Property projects in major cities and provinces will continue to be attractive to foreign investors in the next few years thanks to burgeoning high-end real estate market and the Government’s policy allowing foreigners to own houses in Vietnam.
The first half of the year saw strong growth of FDI into high-end property projects, such as office buildings, hotels, beach resorts and golf courses, according to the Foreign Investment Agency under the Ministry of Planning and Investment (MPI).
A survey by the HCM City-based property management firm VietRees indicates more than USUS$8 billion in foreign direct investment has been pledged in property projects implemented between 2004 and 2010. South Korea ranks first, followed by Singapore, Malaysia, Hong Kong and Taiwan.
The lack of high-end hotel rooms in Hanoi and HCM City, the two largest cities in Vietnam, has also created an impetus for investors to get involved in property projects.
The Hanoi Department of Tourism has estimated around two million foreign visitors will come to the capital city by 2010, so around 26,000 new hotel rooms of three-star standard or higher will be needed, including around 7,000 four-and five-star rooms.
Rising international visitor arrivals in HCM City have led to the municipal Department of Tourism introducing to investors 22 locations for high-end hotels.
In the northern region, South Korea’s Keangnam is preparing to build a 60-story building comprising 500 five-star hotel rooms and offices worth USUS$500 million in Hanoi.
Japanese firm Riviera, meanwhile, plans to build a five-star hotel with total investment capital of USUS$500 million and Gamuda of Malaysia has drawn up a plan to inject USUS$1 billion into a commercial complex including a hotel, a conference hall, an exhibition center, and apartments and offices for rent.
Other property projects worth USUS$1-2 billion are awaiting licenses in the southern coast province of Kien Giang. They includes a complex of hotel, resort and residential areas proposed by British firm Rockingham Asset Management; an entertainment complex covering 1,800 hectares in Bai Vong registered by Limited Investment Zone of the US; and Asia Pearl planned by a joint venture between the Trustee Suisse and local construction firm Vinaconex.
Golf projects are no less attractive to investors as the number of foreign tourists playing golf in Vietnam is growing strongly. The country has only 14 golf courses. Statistics of the Vietnam Golf Club show there are about 5,000 golfers in Vietnam at present, including 2,000 regular players.
The licensing of a deluxe resort project at Lang Co Beach in the central province of Thua Thien-Hue has also contributed greatly to the success of the real estate sector. The USUS$276-million resort invested by Singapore’s Banyan Tree Group is the biggest tourism project in the province.
Other golf projects include a USUS$17.3 million 27-hole golf course of South Korea’s Mibaek industrial, a USUS$100 million 54-hole golf course in Ninh Binh province, a USUS$400-450 million 36-hole golf course in Quang Ninh province, a 108-hole golf course on 1,000ha, also in Quang Ninh, and the Ba Na golf course worth USUS$12 million in Danang. (Saigon Times Daily)
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