the economic growth forecast for 2014 to 1.5-2.5% from 3%-4%.
Office demand rebounded in Q2 after a subdued start in Q1 as corporate firms continued to take on office space for expansion and consolidation. In line with this, net absorption rebounded positively to 11,077 sq m, which lifted occupancy by 0.7 percentage-point to stand at 91.2%. Similarly, prime office rents rose by 1.4% quarter-on-quarter (q-o-q) to THB720 per sq m per month.
Source : DTZ (Groupe UGL)
