TCC Land Co Ltd, the property business of liquor billionaire Charoen Sirivadhanabhakdi, is slowing new investment in two hotels worth about four billion baht due to concerns about political risk, according to executive director Soammaphat Traisorat.

”We are worried much about the current political problems becoming increasingly worse as they would have a great impact on the group’s future investments,” he said.

Some of the group’s long-term investment plans for the next few years could be scaled back as a result. Mr Soammaphat said investments in the hotel business would be put on hold as tourists turn to neighbouring countries such as Vietnam, Malaysia and Singapore instead of Thailand because of concerns about local conditions.

He said the company would consider in the next four months whether the political problems were responsible for any declines in hotel occupancy at TCC properties.

”If so, confidence of foreign investors in hotel investments with us may be weakened,” he said.

He said the company planned to set up three property funds worth one billion baht each for the group’s hotels, office buildings and shopping centres with JP Morgan and Merrill Lynch Phatra as advisers.

The property fund for hotels will be offered overseas while the ones for office buildings and shopping centres would be be marketed to investors in Thailand. They should be ready in about nine months, said Mr Soammaphat.

Meanwhile, TCC CapitaLand Co Ltd, a joint venture with Singaporean-based Capitaland, is continuing with its plans to launch at least three condominium projects in the second half of the year.

The company expects to realise four to five billion baht by the end of the year from sales of residential projects including luxury houses and condominiums.

As well, the company is hiring the design firm Edaw to design an amusement park on the 1,000-rai first phase of a 10,000-rai site the company has in Cha-am. It is also developing small Im Hotel sites in Hua Hin and Samui.