Vietnam's Land Law Reform: Is it Enough?

Apparently no one, including its drafters, is entirely happy with the revision of Vietnam's Land Law that's been circulated for comment by the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment. Experts, indigenous and foreign, have detailed problems they see with the current law and what needs to be done to fix it. The National Assembly argued about the draft for two days in October and may vote on a revised text in May. Another scenario has the arguments continuing until the legislature's next session late this year. Vietnam's newspapers have been full of reports and carefully calibrated comment, while in parallel a free-wheeling discussion animates the less well-supervised blogosphere. With all that as prologue, February 1 began an official two month period of public comment. The debate so far is lively, not an orchestrated propaganda exercise on the Stalinist model. It is addressing problems that bear importantly, perhaps decisively, on the vitality of Vietnam's political process and the health of its economy. Some commentators have argued that the process is a critical test of the Communist regime's ability to repair its mistakes, to "fix itself."

Vietnam Stock Movers: Becamex Infrastructure, HAGL, Mien Dong

Shares of the following companies had unusual moves in Vietnam trading. Stock symbols are in parentheses and prices are as of the 2:15 p.m. close in Ho Chi Minh City.

The VN Index (VNINDEX), the benchmark measure of the Ho Chi Minh City Stock Exchange, gained 1.2 percent to 468.26, the highest close since Sept. 15.

Becamex Infrastructure Development Joint-Stock Co. (IJC VN), which develops real estate, advanced 4.8 percent to 13,000 dong. The company will pay a dividend of 1,100 dong a share on May 22, according to a statement on the bourse’s website.

HAGL Joint-Stock Co. (HAG) , the country’s second-biggest listed property developer, jumped 4.2 percent to 32,000 dong, the highest close since March 8. The company will pay shareholders a dividend of 15 shares for every 100 shares they own, according to an exchange statement.

Mien Dong Joint-Stock Co. (MDG) , a construction company, rose 3.7 percent to 5,600 dong, the highest level since April 3. The company will buy back 1 million shares from April 23 to July 19, according to a filing with the bourse.

Vietnam loosens squeeze on real estate lending

Restrictions on real estate lending, which were tightened last year, have been lifted by the central bank, allowing even housing speculators to take out loans.

Nguyen Van Binh, Governor of the State Bank of Vietnam, said real estate loans were restricted last year in an attempt to control inflation.

“Now that liquidity has improved and inflation has eased, the restrictions need to be lifted gradually,” Binh told reporters at a press briefing in Hanoi Wednesday.

Home prices are now more “reasonable” and easing credit rules will help property developers clear their stock, he said, adding that more home sales will boost other sectors including cement and steel.

Binh said the restrictions have been “significantly eased” for both first-time home buyers and speculators. The central bank, however, will continue to limit lending to hotels, resorts and office building developers.

The State Bank of Vietnam on Wednesday cut its interest rates for the second time in less than a month. The refinancing rate was reduced by 1 percentage point to 13 percent, and the discount rate by the same amount to 11 percent.

The central bank also lowered the dong deposit cap for terms of one month and above to 12 percent from 13 percent.

Realty, banking stocks surge on new monetary policy

Real estate and banking shares have become the hottest stocks on the Vietnamese stock market after the State Bank of Vietnam signaled a loosening of monetary policiesto boost lending to realty developers and homebuyers.

By the close of the Thursday session, the benchmark VN-Index of the Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange (HoSE) rose 6.52 points (1.42 percent) to 465.26 points.

The total trading volume rose sharply to 106 million units, with a total transaction value of over VND1.76 trillion.

The VN30 index shot up with an increase of 9.65 points (1.83 percent) to 537.28 points.

The total trading volume and value reached 35.1 million units and VND811 billion, respectively.

On the Hanoi Stock Exchange (HNX), the benchmark HNX-Index rose 1.03 points to 78.54 points. Liquidity in this market increased sharply from the previous session.

Total trading volume and the value of the market rose 121.7 million shares and VND1.185 trillion, respectively.

Most real estate stocks in the VN30 group continued to hit the ceiling prices, including shares subject to delisting warnings due to heavy losses like QCG of Quoc Cuong Gia Lai. The share hit the ceiling at VND12,300 per share with no remaining surplus stock.

According to HoSE, QCG shares today are placed under warnings due to negative post-tax profits of VND39.83 billion in 2011.

Other realty stocks, including DIG, ITA, KDH and SJS, peaked at their ceiling prices for another session with respective price increase of VND900, VND400, VND1,000, and VND1,700 per share.

In the morning session, most stocks rose strongly. In particular a strong cash flow, excited by the latest decision from the State Bank of Vietnam, was channeled into real estate stocks.

Most real estate stocks are heading up seamlessly from the morning session to their highest price, including DIG (4.6 percent), HDC (5.0 percent), ITA (4.3 percent), LCG (4.4 percent), NTL (4 percent), SJS (4.8 percent), and TDH (4.9 percent).

In addition, bank stocks also rose more sharply than the average rate of the market. Cash flow is returning a strong market.

According to technical analysis, both the VN-Index and HNX-Index are making breakout points and are ready to rise.

Taking a Bath in Vietnam Real Estate

Ho Chi Minh City got a 68-story skyscraper, Vietnam’s tallest, when the downtown Bitexco Financial Tower was inaugurated in 2010. The building, boasting a helipad at the 50th floor, can be seen from almost every part of the city.

It hasn’t been a celebration for the owner, however. Nearly 18 months later half of the building’s office space is still empty and none of the six retail podiums is open. Annualized interest rates reached as high as 23% late last year, and there are plenty of rumors that the owner is trying to sell the building to pay off construction loans. But the company dismisses them. “Bitexco Financial Tower is our pride; we are not selling it,” says Vu Quang Hoi, chairman of Bitexco, a private Vietnamese company that’s invested in more than a dozen other real estate projects, plus infrastructure, energy and mining. “This is a difficult time for businesses, but it is precisely why we need to continue to invest more.”

Vietnam mulls ban on unfinished home sales

An incomplete mansion in Hanoi
The Ministry of Construction has proposed a new rule that bans project developers to sell land and half-built houses to customers.
Residential property developers must finish construction before being allowed to sell their projects, the rule said.

In its latest report on the real estate market, the ministry found that many people cannot afford a house while some others have been leaving their houses unfinished and unoccupied for a long time, which it said is a waste of land resources.

An inspection of 18 residential projects in Hanoi found that only 80 percent of townhouses and 50 percent of villas were put into use, according to the report.

The Ministry of Construction said it is necessary to control bank loans to real estate projects, especially in the high-end market segment. Uncontrolled credit to luxury housing and resort projects can cause the market to collapse, the ministry warned.

UAE investments in Vietnam have reached $3 billion

The UAE spent $130 million in direct investments in Vietnam, while additional indirect investments such as joint ventures and securities brought the total figure to $3 billion, said Vo Hong Phuc, Vietnamese Minister of Planning and Investments after signing a Memorandum of Understanding with Emirates Gate Investment yesterday. "The aim is to facilitate UAE entrepreneurs to invest in Vietnam," he said, adding that a host of UAE firms are already investing in Vietnam and more continue to show interest.
"Investment from the UAE to Vietnam is modest but I see potential for the future," he told reporters after the event. Key investment sectors include manufacturing, energy and infrastructure, he added.

Vietnam office rents among the highest in the world

HO CHI MINH CITY: The office rent rates in Vietnam’s biggest cities such as Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi are among the highest in over 100 markets worldwide, according to an annual report released by British real estate services firm Knight Frank last week.
Ho Chi Minh City is the 19th and Hanoi (21st) most expensive markets with prime rents at US$38 and US$36.5 per square metre per month respectively, the report said.
The rates are more expensive than established markets like Manhattan (New York), Frankfurt (Germany ), Shanghai (China ), Brussels (Belgium ) and Rome( Italy), according to the Vietnam news agency.
However, the availability has increased in Vietnam, with both the cities seeing large amounts of new Grade A office supply during 2010.
This has caused vacancy rates to rise and put pressure on Grade A rents.
Meanwhile, demand remains strong in the Grade B and C office sectors, according to the report.
Elsewhere, the rental growth has been led by the world’s major financial centres, with office rents rising in cities such as London, New York, Hong Kong and Singapore, said the report.

Vietnam Real Estate Report Q3 2010 - New Market Report Published

There is a property glut in Vietnam. Rental rates fell by double digit rates through 2009 - in each of the three cities for which we gathered data (Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City and Da Nang) and across all three subsectors. Vacancy rates are generally running at around 30%.

Normally, in an economy that has been growing so quickly - that the authorities are tightening both fiscal and monetary policy in order to curb inflationary pressures - rents and capital values would fall until much of the vacant space is absorbed.

However, this is not the process of adjustment that is under way in Vietnam. The government has intervened to re-regulate the commercial Real Estate sector. Approvals for projects that have been proceeding slowly have been revoked. The aim of this measure may be to prevent/discourage speculation in a country where inflation has been rising. More likely, it is a move to curb supply at a time that rental rates are under downwards pressure.

Writedowns push VinaLand into the red

Vietnam real estate market investment vehicle VinaLand posts a net loss of $201.6m for the year to June compared with a profit of $248.2m last time.

The firm said the result was due to writedowns which reflected market conditions.

Its net asset value stoo at $660m - down from $804m in 2008 - and it had cash and cash equivalents of $50.3m.

Director Don Lam said: "Despite the continuation of tough conditions over the past year, VNL has maintained its position as the leading foreign investor in Vietnam's burgeoning real estate sector.

"I am pleased with the company's progress over the period - particularly as regards to our residential projects, in which we have witnessed strong demand and rising prices.

"We will continue to pursue our strategy of focusing on the most profitable urban districts whilst maximising returns through divestment from selected projects."

Story provided by Business Financial Newswire

RoK businesses keen on Vietnam’s market

He stated this at a seminar to promote investment and trade between Vietnam and the RoK in Hanoi on January 11.

Secretary General Cho and representatives from the top 20 construction businesses in the RoK are on a fact-finding tour of Vietnam from January 11-13 to seek out investment opportunities.

The investment and trade relationship between Vietnam and the RoK has developed rapidly in recent years. Since the Law on Foreign Investments took effect in Vietnam in 1988, the RoK has invested US$20 billion in more than 2,200 investment projects in Vietnam, ranking second among the 89 countries and territories currently investing in the country.

Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Nguyen Thanh Bien confirmed that bilateral economic, investment and trade ties will further improve, especially as the RoK is one of the world’s economies to see an early recovery from the global economic downturn and maintain a good economic growth.

The Vietnamese Government highlighted the efforts made by RoK investors as the nation is always amongst the top three countries and territories to invest in Vietnam, stated the deputy minister.

The RoK businesses have left an important mark in various economic sectors, including infrastructure, real estate, the ship building industry, electricity generation and electronics, he added.

Hanoi property catches foreign investors’ attention

Foreign investors will start to shift investment from HCM City to Hanoi this year, says Marc Townsend, managing director of Property services and consulting firm CB Richard Ellis (CBRE) Vietnam Co.

At a real estate conference held last Wednesday in the capital, Mr. Townsend said about 80 percent of its investors’ last year capital has been poured into the market.

He said both foreign investors and Vietnamese government had been very active in the market.

“Malaysian and Singaporean investors view the city as a promising market,” said the MD.

Weathering the global economic downturn, Vietnam reached a positive GDP growth rate in 2009. Interest rates were increased by one percent on December 1, a move designed to limit credit growth and rein in inflation.

CBRE forecast that new legal documents on the market would provide foreign investor with new opportunities.

2009 a time of reflection for Vietnam veteran Dennis Pfeiffer

This past year Dennis Pfeiffer has often caught himself wondering, “What was I doing at this moment 40 years ago?”

The answer that almost always comes back? Flying with the 242nd Assault Helicopter Company over Vietnam.

The 60-year-old Wauneta man and Army veteran put in 18 months stationed in Vietnam, from November 1968 to June 1970. Most of that time was spent as a flight engineer aboard a Chinook CH-47 helicopter, resupplying the 25th Infantry.

In May Pfeiffer got a chance to reconnect with several of his old Army buddies as honored guests during the dedication of the Nebraska National Guard’s Army Aviation Support Facility in Grand Island.

During that same whirlwind week, Pfeiffer accompanied his 84-year-old father, Oscar Pfeiffer, on a Buffalo County-sponsored Hero Flight trip to Washington, D.C., where together the Vietnam veteran and World War II veteran journeyed to the war memorials honoring their military service.

“It was an intense week, that’s for sure,” said Dennis.

Vietnam Construction Market Data & Forecast to 2013 - new report released

Vietnam Construction Market Data & Forecast to 2013 - a new market research report on companiesandmarkets.com

www.companiesandmarkets.com/Summary-Market-Report/vietnam-constr ..

Vietnam Construction Market Data & Forecast to 2013 report is the essential source for Construction industry data and analysis covering Vietnam, both at the top level and providing in-depth category and channel insight.

The report provides historical data and forecasts for the Vietnamese Construction industry in the period 2004-2013, detailed profiles and financial metrics covering the major market players, a
breakdown of key recent M&A and partnership activity, and comprehensive analysis of the key factors driving the industry at consumer, market and company level.
The Vietnamese construction industry grew at a CAGR of 20.93% for the period 2003-2008. Non-residential sector’s market share was 51.4% in 2008, while residential sector accounted for the balance 48.6%. Located in South-East Asia, Vietnam, once a war savaged land, is now a fast developing market. Over the five years prior to 2008, the Vietnamese economy has recorded 8% growth in Gross Domestic Product (GDP), making it one of the fastest growing Asian markets. Even in the face of recession in 2008, the country reported a robust GDP growth of 6.2%. Vietnam has been moving to industrialization over the last two decades. The industry and construction sector which accounted for 23.8% of the country’s GDP in 1991 has grown to 39.9% in 2008.

Vietnam`s largest project tees off in Laos

Hanoi (ANTARA News/Asia Pulse) - Vietnam's Long Thanh Golf Trading and Investment Co. began construction of a US$1 billion golf course and real estate project in Vientiane on January 3, making it the largest foreign-invested venture in Laos.

Covering an area of 557.4 ha, the project will feature an 18-hole golf course, a five-star hotel, high-grade villas, a resort and school and hospital facilities.

The project is expected to become operational after 12 years of construction.

Vietnam should attract FDI into supporting industries: economist

Dau Tu: What would you say about the FDI capital flow in 2009?

Vo Tri Thanh: Committed FDI capital in 2009 is obviously lower than 2008. The figure of $21 billion in committed capital is encouraging, showing that foreign investors still see long-term potential in Vietnam.

If we look at the sum of money poured into Vietnam in 2009, about eight billion dollars, we see that foreign investors’ financial situation is really healthy. They are making investments and aiming for long-term, not short-term, profits.

However, I can see some problems in the FDI flow in 2009.

Many FDI projects are in the real estate sector. When the real estate sector goes up and down, this will create negative effects in both the real estate market and the national economy. When a big volume of capital is poured into the real estate sector, this shows the big potential of the market, but we should also anticipate risks as well.

Besides, Vietnam still has disadvantages in attracting FDI, including its poor infrastructure and labor problems with a shortage of skilled workers and qualified managers

The 10 biggest FDI projects in 2009

According to Thoi Bao Kinh Te Vietnam, the 10 biggest FDI investment projects in terms of registered capital in 2009 include six real estate projects, two projects in accommodation services, one processing industry project and one mining project.

The top 10 FDI projects are capitalized at $12.7 billion, of which real estate projects alone make up $6.48 billion. Most were just granted licenses in the fourth quarter of 2009.

Vietnam attracts US$21.48 billion in FDI in 2009

US$21.48 billion in foreign direct investment (FDI) has flown into Vietnam this year despite the global economic crisis and stiff competition from other regional countries.

Of the total, US$16.34 billion is registered by 839 newly-licensed projects and the rest from additional capital poured into 215 ongoing projects, according to the Ministry of Planning and Investment’s Foreign Investment Agency (FIA).

The agency said that accommodation and restaurant services continued to catch the eye of foreign investors this year, drawing in US$8.8 billion.

Real estate came second with an estimated US$7.6 billion, followed by manufacturing and processing with US$2.97 billion.

In 2009, the country’s disbursed capital is estimated to have reached US$10 billion, about 1.5 billion lower than in 2008 when FDI hit a record high of US$64 billion, according to the agency.

Respect Vietnam vets

President Obama's speech at West Point (Dec. 2) was right on mark and I believe we will rid the area of terrorist criminals in and around Afghanistan. Taking the fight to these thugs on their home turf is a good plan.We will root these cowards out and wipe them out. They won't be bombing anyone else ever again.

The part of the speech where our president compares this new deployment of our combat troops with the Vietnam War is where I have a disagreement. He said he disagrees when hearing "Afghanistan is another Vietnam." The president then gave three reasons why the two conflicts differ. I realize the president respects Vietnam Vets, but there are plenty of people who say and think that the "Nam" War was a disaster. This is a put down of the American combat troops who fought and died in the Nam.

As a Vietnam Era Vet I resent these ridiculous comments. Most of us were drafted and had no choice about assignments, but we wouldn't have it any other way and think we kicked the VC in their butts!

Since these Vietnam Era critics and doubters like this war better then the Nam why don't they sign up for this one. Maybe they'll learn that war is war no matter where it's fought and that serving your country honorably like we Nam Era Vets did is what counts.

Seeking capital for real estate projects

VietNamNet Bridge – Experts have been called on to set up a legal framework to call for capital for real estate projects, or Vietnam will never be able to meet the demand for accommodation.

A real estate conference which gathered late last week heard that in 2008 loans provided to fund real estate projects were 132,545 billion dong, or 9.15 percent of the total of outstanding loans in the year. The figure had increased by 10 percent by June 30, 2009.

However, bank loans are not the only channel which brings capital to the real estate market