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Tag: Vietnam

  • Vietnam in top 10 countries on belt and road property investment

    Vietnam in top 10 countries on belt and road property investment

    Vietnam is among the top ten major makets that receive the most attention from Chinese belt and road property investors, according to a recent report.

    On August 31, 2018, Uoolu, the leading platform for cross-border real estate transactions in China, released the “Uoolu 2018 Ten Countries on Belt and Road Property Investment Data Report.”

    The “Belt and Road Initiative” was proposed by the Chinese government in 2013 in order to strengthen the relationship with surrounding Asian countries.

    Since then, there has been frequent activity between China and other Asian countries in terms of property investment.

    In the report, Uoolu selected eight countries in Southeast Asia including Vietnam and two countries in the Middle East along the Belt and Road based on the Cooperative Development Index to assess the investment risk in the Belt and Road Initiative region.

    The ten countries were ranked by different criteria such as housing price growth rate and price-to-rent ratio. The data highlights the significant and accessible property markets of the region, as well as the demographics of Chinese investors.

    The primary investors in overseas property are aged between 30 to 49 years old and are mostly from new industries.

    Investors come from IT, and Internet business accounts for 31 percent of investors who are open to mobile technology and new services.

    The new affluent generation has exhibited a short decision-making cycle. 43.56 percent of Chinese investors only take a week to decide on a property investment, and 67 percent invest between $70,000 to $150,000.

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  • Tiny foreign firms a cause of worry for HCMC

    Tiny foreign firms a cause of worry for HCMC

    The increasing investment of small sums in HCMC by foreign businesses is worrying experts.

    In the first eight months this year 658 new FDI projects were licensed, but they only had a combined capital of $581.8 million, according to the General Statistics Office.

    They include businesses investing just a few thousand dollars.

    French consultancy J&P is capitalized at $3,000, computer consultancy Streamy from Ireland at $2,600 and another French firm, Evocom, at $2,200.

    These firms are “too small” to benefit Vietnam’s economy but there are no regulations prohibiting them, Su Ngoc Anh, director of the HCMC Department of Planning and Investment said.

    The city chairman, Nguyen Thanh Phong, had previously expressed concern about the entry of small foreign firms.

    The average capital of a foreign project in HCMC is less than $1 million, too small to have an impact, he had told a recent conference.

    “Why has the city not been able to attract bigger investment? What are the obstacles?”

    Lack of land

    One of the obstacles is the shortage of land, Dr Dinh The Hien of the Institute of Information and Economic Research (IIB) said.

    The metropolis used to attract many foreign property businesses because of its abundance of land, he said.

    But investing in real estate has been difficult in recent years due to challenges in finding land and completing legal procedures, he said.

    Many foreign firms want to invest in the city but then move to the neighboring provinces of Binh Duong, Dong Nai and Long An which have more available land, he said.

    So attracting FDI in infrastructure and technology should be the goal of the city now, he said.

    Do Nhat Hoang, head of the Foreign Investment Agency, said the high land rentals are scaring investors away from the city.

    Renting land for a factory in HCMC costs about $160 per square meter per year, but five kilometers away from the city, it drops to just $50-60, he said.

    But he said the city should create favorable conditions even for businesses investing $2,000-3,000 so that can develop and invest further.

    Singapore allows businesses to operate with $1 capital, he pointed out.

    What is of greater significance is that Vietnamese firms would improve their services and capabilities when working with these foreign businesses, he said.

    Over 54 percent of 1,765 foreign businesses in Vietnam reported profits last year, the lowest since 2012, according to a survey by the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

    Almost 38 percent reported losses, 10.4 percentage points higher than in 2012.

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  • Vietnam allows use of yuan at Chinese border

    Vietnam allows use of yuan at Chinese border

    Vietnamese can trade in yuan at the border with China, the State Bank of Vietnam has decreed.

    It means the transactions that traders and residents have been doing informally in the yuan for long along the border gets legal sanction from October 12.

    Economist Nguyen Tri Hieu said “There have not been any specific regulations on using the yuan in transactions. This will be the first.”

    The new regulation would also allow Chinese tourists to pay for goods and services in their own currency in border areas, he added.

    Vietnam recently became China’s largest trade partner in Southeast Asia. Bilateral trade in the first half of this year rose 17 percent year-on-year to $46.82 billion, with Vietnam’s exports accounting for $16.62 billion.

    Exports to China had risen 61.5 percent against 2016 to $35.46 billion in 2017, according to data from the International Monetary Fund.

    The Ministry of Industry and Trade said it is likely that two-way trade would hit $100 billion this year.

  • Vietnam set to surpass socio-economic targets

    Vietnam set to surpass socio-economic targets

    Vietnam might exceed several annual socio-economic development targets set by the parliament, PM Nguyen Xuan Phuc said Thursday.

    The government’s assessment is that eight of 12 targets assigned by the National Assembly, the national legislature, will be surpassed while the other four are achievable, the Prime Minister said in Hanoi.

    The government projects that the economy will expand by more than the targeted 6.7 percent, state collections will exceed the target by 3-5 percent, inflation will stay under 4 percent and public debt will be lower than last year.

    The country’s public debt will likely reach 63.92 percent of GDP, or VND3,530 trillion ($151 billion) by the end of this year, says a recent report submitted to the PM by the Ministry of Planning and Investment.

    Meanwhile, the Consumer Price Index (CPI) in August is 0.45 percent up against July and 3.98 percent up against August last year, according to the General Statistics Office.

    The average CPI for the first eight months was 3.52 percent higher than the same period last year.

    The country posted a trade surplus of $2.8 billion in the first eight months.

    During this period, the index for industrial production rose 11.2 percent, with the manufacturing-processing sector growing 13.3 percent.

    Retail sales for this period is estimated at VND2.15 trillion ($92.4 million), up 11.7 percent year-on-year.

    Of this total, sales of food and foodstuff increased year-on-year by 12.8 percent, garments by 12.3 percent, home appliances by 11.6 percent, cultural and educational items by 10.8 percent, and vehicles by 10.7 percent.

    In June, the World Bank said Vietnam’s economy might expand by 6.8 percent this year, revising up its previous forecast of 6.5 percent in April.

    The bank explained its upward revision on better prospects for the expansion of agriculture and production for exports and continued inflow of foreign direct investment thanks to bright economic prospects.

    If the actual growth rate matches projections, it will be the same as last year, which was the highest in a decade, it said.

    In the first quarter this year, the economy expanded 7.38 percent, also a 10-year record, thanks to strong growth in agriculture, industry-construction and service sectors.

  • Stocks, Forex, cryptocurrency, futures&options – Fantastic show like nowhere!

    Stocks, Forex, cryptocurrency, futures&options – Fantastic show like nowhere!

    Traders Fair & Gala night – financial event for traders and investors, which is going to take place in Vietnam on the 24th of November 2018 (Windsor Plaza Hotel, Saigon). The best trading experts, companies, money brokers and banks from all over the world are going to share out their experience and to find out new up-to-date information about cryptocurrency, forex, stocks, futures and options markets. Also Traders Fair & Gala night is going to be full of educational programs and entertainment.  To register online now for free, you should visit https://vietnam.tradersfair.com

    Traders Fair & Gala night, Vietnam is attracting the world of traders to one place during one day.  This is the confluence of favorable conditions in one system, which brings profit to its participants. The leaders of the industry are going to come together in one place and to have an exchange of knowledge and experience. No doubt you need expertize and capital to work in the stocks, futures, options and forex markets as it will become the initial ticket to the world of big trade. Participants who have capital while entering the market become investors. And you may be a part of this fabulous event! Educational speeches from top speakers, entertainments, live shows, music and incredible prizes included in the agenda.

    Traders Fair & Gala night – Vietnam is organized by FINEXPO, which is the largest company organizing financial and trading events, fairs, expos and shows worldwide since 2002. List of its projects seems quite long. Here you can find Financial Expo, Traders Fair, Traders Awards, Forex & Money Expo, Forex Expo Awards, Money Fair, Investor Expo, Golf Expo, Banking Expo, Online Trading Expo, etc. Over 30000 traders, investors and financial advisors and more than 3 000 financial companies and brokers from Forex, stock, option, bond crypto money and forward markets from all around the world have been connected by FINEXPO. The positive feedback from participants is the best prove of effective and successful work done by FINEXPO.

    Traders Fair & Gala night is sponsored by leading brands such as Australian Forex Marketplace (Grand sponsor), FIBOGroup (Silver sponsor), RPNPay, OlympTrade. To say more the organizers of event offer you different variants of recommended accommodation, so you can focus on agenda and don’t lose you time, thinking about accommodation and everything.

    You are welcome to visit https://vietnam.tradersfair.com to find out more information about Traders Fair & Gala night.

    Telegram https://t.me/tradersfair

    Facebook https://www.facebook.com/TradersFair/

    #tradersfair  #tradersfair2018  #tradersfairvietnam

     

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  • More than 80 pct of IT workforce has start-up dreams

    More than 80 pct of IT workforce has start-up dreams

    A survey of 1,100 IT workers by VietnamWorks has found that 82 percent want to start their own companies in future.

    However, 58 percent said they have never been involved with a startup. Forty one percent had been involved with startups at least once.

    They listed artificial intelligence (AI), automated products and blockchain as the top 3 fields they wished to enter.

    More than half said they are willing to move overseas if presented with good offers to work for a start-up in blockchain or AI.

    A quarter of the respondents said their companies plan to expand into AI or blockchain in the next three years.

    Gaku Echizenya, CEO of Navigos Group, which owns executive search company VietnamWorks, said to lessen the danger of a tech brain drain, companies should focus on talent retention, creating good conditions for innovating products and opportunities to come in contact with new technologies.

    Now only a small number of enterprises use innovative technologies like AI (19 percent) and blockchain (9 percent), the survey found.

    World Economic Forum President Borge Brende has said Vietnam has to proactively pursue technologies related to AI and the Internet of Things as it prepares for the fourth industrial revolution or Industry 4.0 as it is dubbed.

    Eighty six percent of the respondents were optimistic about the impacts AI and blockchain would have on human life.

    They predicted AI would greatly benefit Vietnam in the next 5-10 years as it can provide people with better solutions after analyzing large data (39 percent); fully automate industry (24 percent) and create smart robots to perform dangerous tasks.

    The poll also found that more tech workers want to become specialists with focused skills and knowledge rather than be supervisors with soft and leadership skills.

    However, language proficiency was still the biggest limitation for many, with only 27 percent saying they are fluent in speaking, reading and writing English. Eighty four percent of workers in this industry have a bachelor’s or master’s degree or a doctorate.

    Earlier this month Vingroup announced the setting up of a research fund worth VND1 trillion ($44 million) for its Institute of Big Data to focus on fields like machine learning and AI.

  • Indonesia tour prices rise as Vietnam enters Asiad semis

    Indonesia tour prices rise as Vietnam enters Asiad semis

    As soon as the final whistle blew in Vietnam’s victorious Asian Games quarterfinal game, Indonesia tour prices rose.

    Vietnam’s first ever semifinal game in the Asian Games will be played against defending champions South Korea on Wednesday, August 29, at the Pakansari Stadium in Cibinong, Indonesia.

    The match will begin at 4 p.m. local time.

    The unexpected progress made by the national team in football crazy Vietnam has seen demand for Indonesia tours soar, accompanied by a rise in prices.

    A representative of HanoiRedtours said airline and entrance ticket prices have gone up, forcing the tour operator to increase its tour prices from Monday night, right after Vietnam beat Syria by a goal in the 108th minute.

    HanoiRedtours said that the price for a one-day tour to Indonesia to watch Vietnam’s semifinal match went up $43 to $683 per person, while those for the final match on September 1 have to pay $812, up $86 against the earlier listed price.

    “We are offering tours to Indonesia for football fans costing VND15.9 million for those departing from Hanoi and VND12.9 million from Ho Chi Minh City,” a Viettravel representative said.

    Such prices are common at most local tour companies, he added.

    Nguyen Tien Dat, deputy director of Transviet Tourism Company, said it has reserved around 150 seats for Vietnamese supporters to Indonesia to cheer Vietnamese men’s football team for the semifinal match.

    For the final match, customers only need to pay VND2 million in advance. In the event of the Vietnamese not making it to the final, customers will be refunded, Dat said.

    In response to higher demand, airlines have also increased the number of flights to Indonesia.

    On Monday night, Vietnam Airlines announced it would add three direct flights to Jakarta from Hanoi, Saigon and Da Nang to serve Vietnamese football fans.

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  • Vietnamese men world’s top alcohol consumers

    Vietnamese men world’s top alcohol consumers

    Vietnamese men drink over five standard drinks a day on average, according to the 2016 Global Burden of Disease Study.

    A standard drink contains 10 grams of alcohol.

    Balkan countries and Portugal are the others that have the same level of consumption, according to the report, which uses data from 592 studies on the risk of alcohol use done between 1990 and 2016.

    In contrast, Vietnamese women are among the smallest consumers of alcoholic drinks in the world with less than one standard drink a day, the report said.

    While 40 to 59.9 percent of Vietnamese men drink alcohol, which is the global median, only 19.9 percent of women do so, it added.

    Earlier this month the World Health Organization (WHO) said the high consumption of beer and alcohol in Vietnam was imposing a heavy burden on the country in the form of non-contagious diseases.

    A Vietnamese adult above 15 years of age drinks 8.3 liters of pure alcohol per year on average, much higher than in China (7.2 liters), Cambodia (6.7), the Philippines (6.6) and Singapore (2), according to WHO.

    The country spends $3.4 billion on alcohol each year, or 3 percent of the government’s revenues, according to official data.

    The local market, which is growing steadily at 5 percent a year, is dominated by four strong companies, Sabeco, Habeco, Heineken, and Hue Brewery (owned by Carlsberg), which accounted for 90 percent of the beer market last year.

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  • Foreigners big investors in Hanoi, HCMC 5-star hotels

    Foreigners big investors in Hanoi, HCMC 5-star hotels

    More than half of five-star hotels in HCMC and Hanoi are owned by foreign investors.

    Ten out of 19 five-star hotels in the best locations in HCMC have foreign owners, according to data. They include Sheraton, Caravelle, InterContinental, Asiana Saigon, and Sofitel.

    Many of the foreign investors came to the country in the last two decades and first began by partnering local firms.

    One of them, Singapore-based Glynhill Investment Vietnam, established the $61.5 million Caravelle together with travel agency Saigon Tourist in 1992.

    In 1994 Lam Ho Investments, another Singaporean firm, signed a deal with Saigon Tourist to build the Sheraton hotel at a cost of $97 million.

    UOL Group, one of Singapore’s top real estate firms, picked up a 26 percent stake in the five-star Sofitel Saigon through its subsidiary, the Pan Pacific Hotel Group.

    Hong Kong investors also own stakes at premium hotels in HCMC. One of them, Keck Seng Investments, has a 64 percent stake in the Sheraton and 25 percent in Caravelle.

    Koreans, late entrants in the market, have been making major acquisitions in the last five years.

    In 2013 Lotte Hotels & Resort bought a 70 percent stake in the Legend Hotel from Japan’s Kotobuki Corporation.

    Lotte also manages the hotel, which overlooks the Saigon River.

    The company considers the hotel the first step in its expansion into Vietnam and Asia.

    In Hanoi, nine of 16 five-star hotels have foreigners as major shareholders.

    They have been investing in the sector for decades, with Hanoi Westlake, Melia, Sheraton, Daewoo, Nikko, and Pan Pacific being the major names.

    Malaysia’s Berjaya Corporation Berhad owns 75 percent of InterContinental Westlake and 70 percent of Sheraton.

    Other Korean firms own stakes in Lotte, Intercontinental Hanoi Landmark 72 and Grand Plaza.

    Vo Quoc Phuong Trang, head of Investment Consultancy said that international firms usually seek to own major stakes to enable them to take part in the hotels’ development and management.

    Hanoi and HCMC, with their steady economic and tourism growth, would continue to draw foreign investors in the high-end hotel segment, which has low risk but offers steady revenues, she said.

    As of last year there were 118 five-star hotels/resorts in Vietnam, almost twice the number in 2013.

    They had an occupancy rate of over 75 percent, 5 percentage points up from 2016, according to global consulting firm Grant Thornton.

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  • Vietnam telecom firm Viettel eyes Philippine market

    Vietnam telecom firm Viettel eyes Philippine market

    Vietnamese telecommunication company Viettel has set its sights on the Philippines as the next destination in its overseas expansion drive.

    The company said on Thursday, as the archipelago’s economy clears the way for the entry of a third operator.

    Fixing the Philippines’ notoriously patchy and expensive telecom services was a campaign promise of populist President Rodrigo Duterte, who had said late last year that a third player would join the market and end the duopoly of PLDT Inc and Globe Telecom Inc, which have a combined market capital of about $10.7 billion.

    “Viettel is interested in the third license on telecommunications in this market,” the military-run Viettel Group, Vietnam’s largest mobile carrier by subscription numbers, said.

    “Viettel will thoroughly consider participating in case the conditions of the bidding documents are in line with the strategy of Viettel.”

    The Philippines’ Department of Information and Communications Technology (ICT) issued draft rules this month on the entry of a third player, which require foreigners to team up with local partners holding congressional franchises.

    Foreign ownership of a telecom firm in the Philippines is capped at 40 percent, although Eliseo Rio, the acting ICT head, said in a recent interview that moves were underway to change that, so foreigners can raise their stakes later on.

    The Philippines has one of the world’s largest rates of average daily social media usage, yet insufficient infrastructure means its 105 million people suffer frequent dropped calls, weak signals and intermittent data.

    Viettel has already invested in 10 countries across Asia, Africa and America, and had 43 million subscribers overseas, as of end-2017.

    Last month, a Viettel official said the company was also eyeing opportunities in Ethiopia after the government there announced its intention to liberalise key economic sectors including telecommunications.

    In June, Viettel and its local partners launched a $1.5 billion 4G network in Myanmar, making them the fourth telecom operator in the country.

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  • Massive expansion for Central Group Vietnam

    Massive expansion for Central Group Vietnam

    Thai retail conglomerate Central Group is planning to triple its Vietnamese businesses in the next five years.

    With the planned investment of US$500 million, the retailer is expanding its stores and shopping malls in the country to as many as 750, along with new retail formats.

    “We are very strong in Vietnam in food business which is the primary need of consumers, but we are also preparing for the future, for the needs consumers are going to have [beyond] food,” Central Group Vietnam CEO Philippe Broianigo said in Bangkok this week.

    Central has already tested the market with its cosmetics retail concept Hello Beauty, DIY store Home Mart, and LookKool gift shop which has already expanded to 26 stores.

    New shops will open within its Big C-anchored malls to draw in grocery shoppers, and will soon expand to other venues, according to Broianigo.

    Established in July 2011, Central Group Vietnam has built its portfolio via acquisitions of electronics retailer Nguyen Kim, supermarket chain Big C and fashion e-commerce platform Zalora which was converted into Robins online.

    Last year, sales grew by double digits, reaching $1.3 billion.

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  • Uniqlo plan to double its store in SEA

    Uniqlo plan to double its store in SEA

    Japanese apparel giant Fast Retailing is eyeing massive expansion in Asia-Pacific.

    The Uniqlo Southeast Asia and Oceania store network is set to double by 2022 to about 400 stores, Fast Retailing’s group senior VP Satoshi Hatase said in an interview.

    The company plans an emphasis on stand-alone suburban stores as it expands its Southeast Asian footprint, seeking to move beyond its traditional shopping mall locations.

    “We opened our first roadside store in Asean in Thailand in March, and it has been a huge success,” he said, adding that stand-alone stores in suburban locations were the key to Uniqlo’s original growth in Japan.

    Regionally, Uniqlo has now reached a level of recognition where “the timing is right” for suburban stores, he said.

    Fast Retailing executives in Thailand, Malaysia and the Philippines are talking with leasing agents to identify suitable sites for such stores.

    In Southeast Asian markets, middle- and high-income consumers are the ones which will fuel the Japanese company’s growth.

    “Lower-income people cannot buy Uniqlo [yet],” Hatase said. But in 10 years, “a significant number of Asean people will be able to”.

    Fast Retailing has previously said it aimed to triple its sales in the region to 300 billion yen (US$2.7 billion) in the year to the end of August 2022. Last year’s regional sales were 100 billion.

    Fast Retailing already has stores in Australia, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia and the Philippines. Its next target in the region is Vietnam.

    “We want to have stores in all countries [in the region],” Hatase said, especially Vietnam, Laos and Myanmar.

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  • Parkson Asia profit slumps as Vietnam gives disappointing number

    Parkson Asia profit slumps as Vietnam gives disappointing number

    Vietnam operations continue to be at the bleeding edge of Parkson Retail Asia’s ongoing losses.

    The company’s full-year results show declining same-store sales in its department stores in all four markets, with Vietnam the worst performing market. Sales fell 14.6 per cent in the last quarter and by 8.3 per cent over the full year. Sales in Myanmar and Indonesia both fell by 3.8 per cent and in the home Malaysia market by 1.5 per cent.

    Parkson Retail Asia finished the financial year with a pre-tax loss of S$17.6 million for the last quarter and of $40.1 million for the full year. It said that with the exclusion of a gain on the disposal of a subsidiary and allowances for doubtful debts, the reversal of impairments relating to closed stores, the group’s operational pre-tax loss would have been $29.9 million for the year.

    “This reflects the challenging operating environments encountered by the group as evidenced by the overall negative same-store sales growth, while new stores and ventures might require longer gestation period given the aforementioned backdrop.

    “We have been taking active measures in monitoring and assessing the viability of stores and ventures. With ongoing measures in place to rebuild top-line growth and monitor expenditures, coupled with the discontinuance of underperforming stores and ventures this year, the group expects its performance will show improvement in the coming financial year.”

    Addressing the Vietnam problems, the company said the operating environment there remains challenging amidst a crowded retail scene, and “intensive promotional activities had to be carried out to capture sales”.

    It said Indonesia’s sales were impacted by the downsizing of a store in Jakarta, as well as the aftermath of a volcanic eruption in Bali. Excluding those effects, Indonesia would have recorded a lower drop of 2.4 per cent for the year.

    The Myanmar operations were impacted by the closure of the first store at FMI Centre in January last year, with the replacement at Junction Square, Yangon, opening two months later.

    Throughout the network, “against the backdrop of competitive operating environments, we continue to take active measures in monitoring and assessing the viability of our stores and ventures,” the company said.

    While the group added four new stores (including one managed store) to its network, it also took steps to exit seven underperforming stores (including one managed) during the year.

    The company also closed its theme park and education centre operations to curb further losses, and exited its interest in the LOL-branded retail chain.

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  • Vietnam BMW importer faces fines for faking documents, evading tax

    Vietnam BMW importer faces fines for faking documents, evading tax

    Vietnam’s Finance Ministry has accused the sole importer of BMW cars of several violations, but won’t press criminal charges.

    The trader, Euro Auto, which was Vietnam’s sole official of BMW cars until this year, created fake invoices and packing lists for 133 BMW cars in December 2016, the ministry said in a letter recently sent to Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc.

    It plans to fine the firm VND40-80 million ($1,700-3,400) for this fraud.

    Euro Auto “did not list or listed incorrectly” VND105 million ($4,500) in expenses incurred in importing the cars, which resulted in a tax loss of about VND180 million ($7,700), the ministry said.

    It said it plans to fine Euro Auto 20 percent of the tax loss, apart from collecting the back taxes.

    The ministry will allow the cars, which are at the Vietnam International Container Terminal port in HCMC, to be returned to Germany, if it requests. It will also refund taxes paid if the cars are returned.

    If Euro Auto still wants to import these cars into Vietnam, the PM should take a final decision on this issue because current laws don’t deal with such a situation, the ministry said.

    It also said it plans to fine Euro Auto chairman Simon Adrew Rock for evading special consumption tax.

    From July 2016 to March 2017, Euro Auto evaded VND7.3 billion ($312,700) in taxes by listing wrong information about its imports.

    Although the HCMC Tax Department issued a warning and fined the firm in September 2016, it persisted with the practice.

    The company even produced fake invoices to legalize the purchase of auto parts for the BMW cars from the open market instead of authorized agencies.

    The letter noted that PM Phuc had decided not to criminally punish Simon Adrew Rock and other individuals involved in tax evasion in the spirit of maintaining good relations between Vietnam and Germany, Malaysia and the U.K., where these cars have been imported.

    In late November 2016, the Ministry of Finance ordered customs agencies to suspend clearance procedures for imported BMW cars in order to investigate alleged violations by Euro Auto.

    Ministry officials found that the importer had falsified purchase contracts and receipts while importing the cars and failed to provide certificates of origin and other required documents.

    Euro Auto rejected these allegations.

    In April last year, HCMC police arrested Euro Auto CEO Nguyen Dang Thao and two delivery employees for faking import documents.

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  • Vietnam welcome more US, Singapore real estate firms

    Vietnam welcome more US, Singapore real estate firms

    Major U.S. and Singaporean real estate firms have been coming to Vietnam, eyeing its thriving property market, especially the high-end segment.

    Singaporean real estate firm Propnex opened an office in HCMC last month with its eyes firmly fixed on the high-end segment of the country’s property market.

    Propnex has had a 30 percent share of the brokerage market in Singapore over the last five years. It also has offices in Malaysia and Indonesia.

    Last year U.S.-based Electronic Realty Associates (ERA) started operating in Vietnam through its franchise in Singapore. Together with property brokerage EuroCapital, it has incorporated ERA Real Estate Vietnam, whose major market is HCMC.

    ERA Vietnam, which has 800 employees and 600 potential staff and collaborators undergoing training, is also focused on the high-end segment.

    It aims to be one of the top real estate firms in Vietnam within five years with over 50 offices and 5,000 employees.

    Another Singapore firm, Huttons Real Estate Group, came to the country in 2016. For this third largest property company in Singapore, Vietnam is the third overseas market after Malaysia and the Philippines.

    Huttons said it strives to be the number one real estate agency in the country with multiple services including project sale, marketing, leasing, and assets management.

    In 2015, U.S.-based Keller Williams tied up with VinGroup and stated that it would focus on leasing properties and consulting.

    Industry insiders believe the entry of international players will have a positive impact on the real estate market.

    “Since 2015 foreign brokerages have been entering the Vietnamese real estate market, which has been booming,” Nguyen Anh Dao, CEO of real estate firm Viethome Investment said.

    Their arrival would push local ones to improve their standards, which would benefit customers, he said.

    But since foreigners can own up to 30 per cent of the apartments in a project under Vietnam’s housing laws, foreign firms need to have local sales teams to approach Vietnamese customers, he added.

    Employing and training locals is how foreign firms can compete with local businesses, which are getting larger and more professional, he said.

    The high-end segment accounted for the highest proportion of new launches in HCMC in the second quarter of this year — 54 percent — according to real estate consultancy CBRE Vietnam.

    In the last three years 35,000 luxury apartments have come into the market, it added.

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