Last updated: 16:44 - March 20, 2007
Foreign money pours into property market http://www.nhandan.com.vn/english/business/200307/business_f.htm
[New residential quarters in Hanoi.]
Real estate development in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City is showing signs of heating-up with foreign investment pouring into major projects.
Director of the Hanoi Service of Planning and Investment Trieu Dinh Phuc said foreign investors are rushing for licenses to build high-tech parks, financial-banking meccas, new residential quarters, hotels, apartments, offices for lease, commercial centres, restaurants and super-markets.
The biggest project underway is the US $500 million investment in a high service complex in the district of Cau Giay. The Keangnam group from the Republic of Korea recently won the license for construction in a fierce race with another developmental giant from Japan, the Kanagawa Union under the Riviera group.
Hanoi's Cau Giay district was chosen by the Charmvit group from the Republic of Korea to build a five star hotel on an area of almost 2 ha at a cost of US $80 million.
The investor has applied to increase the highrise to 30 storeys from its original design of 18, to tap the advantages of this location, which is close to the National Convention Centre, opposite Big C, a major market chain. It is also close to a number of new residential quarters.
Antara Koh Development Pte. Ltd from Singapore is interested in the development of a residential complex on the northern bank of the Red River. The complex will include houses, offices for rent, shops, hotels and other public facilities.
The US $240 million project has been licensed and is in the stage of ground-clearing. Foreign investment has pushed up the prices of houses and apartments nearby. An apartment on the 10th floor of the Vimeco skyscraper also in Cau Giay district has had prices increased to VND 17 million per square metre from US $11 million in 2006.
The Ho Chi Minh City property market has also seen signs of rebound. Luu Thanh Phong, Head of the Foreign Enterprises section under the municipal Service for Planning and Investment said a long list of projects with foreign investments are currently waiting for licenses. He added that investors came from Japan, Singapore, Malaysia and European countries as well.
Among them are LG Engineering and Construction Company with a project to build a 360 ha residential quarter in Nha Be district and CBRE with a plan to build a 15-story highrise.
Transactions are increasing dramatically. Apartments in the Phu My Hung residential quarter, for example, have seen prices continuously rising but supply still falls short of demand, said the managerial board.
Former Deputy Minister of Natural Resources and Environment Dang Hung Vo said stock market investors have put their profits into real estate development, making it one of the reasons behind the market heat-up.
A leak from the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment about a bill on a level-playing ground among economic sectors going to the National Assembly's table soon is another tip for foreign investors, Vo added. The Ministry also confirmed several other potential submissions to the Government for consideration, including taxation and the transfer of the right of land use related to enterprises, aimed at generating more land funds for the market. (VNA)
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