Retail, resort and residential developments are positive
According to Savills' Asia-Pacific Investment Report (APIQ) in the third quarter of 2023, Vietnam noted some bright spots in investment activities in the context of a stable economy.
Regarding the retail segment, AEON Mall is continuing its expansion plan with the opening of AEON Mall Hue (8.6 ha) in September. The Japanese retail giant has also acquired a 10.5 ha land plot in Thanh Hoa to serve as the largest commercial center in Central Vietnam. Becamex IDC has also started a 7-hectare complex commercial project in Binh Duong New City.
In the tourism and resort sector, international visitors are returning to Vietnam with more than 11.4 million arrivals in the first eight months of 2024, up 45.8% year - on - year and 1% higher than in 2019.
Although the revised Land Law took effect in August, the housing market was still quite active in the third quarter of 2024. Also in August, Cosmos Initia, TT Capital and Koterasu Group launched TT AVIO project in Binh Duong, offering nearly 2,000 affordable apartments with a payment schedule tailored to stimulate demand.
Vinhomes has introduced the 385-hectare Vinhomes Global Gate project in Hanoi, consisting of more than 4,100 low-rise apartments and 12,600 high-rise apartments, which is expected to officially launch at the end of this year.
“Different investment taste”
Ms. Tran Thi Khanh Linh, Deputy Director of Savills Investment Advisory, said that the Vietnamese market has always been a place with high growth opportunities with sustainable FDI flows, strong infrastructure development, thanks to which demand for most real estate segments such as housing, industry, office trade. This contributes to the attractiveness of the Vietnamese market for investors.
“With the laws related to the real estate market coming into force in August, it has created confidence for investors in a stable and transparent legal environment, thereby making real estate investment projects more attractive," said Tran Thi Khanh Linh.
According to experts, investors now have many opportunities to M&A potential projects or cooperate with local partners to develop large projects. Diversified market demand attracts different investment tastes.
“The demand of the foreign sector for housing real estate projects is still very large, no less than the demand for industrial parks and office projects. For foreign investors, they always require real estate projects to have a clear legal status, ready to develop” Ms. Linh shared.
Most investors require the project to have a detailed planning of 1/500, even many investors require the project to have a notice of land use levy. Meanwhile, recently the legal approval of the project is slowing down due to the change of many laws related to the real estate market.
“Therefore, the supply of residential real estate projects has been quite limited lately. Foreign blocks, therefore, shifted to industrial park and office projects, which are operating projects, clearer and more ready legal, easier to implement M&A”, the analyst clarified.
