I am assuming that this is in relation to the skyscraper that collapsed on 28 March 2025. If you are not familiar with this piece of news, on 28 March 2025, a significant 7.7 magnitude earthquake originating in neighbouring Myanmar caused severe tremors across Thailand. Buildings across Bangkok felt this tremor. A building near the popular Chatuchak market that was under construction collapsed. The question should be in relation to whether properties in Bangkok are safe. Three days after the collapse, the Chinese construction company that was in charge of construction of that fallen skyscraper is facing intense scrutiny. The reason? That was the only building to fall in Bangkok.
- Inherent risk
I have always spoken about investment risk. This earthquake brings to mind the risk of a property facing natural disasters. I am Singaporean and in Singapore, we are not faced with the prospect of frequent earthquakes. In fact, the cause of the tremors was an earthquake in Myanmar. The particular fault line was the Sagaing Fault which stretches from Mandalay to Yangon. This is relatively far from Thailand and definitely far from Bangkok. Yet due to the low frequency tremors, it affected taller buildings. Bangkok being an extremely built up area in Thailand with so many tall buildings, the people in these tall buildings experienced the full force of the tremors.
However, no building other than that skyscraper under construction fell. There were similarly many other buildings under construction. There were also similarly many other buildings taller than that skyscraper. The Mahanakhon, has 79 floors and is 320 meters tall to tip. The Baiyoke Sky Tower has 88 floors and is 328 meters tall to tip. Both these buildings are the tallest in Bangkok and both are unscathed from the tremors. It is arguable that if that skyscraper under construction did not topple, the tremors would be closer to a non-event then the current state of emergency.
There are many risks. There is also the risk of war. In Singapore, we are worried about rising sea levels. In the event that sea levels rise past a certain point, it is arguable that large parts of Singapore will be underwater despite its best efforts to mitigate this risk. All investments come with risk. Properties are relatively illiquid as compared to equities. If you cannot stomach such risk, you should not be investing because once you are in and want to sell the property when something happens, the illiquid nature of properties will become extremely apparent to you.
- Comfort level
It should not be up to me to tell you whether you can still buy Bangkok properties. This is a very subjective decision. You should be comfortable with your investment and understand the various risk. You should not listen to someone without forming a constructive and structured reasoning as to why you decide to do things in a certain manner. If you listen to me when I tell you to invest just because I tell you to then you did not form a constructive and structured reason. Similarly, if you think that all buildings in Bangkok are damaged and you are worried that this will be an issue in the future, then you should not buy a property in Bangkok. This especially when most reputable developers have conducted checks on their buildings are found them to be safe. If you are still not reassured and believe that the developer may he hiding something or that the developer will be faced with future issues that are not manifesting currently, then you should not be buying Bangkok properties.
In everything we do, we have to undertake some degree of risk. If there is no risk, then there is no to little reward. This risk premium is something that you should determine on your own.
- Reputation of developer
I have been reiterating the point that we should always buy from the large, reputable developers that are listed on the Stock Exchange of Thailand. Such developers are always keen in maintaining their business in Thailand. While investigations are still ongoing, the truth of the matter is that if the skyscraper did not collapse, there will be no state of emergency in Bangkok. Bangkok will not be a disaster zone. I am sure that the earthquake would have affected other parts of Thailand. However, there was no collapse of any building elsewhere and hence there is no state of emergency outside of Bangkok.
If you want to know what most, if not all large Thai developers are doing, here it is.
MQDC is one of Thailand’s largest developer. It is the developer in charge of Icon Siam. Here is what they put out on their social media platforms and in their communications with clients who purchased their properties. Buildings come with warranty on their structure. It is a norm to have such warranty. However, the warranty is only valid if the party warrantying the building is around in the event something happens. This is why I have always reiterated that the profile of the developer is extremely important. I had spoken extensively about a certain Chinese developer that was in debt building in Bangkok. I highlighted this fact to the general public on many occasions. You can see this short post I did from back in 2023.
I am confident that there is a high probability that MQDC will be around to deal with any matters should there be a need to make a claim on the warranty.
Noble Development, like MQDC, is listed on the Stock Exchange of Thailand. It is one of the largest developers in Thailand. Its major shareholders include the BTS group which runs a large proportion of the metro lines in Bangkok.
Developers like Noble will undergo the process of checking the structural integrity of all its developments. This includes buildings that were built long ago. This is the list of buildings that were checked.
Similarly, here are other large Thai developers that have done similar work.
So can you still buy Bangkok properties? I cannot answer that question for you. Nor can I guarantee that everything will be safe. No one can do so for any property in any part of the world. Even in Singapore, from where I come from. Bangkok has not experienced anything like this for as long as recordings have started. For Burma, the earthquake toppled structures that had been around for more than a century. Which meant that the earthquake to just about everyone in the country was unprecedented.
If you are a client of a large Thai developer. You most likely should have received a message from your developer or your juristic (management) office. You should follow the steps provided as to what to do in the event you find damage to your property. People who do not live in Bangkok but have properties in Bangkok should engage a property management company to assist them with the checks and rectification process with the developer.
Yours sincerely,
Daryl
