Center One asks for B350m [Bangkok Post, Thailand]
Jun. 9--The operator of Center One shopping plaza is seeking government support for roughly 350 million baht it needs to renovate the 15-year-old mall that was burned down by rioters on May 19.
Ratchapol Kraijirachote, managing director of People Plaza Ltd, said it was in discussions with the SME Bank for a 10-year loan.
The renovation is expected to take six to seven months to complete, he said.
At the same time, it plans to ask for grants from the government committee headed by the Secretary-General to the Prime Minister, Korbsak Sabhavasu, to help offset the loss, he added.
"Initially, the SME Bank has agreed to provide a loan, but at a 7% interest rate that is too high for the company to shoulder," Mr Ratchapol said. "We will ask the government this week if it can provide us with a zero-interest loan."
He said Center One had been in negotiations with AXA Insurance Thailand about its payment. The mall's policy with AXA covered riot attacks but not terrorism.
"We want the government, the Office of the Insurance Commission and the insurer to admit the fire at Center One was caused by riots. It was not terrorism like at the Ratchaprasong intersection, so the insurer cannot avoid compensating us," he said.
Mr Ratchapol said only 40 to 50 of the 350 retailers affected by fire at Center One have received state support such as a 50,000-baht grant from the government and another 10,000 baht from the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration.
But for medium- and large-scale retailers at the plaza such as restaurants, gold and luxury good shops, the damages are much higher than that amount.
"Some retailers lost more than 1 million baht each. We will ask the government for larger grants for these retailers," he said.
"For small retailers, we hope all of them will receive financial assistance within the next week."
Starting yesterday, Center One is providing space for affected retailers to sell their products in the parking lot of the plaza before these shops move to Fashion Mall on the opposite side. The event will last 45 days.
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