Thai Central Pattana plans property funds in Q2

Thai Central Pattana said on Tuesday it planned to sell a 5.0-10.0 billion baht ($158-$316 million) property fund and expand its existing property fund in the second quarter of 2008.
The new fund will use it in Bangkok central office building in the world as a major asset, chief financial officer Naris Cheyklin said to reporters.
"When the capital controls were lifted, things become easier, and we look forward to the sale of assets of both funds in the second quarter," Naris said one day after the Bank of Thailand lifted capital controls imposed in December 2006.
CPN has delayed raising money for its existing CPN Retail Growth Property Fund CPNRu.BK several times due to controls which required 30 percent of most foreign inflows to be put in interest-free accounts for a year.
CPN, controlled by the Chirathivat family, owns Thailand's biggest retail group and runs 10 shopping centres with 690,000 sq. m. (7.427 million sq. ft.) of space rented to other retailers. ($1=31.60 Baht) (Reporting by Saranya Suksomkij; Writing by Viparat Jantraprap; Editing by Michael Battye)