reader Posted January 31, 2018 Posted January 31, 2018 From The Guardian (UK) The scale of financial pressure on the British diplomatic service has been underlined by a Foreign Office announcement that it is raising £420m by selling its embassy in Bangkok. The sale is the largest land deal in Thai history and the Foreign Office’s biggest ever sale. The department said the proceeds would be reinvested elsewhere in the overseas estate and would fund 30-40 modernisation projects around the world, including in Washington DC. The Foreign Office has long complained that its budget is being cut to the bone at a time when the parallel budget of the Department for International Development is booming. The UK foreign secretary, Boris Johnson, has been looking to see how he can capture parts of the DfID budget without breaching international rules on the definition of aid. A series of pooled budgets have been established, including the conflict security and stability fund. The transparency of the spending in these budgets has been repeatedly challenged. The Bangkok embassy is being sold to a joint-venture consortium of Hongkong Land, a member of the Jardine Matheson Group, and Central Group. The new Bangkok embassy building will be based in the AIA Sathorn Tower in the central business district. https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2018/jan/31/cash-strapped-foreign-office-puts-bangkok-embassy-up-for-sale Quote
Guest Posted January 31, 2018 Posted January 31, 2018 I don't see why Britain needs an embassy valued at £420 million in Thailand, so downsizing & raising the capital seems like a good idea. I imagine Thailand would be a long way down the list of trading partners. Incidentally, the US has sold it's super prime embassy site in Mayfair London and is moving south of the river. We are not the only ones at it. Quote
ChristianPFC Posted February 1, 2018 Posted February 1, 2018 Wasn't part of the embassy land already sold years ago to what is now Central Embassy (hence the name?)? Quote
reader Posted February 1, 2018 Author Posted February 1, 2018 From Wikipedia .... the mission relocated to a new site on the corner of Phloen Chit and Roads in 1922. Originally a rural location on the outskirts of the city, the area soon developed into one of the city centre's prime locations. The compound remained a leafy oasis amidst its densely developed surroundings throughout the 20th century, but was sold to Central Group at record-setting prices, first partially in 2007, then completely in 2017. In 2006, as part of its plan to downgrade several embassies and consulates to divert funds to other activities, the British Foreign Office sold about 9 rai (1.4 ha; 3.6 acres) or about a third of the embassy's estate—the portion fronting Phloen Chit Road—to Tiang Chirathivat Real Estate Company, whose owners also operated Central Group. http://www.gaythailand.com/forums/topic/11580-uk-to-sell-bangkok-embassy/ ChristianPFC 1 Quote
