ITOCHU Corporation (headquartered in Minato-ku, Tokyo; Yoshihisa Suzuki, President & Chief Operating Officer; hereinafter “ITOCHU”) announced today that it has agreed to construct a medium- to long-term partnership with a developer of houses and commercial facilities that has its base in Thailand’s capital, Bangkok, specifically Magnolia Quality Development Corporation Limited, (headquartered in Khlong Toei, Bangkok; Thippaporn Ahriyavraromp, Group CEO; hereinafter “MQDC”). The companies have executed a letter of intent with the aim of operating a joint enterprise in the construction/real estate fields.

In Bangkok, the economy has grown consistently and the middle income group has been increasing. At the same time, rail networks are being developed. In this environment, population inflow from a wide area is on the increase and the real estate market has been brisk given firm demand for houses. To respond to this strong demand, ITOCHU decided to conduct a joint enterprise for real estate development together with MQDC, a local Bangkok company.

MQDC is one of the leading real estate developers in Thailand. All of its shares are held by the family of Dhanin Chearavanont, who is the founder of the CP (Charoen Pokphand) Group, which is a strategic capital and business alliance partner of ITOCHU. The representative of MQDC is Ms. Thippaporn, the daughter of Mr. Dhanin, Chairman and CEO of the CP Group. MQDC especially excels at developing middle- to high-grade houses and commercial facilities in central Bangkok.

MQDC and ITOCHU has agreed on a course of action to pursue joint initiatives in the real estate development business, real estate investment and management business and other highly related business and to accelerate business expansion in Thailand.

The first project which ITOCHU has decided to participate in is the development of condominiums for sale in Bangkok (property name: Whizdom Asoke Sukhumvit). This property is located on a rare site with a panoramic view of skyscrapers in Bangkok, adjacent to Benjakitti Park in central Bangkok. The entire scale of the project is estimated at about 33 billion yen and the ITOCHU Group (*1) plans to invest about 2.5 billion yen. MQDC has a deep understanding of high-quality manufacturing. The ITOCHU Group will provide its accumulated know-how in the development and marketing of houses and operate the project in accordance with local business practice.