The Housing and Urban Development and Investment Corporation (HUD) is one of the pioneers of this move, agreeing a joint venture project with Cuba’s Palmares Group to construct a 36-hole golf course, in combination with tourism, service and apartment areas on 300-400 hectares of land in Colodera (Bauta).
HUD also reached an additional agreement with Palmares to build their second golf course in Cabodela (Varadero). It plans to cooperate with Cuba ’s leading tourism group, Cubanacan, to construct a five-star hotel in Santa Lucia ( Camaguey ) and with Gran Caribe to upgrade Capri Hotel in Havana .
Monday, January 26, 2009
Saturday, January 24, 2009
Foreigners preferred to rent rather than buy apartments
The serviced apartments segment remains untouched by the property market's woes, with demand for rental apartments in major cities high despite the economic recession, Vietnam News Agency (VNA) reported.
A representative of Ascott International Management Vietnam said his company managed more than 800 luxury apartments in Hanoi and HCM City and most of them were occupied.
They were popular among foreigners who had been living and working in Vietnam for three to five years, he said.
Though the Government has allowed foreigners to buy houses with effect from 1 Jan, many of them are disinclined to do so, according to him.
They were used to living in places with good infrastructure and amenities, he explained, while most new houses came up in localities without those factors.
A representative of Ascott International Management Vietnam said his company managed more than 800 luxury apartments in Hanoi and HCM City and most of them were occupied.
They were popular among foreigners who had been living and working in Vietnam for three to five years, he said.
Though the Government has allowed foreigners to buy houses with effect from 1 Jan, many of them are disinclined to do so, according to him.
They were used to living in places with good infrastructure and amenities, he explained, while most new houses came up in localities without those factors.
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
Vietnam Funds Seeking Cash as Emerging Markets Slump
(Bloomberg) -- Vietnam’s Indochina Capital Corp. and VinaCapital Group are trying to raise money, testing investor confidence as the nation’s export-driven economic growth is slowing and emerging markets are slumping.
VinaCapital, Vietnam’s biggest investment firm with $1.9 billion in assets, is in talks with investors to start real- estate and private-equity funds, Chief Executive Officer Don Lam said in Ho Chi Minh City. Indochina Capital, which manages about $750 million in assets, plans to close its biggest property portfolio this year, said Rick Mayo-Smith, co-chairman of the firm which is based in the same city.
Vietnam’s stock market was Asia’s worst performer last year as the economy grew at its slowest pace since 1999, hurt by slumping demand for the country’s exports. Emerging-market equity investors withdrew a record $48.3 billion from their funds in 2008, said Cambridge, Massachusetts-based EPFR Global, which provides investment flow data globally.
VinaCapital, Vietnam’s biggest investment firm with $1.9 billion in assets, is in talks with investors to start real- estate and private-equity funds, Chief Executive Officer Don Lam said in Ho Chi Minh City. Indochina Capital, which manages about $750 million in assets, plans to close its biggest property portfolio this year, said Rick Mayo-Smith, co-chairman of the firm which is based in the same city.
Vietnam’s stock market was Asia’s worst performer last year as the economy grew at its slowest pace since 1999, hurt by slumping demand for the country’s exports. Emerging-market equity investors withdrew a record $48.3 billion from their funds in 2008, said Cambridge, Massachusetts-based EPFR Global, which provides investment flow data globally.
Tuesday, January 13, 2009
Where is Vietnam Headed in 2009?
The start of this long holiday season coincided with a suspension of Japanese development assistance after the discovery of a multimillion-dollar bribery scheme that diverted aid funds from Japan, until now Vietnam's largest donor. A reporter from a leading newspaper said journalists have been told to stop dwelling on this. Two reporters were arrested last year for writing about the skimming of aid from not only from Japan but also the World Bank. One journalist is in jail and the other in re-education. The reporters, Ngyuen Van Hai of Tuoi Tre and Nguyen Viet Chen of Thanh Nien, were convicted of "absuing democratic freedoms." (Human Rights Watch has a new report, Vietnam: Stop Muzzling the Messengers, on these and other cases. Colleagues say that the reporters had inside government sources, but that did not save them or their editors.
The government, which retains the right to appoint news managers, dismissed the editors of the two newspapers involved. The popular, daring and profitable daily Tuoi Tre saw its editor replaced in December for the third time in two years by ever "safer" government appointees; in early January the editor of Thanh Nien was sacked.
The government, which retains the right to appoint news managers, dismissed the editors of the two newspapers involved. The popular, daring and profitable daily Tuoi Tre saw its editor replaced in December for the third time in two years by ever "safer" government appointees; in early January the editor of Thanh Nien was sacked.
Tuesday, January 6, 2009
Vietnam property prices to fall further
Resale prices of condominiums in Ho Chi Minh City, the nation’s main commercial center, have slumped as much as 50 percent since peaking in 2007 and would drop further in 2009, said Marc Townsend, managing director of the agency’s local unit.
Vietnam tightened credit in 2008 to choke off a surge in inflation, restricting funding for businesses and raising interest rates. The economy expanded 6.2 percent in 2008, the slowest pace since 1999, according to data released Dec. 31. "We will see a further softening of condominium capital values, retail and hotel room rates," Townsend said in an interview, without giving precise forecasts. "Multinational companies will move, or relocate, or downsize."
The central bank capped credit growth at 30 percent earlier last year with restrictions for property and securities companies, and raised interest rates to the highest in Asia. The nation’s construction industry stalled in 2008, according to data from the General Statistics Office in Hanoi.
Vietnam tightened credit in 2008 to choke off a surge in inflation, restricting funding for businesses and raising interest rates. The economy expanded 6.2 percent in 2008, the slowest pace since 1999, according to data released Dec. 31. "We will see a further softening of condominium capital values, retail and hotel room rates," Townsend said in an interview, without giving precise forecasts. "Multinational companies will move, or relocate, or downsize."
The central bank capped credit growth at 30 percent earlier last year with restrictions for property and securities companies, and raised interest rates to the highest in Asia. The nation’s construction industry stalled in 2008, according to data from the General Statistics Office in Hanoi.
Saturday, January 3, 2009
The year 2008 proved to be a difficult year for Vietnam’s economy
In April 2008, in order to deal with the high inflation, the Government put forward eight groups of solutions 1/ tightening the monetary and fiscal policies; 2/ cutting down unnecessary investments and expenses; 3/ increasing production; 4/ increasing exports and limiting trade deficit; 5/ practicing thrift in production and consumption; 6/ stabilizing the market price and fighting against speculation; 7/ expanding social security programs; and 8/ adjusting credit structure, controlling loaning, ensuring the liquidity of banks and the national economy.
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