Real Estate

New Resolution to Dissolve Loss-Making State Firms

Nov. 30 – Vietnam’s National Assembly has approved a new resolution that would dissolve unprofitable state-owned firms and increase efficiency of the remaining ones during the last day of its month-long session.

The committee reported that 45 percent of its 91 state-owned groups in the country met low returns on equity of less than 10 percent while 25 percent had a ratio of under 5 percent. An estimated 23 groups had cumulative losses of VND2.79 trillion at the end of 2008 reports Thanh Nien News. Continue reading →

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New Capital Gains Tax Hinders Real Estate Sales

Oct. 21 – Vietnam’s newly enforced 25 percent capital gains tax has affected demand in Ho Chi Minh City’s real estate market.

Beginning September 26, a real estate buyer wanting to transfer the right to own a property to another person will have to pay a 25 percent capital gains tax or a 2 percent tax on the transaction value says Thanh Nien News.

Nguyen Thanh Dat, director of Hung Hung Thinh Real Eastate Company, told Thanh Nien News that the new capital gains tax has led the number of transactions this month to drop by 80 percent compared to last month. Vietnam’s property developers usually source funding through advance payments made by buyers. Continue reading →

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Cavico Becomes First NASDAQ-Listed Vietnamese Company

Sept. 22 – Hanoi-based infrastructure development firm, Cavico, became the first Vietnamese firm to list its common stocks on the United States’ NASDAQ Capital Market.

Last Friday, the firm’s shares began trading using the code CAVO. The NASDAQ is the United States’ biggest equities exchange, listing 3,200 companies in various areas like technology, retail, communications, financial services, transportation, media, and biotechnology.

“We are extremely proud to be the first Vietnamese company to be approved for listing on a U.S. national securities exchange and are gratified to have reached this significant milestone in the company’s history,” Cavico chief executive officer Bui Quang Ha said in a statement. Continue reading →

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World Bank to Provide US$160 Million Credit for Urban Upgrade

Sept. 14 – The World Bank has announced that it will provide a US$160 million no-interest credit for urban upgrade projects in the cities of Can Tho, Haiphong, Ho Chi Minh and the Nam Dinh Province.

According to Nhan Dan, the extended credit will answer the financing gap that resulted from high levels of inflation in 2007-2008. The money will develop the poor areas located in the Tan Hoa-Lo Gom Canal in In Ho Chi Minh City.

The World Bank had already contributed US$225.5 million since the US$417.5 million urban upgrade project began in 2004 with the goal of cutting hunger and poverty and more importantly improving infrastructure and providing housing. Continue reading →

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Vietnam Attracts US$10 Billion Worth of FDI for First 7 Months

Jul. 30 – According to the Foreign Investment Department, Vietnam attracted US$10.1 billion of foreign direct investment during the first seven months of the year.

The agency says that FDI is on course with its aim to attract US$20 billion in FDI capital with a disbursement of US$8 billion by the end of the year. Of the reported figure, 46 percent was additional capital for 125 existing projects while 53 percent was considered registered capital for 385 newly-licensed projects. During the period, realized capital amounted to US$4.6 billion.

Despite the huge figure, FDI for this period is remains dismal because it is still a 22.5 percent decrease compared to the same period last year.
From the start of the year to July 20, some $10.1 billion in FDI had been pledged to Vietnam, a drop of 81 percent from the same period of 2008, reports Reuters.

Continue reading →

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U.S. Firm to Develop Resorts in Danang and Dalat

Jun. 9 – American hotel and leisure company, Starwood Hotels and Resorts Worldwide, has partnered with Saigon Invest Group to built two resorts in Danang City and Dalat town.

These projects will include a 330-room Le Meridien Danang Resort and Spa on more than 8.4 hectares of land. The project will have an investment capital of US$100 million. The Sheraton Dalat Resort and Spa, on the other hand, will be spread over 18 hectares with more than 150 rooms at a cost of US$40 million.

Starwood has partnered with the Kinh Bac Corporation, an affiliate of Saigon Invest Group and an investor in industrial parks, tourism and household properties.

Continue reading →

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HCMC Rentals Hit by Lower Demand

May 12 – Office and serviced apartment rentals have been dropping in Ho Chi Minh City during the first quarter of the year because of continuing weak demand brought by the economic downturn, reports real estate services firm CB Richard Ellis (CBRE).

For Grade-A buildings, rents have plunged by 20 percent to an average of US$57.30 per square meter monthly for the ground floor.

CBRE said that total absorption decreased by 45 percent quarter-on-quarter and 85 percent compared to the previous year. There are approximately 34 office Grade A and Grade B buildings in the city with a built up area of around 390,000 square meters.

Continue reading →

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HCMC Shipping Companies to Charge Extra Fees on Exports

HO CHI MINH CITY, Aug.8 – Shipping lines based in Ho Chi Minh City will start charging additional fees on backlog freight, ranging from US$50 to US$100 per ton due to delays at ports.

Recently, Japanese company Mitsui O.S.K Lines announced that it would charge an extra fee on exports shipped from Vietnam to the US and Canada beginning September 1. Continue reading →

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