Hong Kong tycoon to develop luxury Thai resort

PHANG NGA: The Year of the Rat is certain to change the fortunes of a sleepy area of Phang Nga province, as a Hong Kong company owned by billionaire Richard Li has announced plans for a mega-resort project along the beach in Thai Muang district.

The Phuket Gazette reports land acquired by Li’s company, Pacific Century Premium Developments Limited (PCPD), in late 2007 includes 2.5kms of beachfront, and the Thai Muang Golf Course, which will be retained and undergo extensive reconstruction.

Richard Li, 41, is ranked 698th in Forbes magazine’s World’s Richest People list, with an estimated net worth of US$1.5 bn.

The 18-hole, Perry Dye-designed Thai Muang Golf Course first opened in December 1995.

Buildings on the property have been demolished to make way for luxury hotels and villas, as well as yachting, recreational and retail facilities.

Details are being kept under wraps until the master plan is completed.

Award-winning Hong Kong-based architects Original Vision, which has a branch office in Phuket, has been appointed to design the project.

Asians, Europeans and Americans will be the primary customers, said Jenny Tam, PCPD’s head of corporate communications.

“We have successfully developed a luxury lifestyle through the Bel-Air experience in Hong Kong.

“Through the Bel-Air exercise, we have found there are quite a lot of affluent customers who are interested in buying second homes in luxury developments overseas. We believe the Thai Muang Beach Project would become their second home.”

Bel-Air is a large luxury apartment complex that forms the residential part of Cyberport, a high-tech hub in Hong Kong’s Telegraph Bay developed by PCPD’s parent company PCCW Limited, of which Richard Li is also the chairman.

Ms Tam declined to reveal whether Richard Li, son of Li Ka-shing, reputedly the richest man in Asia, was personally involved in the transaction or if he will have his own private residence on site.

Ms Tam said that the project would take “a few years” to finish, but added that it was too early to estimate the completion date.

PCPD is involved in the development and management of premium property and infrastructure projects throughout the Asia-Pacific region. It is majority-owned by PCCW, Hong Kong’s largest communications provider and the world’s largest provider of Internet Protocol TV.

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