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FOREIGN INTERVIEW PART ISSUE 15, JANUARY 2006

We interviewed Mr.Rony to give you an insight into why he has worked and lived in Pattaya for so long.

Rony Fineman has dual nationality with Israel and Ireland. He has
been living in Thailand for more than 20 years. Having worked in the hotel business for his entire career the experience and knowledge are now being used to the advantage of the Pattaya residents with his property and good service. Mr. Rony is the owner of Nova Group which is very well known in Pattaya includes Nova Lodge Hotel and Nova Park service apartments.

Nova Group started with Nova Lodge Hotel, now we are a development group who specialize in the hospitality business which for us includes hotels, serviced apartments, pubs and restaurants.

I have been in the hotel business all of my life. In England I was a hotel manager and group manager for Maxwells
which is an equivalent to the Hard Rock Café chain of restaurants and hotels. I actually started my career in the hotel industry in Island back in 1978.

As I am the owner of Nova Lodge Hotel and Nova Park serviced apartments I meet a lot of our customers in purchasing a room or unit. I figured they must be very happy with the service and products I have on offers, so may be it was time to build condominiums. Our first condominium project is Nova Mirage in Wong Amat, which is a five star 78 unit condo. Each unit has large balcony which face the ocean and all the facilities you can expect from a luxury development. Our next project we have started is Nova Atrium located behind Nova Park, we also have 4 or 4 in the pipeline.

I think at the moment it’s a very strong market and has huge potential with an endless amount of people moving to Thailand especially Pattaya. Buyers are coming mainly from Europe and some Asian countries with most of them paying in cash, this has created a real market. I believe in time you will see Pattaya becoming a major destination to visit in Asia only to be enhanced with the new airport opening.

The Amari Plaza Hotel is ideal for the discerning business traveler. This 4-star hotel sits comfortably in a quiet, but central location, with easy access from the main roads by car and walking distance from banks, restaurants and shopping.

The Amari Plaza Hotel offers superb accommodation and
modern convenience, with some 200 rooms and suites
enjoying wireless and broadband internet access, flatscreen TVs, CD/DVD players, tea & coffee-making facilities, as well as a pool, restaurant, lobby and pool bar, fitness, sauna and ample parking.

‘We are very enthusiastic indeed about this new venture and the collaboration between Nova Group and Amari, as part of our on-going expansion in Pattaya,” stated Kurt Rufli. Amari continues to raise the bar in Pattaya and aims to remain at the forefront of development in the continuously and rapidly progressing Eastern Seaboard Area, which is set to generate increased levels of demand for the hospitality industry.

Amari Plaza Hotel will open in 2009.

Contract Signing: (Left to right) Mr Lon Ballard,
Co-Director, Nova Group, Mr Rony Fineman,
President, Nova Group, Mr Kurt Rufli, Managing Director,
Amari Hotels and Resorts and Mr Kevin Hall,
Deputy Managing Director, Amari Hotels and Resorts

... the beachfront to the inner city of Pattaya. Looking back at Pattaya’s growth in 2005, there are a few condominium developments that stand out as having made a dynamic impression on the Pattaya real estate market and the tremendous building and sales momentum we all can see so clearly now.

First and foremost, we Pattaya locals must take our hats off to the Raimon Land Group for their timing, presentation and most of all for developing a market product that was so attractive to buyers - the Northshore Condominium. Timing, you might ask? Yes. With Pattaya just about out of beachfront condominium apartments, the Raimon Land Group came into town very strong with a huge and expensive marketing campaign at just the right time, selling the majority of the building’s units within the first weeks of availability.

Having constructed a very well designed and fitted show room, it was understood immediately that Pattaya was
witnessing a professional approach to condominium marketing, making the Raimon Land Group and their Northshore
Condominium one of the key elements that contributed to Pattaya?s real estate market, which took off in such a big way in 2005.

Another interesting front on the condominium development scene in 2005 that is doing exceptionally well is the boutique condominium market. Yes, those low rise condos that are popping up all over Pattaya have been very well received by those wishing to purchase a condominium apartment to live in, as well as the many investment speculators are pouring in to Pattaya these days. One developer that has really created a niche in this market has been Rony Fineman and his Nova Group. Having honed his skills for years at his Nova Lodge Hotel, Fineman took his first step into the market by building the Nova Park Serviced Apartments.

The Nova Park opened with a fine dining restaurant, some good local advertising and it filled almost immediately, having an occupancy rate of over 80 per cent during its first year in operation. With Nova Park under his belt, Fineman went on
and began Nova Mirage Condominium at Wongamat Bay, having sold 70 per cent of their 78 apartment units before it is even completed. Next on the scene, Nova Atrium Condominium begun its advertising in November 2005 and the Nova
Group has already sold 40 per cent of their 72 apartment units as of the middle of December, and the pilings are not even completed yet.

Great interior designs as well as impressive lobbies and common areas (pools and landscaping) are becoming a trademark of the Nova Group. Rony Fineman is reportedly ready to begin marketing another inner city luxury condominium early in 2006, as well as his Nova Plaza Hotel, which has had its plans approved and land purchasing complete.

We do see the trend in low-rise boutique condominiums continuing as a very popular lifestyle option, as well as
maintaining its increasingly popular investment potential status with property speculators worldwide. Having said that, the year ahead will bring to light the impact of the ?super condo? phase of the current development wave in Pattaya. By using the term super condos I mean that they are going to be very large structures with large numbers of available apartment units for luxury beachfront condominium buyers. The Sails and even the Ocean Marina Yacht Club are now in on the act and both have started building their foundations and show rooms.

The Sails, a project by Grande Asset Development, will be a five-star beachfront resort condominium in nearby Jomtien with only four units per floor, with all units featuring spacious 3-meter ceiling heights, large private balconies and unobstructed sea views. The north or forward sail of this impressive structure will be featuring a five-star international hotel, putting this development easily into the super condo category and certainly a development to keep an eye on in 2006.

Grande Asset Development chairman and CEO Pongphan Sampawakoop told Thailand Property Report that the decision to locate the project in Jomtien was an easy one: ?Why Jomtien? Because Jomtien is special?When people think of central Pattaya and the beach road they think of noise, people, congestion. Jomtien is the opposite.?

Meanwhile, Ocean Marina Yacht Club began marketing and construction for its new Ocean Portofino Condominium over the last few months of 2005 as well. The Ocean Marina Yacht Club is Thailand?s largest marina and was the first marina to meet international standards in Asia. Its new Ocean Portofino Condominium features luxury apartments with spectacular panoramic views of the sea, sunsets, Jomtien Beach and of course the marina.

As the Wongamat area of North Pattaya has been developing very well with its beachfront resort hotels and
condominiums, it is well worth mentioning the construction of Raimon Land Group?s Northpoint Condominium and the Indonchine Asset Management Group?s Baan Yenpa as developments to watch in the coming year as well.

Indeed, the Pattaya and Eastern Seaboard condominium market is stronger than ever and the coming year is sure to test the waters regarding concerns about the strength and staying power of this booming condominium market. But, how is Pattaya?s housing market faring? Many members of the local real estate community have been wondering for some time just who is going to buy all of these houses that seem to be appearing in developments large and small all over Pattaya and the Eastern Seaboard.

Well, we have all been wondering long enough, as it is now evident that detached houses are selling as well. Having had a slower start in the year 2005 and having been well overshadowed by the huge demand for condominiums, we are now starting to see very strong signs that the Pattaya detached housing market is alive and well. Two of the most popular expat housing developments, Paradise Villa and Thabali, were seeing their own resale market a bit sluggish in early 2005, due mostly to the huge amount of construction and sales of new detached homes seen all over the Eastern Seaboard and Pattaya.

During the past several months we are now starting to see sales picking up and in fact, are starting to see signs of price inflation beginning in the Paradise Villa and Thabali developments as well.

Having mentioned earlier the advent of the super condos having come back on the scene in Pattaya, we saw this year the introduction of what is fast looking like Pattaya?s first ?super village? - Siam Royal View. This development is on 188 rai and features 280 building plots of land ranging in size from 360-1,597 square metres of land space. A proposed 250 luxury homes are being built in two phases.

The project is also super in that the Siam Royal View introduced itself with by far the most impressive budget and
execution seen by any detached housing development in the entire Pattaya and Eastern Seaboard area. Siam Royal View?s advertising campaign has included impressive ads throughout the Asia Pacific region and the Siam Royal View development has definitely made its mark on the South East Asian real estate scene. By the end of the year 2005 the development has sold 65 per cent of their land plots (75 of 120) in phase 1 and have already completed five luxury designer homes with 35 homes under construction and an additional 35 homes, which are to begin being constructed as soon as possible: definitely a mover and shaker on the Pattaya Eastern Seaboard real estate scene.

Along with the popularity of the boutique condominiums, Pattaya?s detached housing scene saw the introduction of a very interesting concept new to the area - a boutique housing development, if you will.

The year 2005 saw the construction, marketing and complete success of a new concept in executive expat family living at Laurel Park, a gated community of just eight detached homes with full security and very well designed brand new houses for lease to expatriate families.

A fantastic new concept and just in time as Pattaya?s rental market is booming just as is every other sector of its real estate market. With Pattaya?s provincial government in Chonburi seeing between 30-40 per cent increases in foreign expatriate work permits being issued over the last year, Pattaya is in need of rentals, as the demand is there for more of these ?executive class? gated communities.

Meanwhile, as the Na Jomtien and Bangsarey areas south of Pattaya have been seeing tremendous interest developing, it is well worth mentioning that these areas look to be very big players in the upcoming year. For luxury beachfront houses, Ban Talay will be a development to keep an eye on, as the interest and sales generated by this five-star beachfront community will certainly set the pace for the area?s luxury home sales. As well, we expect to see the Bagsarey Hills and Silverlake Vinyard areas south of Pattaya make major headways into the luxury home market this coming year.

Although the above have been penned as the movers and shakers of Pattaya and the Eastern Seaboard?s 2005 real estate scene, we are very pleased to see that there are a good number of very promising condominium and detached developments that are making their presence very well known throughout the Pattaya Eastern Seaboard area. Who knows, we may be singing their praises next year when we take a look at Pattaya?s ?Movers and Shakers in 2006?.