After the merger of administrative units, although Ho Chi Minh City agreed to continue applying the current land price list of Ho Chi Minh City (old), Binh Duong (old) and Ba Ria - Vung Tau (old) until the end of 2025, many opinions are concerned that land prices will fluctuate from January 1, 2026.
In fact, after Ho Chi Minh City (old) applied the adjusted land price list, the cost of site clearance and land rental costs of businesses have been pushed up significantly.
Mr. Le Hoang Chau - Chairman of the Ho Chi Minh City Real Estate Association (HoREA) - cited the case of a business renting a warehouse plot of 11,000 m2 in Khanh Hoi port area that was "shocked" when it was informed that the land rental amount in 2025 was nearly 21 billion VND, due to the land rental price being pushed up to nearly 2 million VND/m2. This figure is 6.36 times higher than the previous VND3.3 billion in 2022 (old unit price was VND300,000/m2) and 2.7 times higher than the VND7.7 billion in 2023 - 2024 (old unit price is VND700,000/m2).
The reason is that the percentage of land rental price for annual land rental payments in Ho Chi Minh City is currently applied from 0.25% to 1.5% of land price in the Land Price List issued under Decision 79/2024/QD-UBND amending Decision 02/2020/QD-UBND regulating the Land Price List in Ho Chi Minh City.
The story of the above enterprise is not an isolated case. This is a typical example showing the direct impact of adjusting the land price list on production and business activities, especially in the context of many economic difficulties. Without a suitable regulatory mechanism, the new land price list could become an "obstruction" instead of an effective management tool of the State.
Mr. Le Hoang Chau said that the increase in land price lists has caused rental costs to increase sharply, creating great pressure for businesses, especially industries that need large land funds such as logistics, warehouses, and industry. The sudden increase in land rental prices has led to an increase in logistics costs, pushing up prices of goods and services, leading to reduced competitiveness of the economy.
Increased land prices and increased financial obligations are leading to many shortcomings in the market for businesses, people and the economy, said Mr. Le Hoang Chau.
The Association proposes that the Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee should review and adjust the percentage used to calculate the annual land rental price, in the direction of reducing compared to the current level. Accordingly, the association recommends that the city should regulate this ratio from 0.25% to 0.75% of land prices in the land price list, instead of applying the current framework (0.25-1.5%). This is to create favorable conditions for businesses in the initial stage of implementing the 2024 Land Law. After a while, this ratio can be adjusted to suit the actual situation.
TS Nguyen Dang Tu (Ho Chi Minh City Bar Association) believes that the policy of land use fees and land leases needs to be built on the principles of transparency, science and stability. The adjustment of the land price list must have a roadmap, limiting shocks that disrupt the market. More importantly, land finance policies should not become a burden for businesses and people, but should aim for the harmony of interests between the State - businesses - society.
"Specific proposals such as: Maintaining the price list stable for 5 years, adjusting the coefficient annually with a reasonable range; classifying land use purposes to apply appropriate collection rates; or considering exemption and reduction of additional collection for cases without errors are all feasible solutions and need to be studied soon", CS Nguyen Dang Tu stated his opinion.
