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Experts caution against investing in shophouses

Investing in the booming shophouse segment in HCM City could end in losses, if market observers are to be believed.

Since 2014 shophouses built in condo projects have been in huge demand thanks to the high returns they fetched when resold or leased.

Even managing to buy one became difficult, such was the demand.

In a report, property consultant CBRE said the prices of shophouses rose by 261 per cent in the secondary market last year while villa prices only rose by 35-37 per cent.

They cost US$2,700-4,000 per square metre and fetch rents of $10-30, meaning returns are much better than on bank deposits, researchers said.

Yet insiders warn it buyers should be very careful when investing in one.

According to a broker in District 7 the leasing market now is not as good as it was in past years.

“Only shophouses in old condo projects with high occupancy rates are in high demand and those in new projects are difficult to lease,” she told Viet Nam News.

Experts say it is difficult to lease shophouses since 80 per cent of their customers are residents of the condo and they are not convenient for outsiders because of parking and other issues.

The broker said that in fact in some places in District 7, owners had been unable to rent out their shophouses for more than one year.

Yet their prices were still rising.

According to another property consultant, Jones Lang LaSalle Incorporated (JLL), demand for shophouses which are built in new urban area projects is much higher than the one in condo projects.

Shophouses in condos are still attractive to investors since they fetch 1.3-1.5 times the returns condos do.

Source: VNA

May 28, 2019 / by / in
Vinhomes targets 40 percent profit increase this year

Vinhomes is aiming at a 40 percent increase in 2019 after tax profits by expanding to cities outside Hanoi and HCMC.

The company’s targets were announced at its annual general meeting (AGM) on Monday, the first since the company listed in May last year.

The AGM was chaired by Nguyen Dieu Linh, who was appointed chairwoman to replace Pham Nhat Vuong, founder and chairman of parent company Vingroup in February.

Vinhomes announced it plans to generate VND73.2 trillion ($3.13 billion) in revenue from its real estate business, a 90 percent increase from VND35.8 trillion ($1.53 billion) in 2018.

With an additional VND3.9 trillion ($167 million) of revenue the company plans to receive from joint ventures with Vingroup, its parent company, and Vingroup’s subsdiaries, Vinhomes hopes to raise its overall profit after tax figure by 40 percent in 2019 to VND20.6 trillion ($880 million).

Responding to doubts from shareholders that the targets set were too “ambitious” given the recent slowdown of liquidity in Hanoi and HCMC markets, chairwoman Nguyen Dieu Linh said that Vinhomes will look to expand to cities outside Hanoi and HCMC, but did not specify names.

According to the Vietnam Association of Realtors (VARs), the respective total value of real estate transactions in Hanoi and HCMC in the first quarter of 2019 was only 61.7 percent and 28.04 percent of the same period in 2018.

Recent regulations tightening control over banks’ short-term capital for medium and long-term loans, causing banks to raise interest rates, are to blame, they said. Buyers are unwilling to take home loans at high interest rates, the association said.

“[Slowdowns in Hanoi and HCMC] are only a short-term problem. There is a housing shortage in Ho Chi Minh City, and one of Vingroup’s real-estate projects in District 9 will soon complete formalities for selling,” Linh said, also affirming that the Hanoi housing market was still stable with good consumption.

“Vinhomes will combine selling flats individually as well as in bulk to strategic investors. These strategic investors will also allow faster completion of housing projects, which usually takes 5-7 years if undertaken by Vinhomes alone,” she said.

Vinhomes will also expand its serviced apartment leasing arm, Vinhomes Serviced Residences, and begin leasing office space in its urban complexes, she said.

Vinhomes operates 17 urban areas in Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, Quang Ninh, Hai Phong, Thanh Hoa, Ha Tinh and Bac Ninh.

In the first quarter, Vinhomes recorded consolidated net revenues of VND5.85 trillion ($250 million) and net profits of VND2.69 trillion ($115 million). Its VHM stock has the second highest market capitalization on the HOSE, Vietnam’s main stock exchange.

(source: vnexpress.net)

May 28, 2019 / by / in
Vietnam to stop foreigners acquiring land through local proxies

The government will crack down on locals acting as proxies for foreigners to buy land, Deputy Prime Minister Trinh Dinh Dung says.

His reassurance came after lawmakers at the ongoing National Assembly session expressed concern over Vietnamese acquiring property in their name for foreigners, who can buy apartments but are prohibited from buying land or individual houses.

Le Hoang Chau, chairman of the Ho Chi Minh City Real Estate Association, had said earlier there was increasing demand for Ho Chi Minh City real estate among Chinese investors.

The biggest concern was that they asked Vietnamese to buy for them, even properties of very large value, Chau said.

National Assembly delegates representing the central city of Da Nang said last November there was increasing buying of land by Chinese along the coast.

Lawmakers demanded a stop to this trend. “Vietnamese should be prohibited from being proxies for foreigners for acquiring land,” a house proposal to the government demanded.

Dinh Duy Vuot, a delegate from the Central Highlands province of Gia Lai, even wanted land acquired this way to be appropriated.

In 2015 the government widened foreigners’ rights to buy housing in Vietnam under the amended Housing Law. But red tape remains a bottleneck to their exercising the right.

(source vnexpress.net)

May 28, 2019 / by / in
How to find an apartment in Sai Gon?

District 2 – Thao Dien & An Phu Wards

Saigonees may be familiar with Thao Dien Ward in District 2 with another name as the-Expat-zone in Ho Chi Minh City. The Ward is called like that because many Europeans and other foreigners choose this place to settle for long-term business as well as for living.

Most foreigners decided to settle in Thao Dien because they were attracted by the peaceful beauty of the greenish, quiet, and private villas built there in the Ward. Those mentioned features explain why the Ward can always create a comfortable feeling, yet also retains the elegant sides that attract many Western visitors to live in long term.

District 1

District 1 is the central business district of Ho Chi Minh City, where manay companies will base their offices and where have a majority of bars and restaurants are. Living here in this heart of Saigon, you will feel the bustling life of the city at night.

Binh Thanh District

Binh Thanh is squeezed between District 1 and District 2 and is known for cheap housing that is popular among English teachers on low wages. However, the district is also known for having high-class apartments that are concentratedly built in Nguyen Huu Canh Street. Yet sometimes there would be flooded in the rainy season, but one of the greatest things of living here is that you can enjoy seeing the Saigon River every morning driving to work.

District 4

Currently, the HCMC government has been putting more investment into transportation as well as the infrastructure of District 4 in order to make it easier to connect the D4 with District 1. Furthermore, the government is also having urban planning on the slums in District 4 into high-class apartment projects or office buildings, … Owning a very favourable location which is located next to District 1, it’s sure that the rental properties will continue to increase its price here in District 4 in near future.

May 23, 2019 / by / in
Saigon among top 50 cities in the world for coworking growth

A recent report ranks Ho Chi Minh City 41st among world’s 50 fastest growing coworking markets in the world.

Every 47.5 days, a new coworking space opens in Vietnam’s southern metropolis, according to the 2019 Global Coworking Growth Study recently published by CoworkingResources, a global information hub for modern workspaces.

The report is based on research that tracked all coworking space openings for 10 months, from June 2018 to April 2019. It ranks major cities around the world based on the number of days between new space openings.

London topped the list, with a coworking space springing up in the U.K. capital every five days, followed by New York (7.5 days), Toronto in Canada (13 days), Austin (15 days) and Denver (16.8 days), both in the U.S.

The top 10 was dominated by seven American cities, reflecting the wide popularity of the coworking space concept in almost every city in the U.S.

The report says Vietnam came in 31st among top 50 global economies with the highest growth in per capita coworking space numbers.

Luxembourg, Singapore and Ireland were the top three countries, with the first chalking up 8.5 new spaces annually for every 1 million inhabitants, almost double the following two.

Vietnam has seen the coworking space market expand in recent years. Major local operators like Toong, UP, Circo and Dreamplex are all expanding at an accelerated rate, and the number of smaller operators with just one venue is also increasing.

As of April last year, there were 23 coworking operators in Vietnam managing a total of 34 spaces, according to real estate consultants CBRE.

Nguyen Hong Hai, CEO of office rental service Pax Sky, said coworking spaces are now popular because the supply of office space in HCMC’s central districts fails to meet demand of the rising number of entrepreneurs choosing to base themselves in the city.

Hai told VnExpress that grade A office space in the city costs $50-60 per square meter plus taxes a month, and grade B office space, $22-30.

But occupancy rates of over 95 percent mean customers have to wait for a long time to find a good place, he said.

There is still a lot of untapped potential in the coworking industry in HCMC because of its very vibrant entrepreneurship scene, he added.

(source: vnexpress)

May 22, 2019 / by / in
Growth quality concerns over disproportionate investment in Saigon real estate

Real estate attracted the highest proportion of capital by far into Saigon Jan-Apr, raising sustainability concerns.

A recent report on the socio-economic situation of Ho Chi Minh City in the first 4 months of 2019 says real estate accounted for 32.7 percent of all domestic investment into the city, the highest proportion, followed by the sale and maintenance of motor vehicles, at 17 percent.

Investments in processing and manufacturing were so negligible that they did not merit mention in the list.

Real estate also made up the lion’s share of foreign investment registered for the city in the four months, at 46.8 percent, while the tally for the processing and manufacturing sector was only 6.7 percent.

Nguyen Thanh Phong, Chairman of HCM City People’s Committee, has expressed concern that capital was being overwhelmingly directed at real estate instead of production, threatening the quality and sustainability of growth.

“In order to promote sustainable growth, resources should be focused on developing processing and manufacturing. Even at the recent HCMC Investment Conference, there was no talk on manufacturing projects, it was all about real estate, and real estate …” he observed.

Phong said the city’s processing and manufacturing industry still has a lot of potential. For instance, the food industry is still in its infancy, while the city is geographically connected to major agricultural regions like southeastern Vietnam and the Mekong Delta.

He has assigned the municipal Department of Planning and Investment to coordinate with the Department of Industry and Trade to actively seek investors for these sectors.

“We can’t sit and wait for them to invest in the right areas,” Phong said.

HCMC recorded nearly VND271 trillion ($11.61 billion) in total domestic investment in the first four months of 2019, down 3.9 percent over the same period last year.

Of this, VND211.7 trillion ($9.07 billion) were capital registered for 13,094 newly incorporated enterprises, and VND59.3 trillion ($2.54 billion) was capital supplements in existing ones.

Source: vnexpress

May 13, 2019 / by / in
FDI in Vietnam real estate sets new record

Foreign direct investment (FDI) flows in Vietnam in Jan-Apr 2019 sets a record for the value of registered investment capital over the same period in the past 4 years, according to a report from the Foreign Investment Agency under the Ministry of Planning and Investment. 

Specifically, in the first months of the year, total FDI reached $14.59 billion, up 81 percent compared to the same period last year. Some $5.7 billion of FDI have been disbursed, an increase of 7.5 percent year-on-year.

Processing and manufacturing sector still ranks first among the 19 sectors attracting FDI. According to the report, FDI inflows into this sector in Jan-Apr reached nearly $10.5 billion, accounting for around 72 percent of the total registered capital.

FDI in Vietnam real estate

Real estate ranks second with $1.1 billion, making up 7.5% of the total, an increase of more than 36 percent over the same period of 2018. This is considered a record level. Since 2016, real estate has continuously maintained the second position in the list of FDI attraction industries with the increase of total investment capital.

Notably, Hong Kong surpassed Japan and South Korea to take the leading position on the list of countries and territories pouring FDI into Vietnam. Accordingly, after 4 months, FDI from Hong Kong into Vietnam hit $4.7 billion, accounting for 32.5 percent of total investment capital. The next one is Korea with a total investment of $1.98 billion, making up 13.6 percent, followed by Singapore with $1.87 billion, or 12.8 percent.

With a total registered FDI of more than $4.47 billion in 4 months, accounting for 30.6 percent of the total, Hanoi remains its leading position in attracting FDI, followed by Ho Chi Minh City with $2.37 billion, or 16.3 percent, and Binh Duong with over $1 billion, making up 7 percent.

(Source: Thanh nien)

April 30, 2019 / by / in
A guide for foreigners buying property in Vietnam

The amended 2014 Housing Law, which took effect from July 1, 2015, allows foreign individuals and organizations to own property in Vietnam. The more “open” regulations of the Law have created new demand and momentum for the local real estate market. Here are the latest updates on Vietnam property foreign ownership that you need to know. 

How can foreigners buy property in Vietnam?

Foreign individuals are eligible to buy residential properties in Vietnam, as long as they can enter the country legally. All legal entities like foreign investment funds, banks, Vietnamese branches and representative offices of overseas companies that are established in Vietnam; are also eligible to buy Vietnam properties. The Housing Law allows eligible foreign entity and individuals to buy and own all residential sectors including apartments and landed properties such as villas and townhouses (previously only applicable to apartments). However, foreigners can not buy more than 30% of the total units within one condominium complex; not exceeding 10% for the total number of the separate houses for each project or 250 separate houses in a ward-level administrative unit.

A guide for foreigners buying homes in Vietnam

Several major past restrictions on property ownership have been removed for foreign buyers

Tenure of ownership:

– Foreign individuals: up to 50 years leasehold from the date of issuance of ownership certificate with possible renewal (subjected to approval by authorities.)

– Foreign individuals with Vietnamese spouse: Freehold

– Foreign organizations: up to the duration (inclusive of extended duration) indicated in the investment certificate.

Purpose of purchase: 

Properties owned by foreigners can be sold, sub-leased, inherited and collateralize (previously only for the owner’s residence purpose).

In addition, experts from real estate consulting firm Savills advise foreigners should open bank account in Vietnam when they need to make payment to housing developers. They recommend international banks with branches in Vietnam such as ANZ, Citibank, HSBC and Standard Chartered.

Taxes involved in Vietnam property foreign ownership

Value added tax (VAT): 10% VAT is taxed on any sale of property by local or foreigners.

Administration fee: A minimal administration fee is to be granted an ownership certificate at the current regulation.

Registration tax for ownership: 0.5% registration tax for obtaining the house ownership certificate on the apartment value.

Maintenance fee: This is a shared fund contributed by buyers for maintenance of shared parts of the housing project. Currently, the maintenance fee is 2% on the pre-tax sale price.

Personal income tax (for resale): If personal income is earned through the assignment or resale of apartments or houses, a 2% personal income tax has to be paid on the transacted value.

Personal income tax (for rental income): If personal income is earned through rental of house/apartment, 5% VAT and 5% PIT has to be paid on revenue.

For rental income exceeding VND 100,000,000 per year, a business license tax of VND 1,000,000 per year applies.

(Source: Enternews)

 

April 30, 2019 / by / in
HoREA offers proposals to help real estate firms access long-term bank loans

The HCM Real Estate Association (HoREA) has suggested the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) extend the application of regulations on banks’ maximum ratio of short-term funds used for medium- and long-term loans until the end of 2020.

Image result for real estate in ho chi minh city

The HoREA also proposed the rate should be reduced to 37 per cent starting from January 1, 2021; 34 per cent from July 1, 2021; and 30 per cent from July 1, 2022.

The moves were announced after the SBV released a draft circular stipulating that the maximum ratio of short-term funds used for medium- and long-term loans at banks would be reduced from the current 45 per cent to 40 per cent from 2019 to June 30, 2020.

Under the SBV’s draft circular, the rates of 37 per cent and 30 per cent will be applied from July 1, 2020 and July 1, 2021, respectively.

According to the HoREA, the amendments will damage the real estate market as property enterprises are in dire need of medium- and long-term loans. It explained that due to the large proportion of short-term capital in banks’ total mobilised capital, banks will find it difficult to meet the demands of the real estate market.

The HoREA said real estate firms in developed countries have raised capital from investment funds and stock markets. Bank loans are mainly provided to homebuyers. However, in Vietnam, property companies are dependent on bank loans and capital mobilised in advance from homebuyers, while most homebuyers also take loans from banks.

The local stock market has yet to become a major channel of capital access for real estate enterprises as the number of listed property firms is small. Only some 65 out of more than 1,000 real estate firms are listed on the stock market, the HoREA said.

Real estate investment funds and the stock market are unable to meet the high demand for capital in the property sector. Vietnam currently has only one investment fund for the sector, Techcom Vietnam Real Estate Investment Trust, an arm of Vietnam Technological and Commercial Joint Stock Bank, with charter capital of only VND50 billion (US$2.14 million).

The foreign direct investment (FDI) inflow to the local real estate market is also limited and does not meet capital demands, though it accounts for some 21 per cent of the country’s total FDI value, the HoREA said.

It expects the application of the amended Law on Securities this year to create favourable conditions for the establishment of real estate investment funds and trusts to provide capital for the local market.

According to the Law on Real Estate Business, investors in property projects must provide at least 15 per cent of the equity or 20 per cent of the investment capital. The remaining 80-85 per cent of capital can be mobilised from banks or customers.

Source: VNA

April 30, 2019 / by / in
Saigon food vendor runs 40-year stall with 375-year history

The owner is a descendant of the Han Chinese people who sought asylum in Vietnam when the Ming Dynasty (1368–1644) fell.

In an alley on Le Van Sy Street in Ho Chi Minh City’s Tan Binh District stands Say’s family noodle shop. It has been standing there since 1975.

The owner, 70 plus years old, tends to the stall himself, putting wonton pieces into the broth.

“The house has been renovated several times, but the noodle stall remains the same. This is exactly the same stall that was first used,” he said.

Say said that his family were descendants of the Minh Huong people, a group of Chinese nationals who took refugee in southern Vietnam back in the 17th-18th century. While the dish they cook is similar to Vietnamese ways of cooking, it still retains its original, authentic flavor.

Before opening for business, the family prepares all the ingredients – noodles, wonton, vegetables and meat. The shop stays open throughout the day.

Every noodle soup bowl is served with a crispy shrimp puff on top.

The freshly made noodles should be served as soon as it is prepared to prevent it from becoming soggy.

The aromatic and seasoned filling of the wonton has been satisfying taste buds for more than four deades. Each bowl of the wonton noodle soup costs around VND30,000 ($1.30).                                                       (source: vnexpress.net)

HỦ TIẾU MÌ THỜI ĐẠI

Address: 139 Le Van Sy Street, Ward 13, Phu Nhuan District, HCMC.

 

 

January 8, 2019 / by / in