KPN Motor Car has decided to branch out into other ventures including property as it looks to expand its revenue base. The company’s founder, Keattisak Keeratiyakornsakul, told The Nation that KPN Motor Car has plans to develop a condominium project that will serve niche consumers who are looking to purchase a private residence.
Keattisak explained to the newspaper that he believes property development could help KPN Motor Car reduce the risk from its auto-parts business. The company already has a number of land plots ready for the development of condominium projects and the first one is expected to launch some time in 2018.
KPN Motor car started out as a small replacement auto-parts trader nearly 20 years ago and according to The Nation, Keattisak is hoping that by creating a property development business, along with a tire franchise, he will be able to list KPN Motor Car on the Thailand Stock Exchange. While several financial institutions have asked the company to become a listed company in the past, he has the decline the offers.
“Right now we are not ready for such a move, but several banks have offered capital for KPN to engage in hire-purchase lending to people who don’t have enough money of their own to buy a taxi from the company,” Keattisak stated. “However, one day we should go to the stock market because it is a source of funding to support business expansion in the future.”
Taxi assembly is KPN Motor Car’s major source a revenue at the moment which is a far cry from building condos. However, even though the company has only been doing it for six years, KPN has developed a reputation of being the best at what it does. “Our ambition is to see KPN taxicabs accounting for half of the taxis in Bangkok, with around 100,000 vehicles being fitted out each year. Quality taxis on the capital’s roads will give the country a good image, and KPN wants to be part of providing that image,” Keattisak pointed out.
