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S'pore developers gun for bigger slice of Vietnam pie

New law removes critical hurdles to foreign property ownership; the ease of getting land still a challenge

Published Tue, Dec 8, 2015 · 09:50 PM

Mapletree Investments

Singapore

AFTER almost five years of a housing slump, the Vietnam market is roaring back to life and with the New Housing Law and Real Estate Business Law that has removed critical obstacles to foreign property ownership, many foreign developers are zeroing in on the market again.

Singapore developers too are ramping up their presence there. Mapletree Investments, which first entered Vietnam 10 years ago with a logistics project, said it has started to explore residential projects in Vietnam even before the government relaxed the rules to encourage foreign ownership in July. It has secured a 1.6-ha site in Ho Chi Minh City's upmarket District 2 to develop its first residential project there.

Wendy Koh, regional CEO for South-east Asia at Mapletree Investments, told BT: "Real estate in Vietnam, especially its office and residential markets, are showing signs of recovery and we would like to tap this opportunity. Our focus currently is on the major cities of Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City - respectively the capital and business hub of Vietnam…