WiredScore launches in Thailand following success in region

As part of the expansion, APAC Land, Frasers Property (Thailand), Magnolia Quality Development Corporation (MQDC), Muang Thai Life Assurance, One Bangkok and Siam Motors have been named the first landlords and developers in Thailand to pursue WiredScore and SmartScore certifications for their buildings.

Commenting on the launch, Thomasin Crowley, Global Director of APAC at WiredScore, remarked: “Thailand is set to embark on a rapid digital transformation journey as part of its Thailand 4.0 strategy, and our offerings readily support this journey. Our certifications highlight the importance of integrating in-building technologies and smart features in real estate assets to unlock their potential and deliver a best-in-class user experience for tenants. We are thrilled to bring our expertise to the market and work with local stakeholders to make building portfolios across Thailand smarter and better-connected.”

Notably, One Bangkok has committed its five commercial towers to the WiredScore and SmartScore certifications, with MQDC’s Cloud 11 project and Siam Motors’ Siam Patumwan House development also committed to both certifications. In addition, Frasers Property has committed five buildings under its portfolio including Park Ventures Ecoplex, Sathorn Square, FYI Center, Samyan Mitrtown, and Silom Edge to the WiredScore certification while APAC Land’s APAC Tower and Muang Thai Life Assurance’s 66 Tower are also currently undergoing WiredScore certification.

Appraised through the WiredScore certification, a global digital connectivity rating scheme, landlords and developers work with WiredScore to assess, improve, benchmark and promote their buildings. WiredScore also provides the SmartScore certification, which defines what smart buildings are, and how to create them, allowing global landlords to understand, improve and communicate the user functionality and technological foundations of their assets.

Sirin Akaraphan, Executive Director, APAC Land, said “We are delighted to have our flagship development, APAC Tower, one of the first Grade-A office buildings in Thailand, commit to the WiredScore certification. This is a testament to APAC Land’s strong commitment in bringing quality and highest global standards to our tenants including a world-class digital connectivity experience. We will continue to further invest in bringing best-in-class standards for sustainability, health and well-being, and digital connectivity and Smart technology to our buildings.”

According to Mr. Thanapol Sirithanachai, the Country CEO of Frasers Property (Thailand) PCL, “At Frasers Property, our purpose is ‘Inspiring experiences, creating places for good,’ and in order to deliver such outcomes, we need to know where the heart beats. We can’t deny that technology plays an important role and is integrated into our daily life, work life, and without a doubt, workplace. Many companies are transforming to be ready for the Future of Work. We recognize changes in our tenant requirements for an office space where digital connectivity has become one of the key requirements from end users. We are committed to delivering products and services that satisfies the needs of our tenants and elevates the quality of life for all our customers.”

Keerin Chutumstid, Chief Operating Officer, MQDC, said: “MQDC is committed to helping drive the transformation of South Sukhumvit into Southeast Asia’s largest innovation district. MQDC launched the cutting-edge Cloud 11 project this year with a focus on the growing Creator Economy. With a concept of ‘Empowering Creators’, Cloud 11 will become Asia’s largest hub for content creators. We aim to incorporate innovation and pioneering technology, so we’ve sought out international smart building standards to give content creators, production studio tenants, and office workers the best experience. WiredScore and SmartScore are among the standards we trust and apply.”

Lim Hua Tiong, Chief Executive Officer of One Bangkok, commented: “Our vision for One Bangkok is to develop the district that will set new benchmarks for the real estate industry and elevate Bangkok to become one of the world’s great metropolises. We actively seek to incorporate best-in-class technologies and solutions into all our buildings and are therefore delighted that One Bangkok Office Towers 4 and 5 have been certified WiredScore Platinum. We are proud to be the first in Thailand to achieve this certification and will continue to work with WiredScore to promote technology, smart services and enhanced digital experiences throughout our assets and to the communities we support.”

“Our partnership with WiredScore underscores our commitment to creating innovative and SMART experiences for our tenants and users. With the government’s push towards Smart Cities, we are proud to be part of this initiative and to establish Siam Patumwan House as a leader in SMART technology,” said Mr. Prakasit Phornprapha, Executive Vice-President of Siam Motors.

Resilience, technological capabilities and sustainability lead the way in real estate

Alongside the firm’s launch in Thailand, WiredScore released its “Investing in the future: exploring the cost of technical obsolescence” report to unveil the priorities of Asia Pacific real estate investors amidst an ever-evolving digital and physical landscape.

Beyond the usual consideration of location and rental yield, results found that the long-term relevance of a building was the most important for over half of the respondents when deciding where to invest their funds. In fact, all the respondents (100%) in Thailand agreed that it is important for a building to have a recognised certification that validate steps have been taken to ensure the building’s resilience for the future.

Investors continue to recognise the importance of technology adoption to keep buildings up-to-date, with 58% of respondents not willing to invest in properties that lack high quality digital infrastructure and 43% not keen on pursuing properties without smart technology. Though not at the top of their priority list, sustainability remains a key consideration as 41% of respondents deem sustainable buildings enabled by technology as a factor affecting their investment decisions.

Commenting on the findings, Crowley added: “Our research findings highlight that real estate investors in Asia are increasingly putting more emphasis on other aspects of a building beyond just the rate of return. This is true for all the Thailand respondents who shared the same sentiment on the need for buildings to have a recognised certification. Ensuring buildings are future-proof and ready for any challenge will be key to retaining relevance. We are pleased to be working with landlords in Thailand who recognise this opportunity and are taking action now to propel themselves forward as a leader in real estate.”

The Investing in the future: exploring the cost of technical obsolescence report is based on a survey of 100 real estate investors across Australia, Hong Kong, Singapore, and Thailand. The full report is available here.