Foreign landmarks rise in second city

June 27, 2016 | 10:49
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Foreign developers have been developing many landmark real estate projects across Ho Chi Minh City during the first half of the year.
Ho Chi Minh City’s rising affluence has paved the way for a spate of large-scale developments by foreign investors

Before the visit of US President Barack Obama to Vietnam at the end of May, Dinh La Thang, Secretary of the Ho Chi Minh City Party Committee hosted US investors who expressed interest in a $4 billion multifunctional complex in the Thu Thiem new urban area, near the Saigon River. The interested parties are Steelman Partners, Cantor Fitzgerald, and Weidner Resorts.

According to William Weidner, chairman and CEO of Weidner Resorts, by joining the Trans-Pacific Partnership Vietnam would attract investment from all over the world, and Ho Chi Minh City in particular had strong development potential.

Weidner Resorts is a developer and manager of a multitude of hotels and 5-star integrated resorts in the US and Asia. Meanwhile, Steelman Partners have been operating in Vietnam for several years, and is involved in a range of projects such as the Grand Ho Tram integrated resort in the southern province of Ba Ria-Vung Tau and Happyland Hotel in the southern province of Long An. Cantor Fitzgerald provides investment services and is present in 30 markets worldwide.

New investment projects can also be seen coming from long time foreign investors in Vietnam, such as Temasek Holdings, Sembcorp Development Ltd, CapitaLand, Keppel Land, and Mapletree Investments.

In April this year, Keppel Land, one of Singapore’s leading real estate investors, entered into a conditional investment agreement to subscribe a 40 per cent equity interest in Empire City Limited Liability Company, at a total cost of $93.9 million, to develop a prime 14.6-hectare waterfront site in Thu Thiem, located in District 2 of Ho Chi Minh City.

According to CEO of Keppel Land, Ang Wee Gee, Vietnam, especially the fast-growing Ho Chi Minh City, is one of Keppel Land’s key growth markets.

“We are very excited to participate in the growth of the up-and-coming Thu Thiem new urban area, which is poised to become the future central business district of Ho Chi Minh City,” said Gee.

Also coming from Singapore, Sembcorp Development Ltd, a subsidiary of Singapore-based Sembcorp Industries, unveiled a plan to construct an innovation park in the city.

At a working session with Ho Chi Minh City’s mayor Nguyen Thanh Phong recently, Sembcorp’s CEO Kelvin Teo said such an innovation park would attract scientists, interdisciplinary experts, technology developers, and investors from all over the world to develop value-added products.

The park, which will cover an area of between 50 and 100ha, will include a commercial centre, research facilities, and residential quarters offering quality accommodation for scientists and expats. Sembcorp previously implemented similar parks in mainland China. The firm is also studying and searching for sites to develop three new industrial parks (IPs) in Vietnam. Sembcorp has so far invested in seven IPs and townships in Vietnam, worth more than $8 billion.

In June, Mapletree Investments acquired Kumho Asiana Plaza Saigon in Ho Chi Minh City from Kumho Industrial Company Limited and Asiana Airlines Incorporated, to the value of $215 million. The takeover of Kumho Asiana Plaza Saigon, according to Mapletree’s leaders, will expand its business in Vietnam and deliver strong returns.

Mapletree’s CEO Hiew Yoon Khong said that this was the group’s largest acquisition involving a completed, income-producing property in Vietnam. The group began investing in Vietnam in 2005, and today owns and manages a portfolio comprising offices, retail, industrial, logistics, and serviced apartment assets. Mapletree has over $1 billion in assets under management in the country and is also developing Saigon South Place, a 4.4ha mixed-use project in Ho Chi Minh City, scheduled for completion by early 2018.

By By Bich Ngoc

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