Mr. Chen Lian Pang, CEO of CapitaLand Vietnam: Vietnam is the third largest market for CapitaLand in Southeast Asia As Singapore and Vietnam are marking the 45th anniversary of diplomatic ties (on August 1) days ahead of the Singapore National Day (on August 9), could you please share with us your feeling during this special occasion? Mr. Chen Lian Pang: Relations between Singapore and Vietnam have grown from strength to strength since the two countries established bilateral diplomatic relations on August 1, 1973. The two countries have seen frequent exchange of high-ranking visits. Recently in May 2018, President Halimah Yacob and PM Lee Hsien Loong of Singapore welcomed PM Nguyen Xuan Phuc in his first official visit to Singapore, which is a milestone on the occasion of the 45th anniversary of the two countries’ diplomatic ties and five years of the strategic partnership. Singapore is always one of the top 10 trade partners and the third biggest investor of Vietnam with … [Read more...] about Mr. Chen Lian Pang, CEO of CapitaLand Vietnam: Vietnam is the third largest market for CapitaLand in Southeast Asia
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Experts say housing crisis impossible
2019 falls in the 10-year crisis cycle including economic crisis generally and real estate particularly; nevertheless, experts said housing crisis is impossible because the supply-demand imbalances in the residential and commercial property segments have increased especially in Ho Chi Minh City where a large middle class emerged. At present, the city population grows by 500,000 people annually while just 10,000 condo apartments are sold yearly meeting 5-10 percent of demand. In addition, the sector still attracts local and international investors. Specifically, just in the first six months of the year, $3.28 billion of foreign direct investment capital (FDI) investment poured into real estate field, a year-on-year increase of 53 percent. Ho Chi Minh City saw a decline of 60 percent in supply of middle apartment because of shortage of land fund and strict formalities while demand increased drastically in the first six months; therefore experts concluded housing crisis would be … [Read more...] about Experts say housing crisis impossible
Japan’s Nomura invests in HCMC’s Sun Wah Tower
Tokyo-based real estate firm Nomura has announced a 24 percent acquisition of the Sun Wah Tower on Nguyen Hue Street in Ho Chi Minh City. The Nomura Real Estate Development Co. Ltd. said it is looking to cash in on opportunities created by the rising demand for office space. The company did not reveal the value of the deal but it said that the tower, invested in by Hong Kong’s Sun Wah Group, is the very first A-listed office tower in the Asia-Pacific region that it has invested in. Standing in the heart of HCMC’s District 1, the tower rises 23 floors with a total area of 20,800 square meters (224 square feet). Sun Wah Tower building on Nguyen Hue Street in Ho Chi Minh City's District 1. Photo by VnExpress/Minh Nga According to Nomura, HCMC lacks A-listed office space, demand for which is expected to increase in the future. Investing in Sun Wah Tower was a sound move given its prime location, the company said. Up to 85 percent of the building’s current tenants are … [Read more...] about Japan’s Nomura invests in HCMC’s Sun Wah Tower
Tight squeeze for Hong Kong’s young professionals
As housing prices spiral in Hong Kong, young professionals are living in ever-shrinking spaces, with box-like "nano-flats" and co-shares touted as fashionable solutions. Blocks of sleek miniature apartments packed with mod cons are springing up around the densely packed city, pitched as an attractive and more affordable lifestyle choice, but still at an eye-watering cost. Finance worker Adrian Law, 25, paid more than HK$6 million ($765,000) two years ago for his tiny studio apartment in a new development in the gentrified Sai Ying Pun neighborhood. The slim glass building squeezes four apartments onto each floor and includes "nano-flats", a new term for homes of under 215 square feet (20 square meters). Law's studio is a fraction bigger at 292 square feet, with a price per square foot of nearly HK$20,000. He has adapted to the limited space by buying transformable furniture - his bed folds away against the wall to reveal a desk tucked underneath - and he keeps most of his belongings at … [Read more...] about Tight squeeze for Hong Kong’s young professionals
Vietnam retailers bristle at coercive rules
A draft law requiring all supermarkets in Vietnam to open through holidays and provide online sales and delivery services has angered retailers. They say rules cannot set for marketing strategies that are decided by businesses based on their own assessment of market conditions. The provision in the Decree of Development and Distribution Management, proposed by the Ministry of Industry and Trade, will apply to retail outlets that have an area of at least 250 square meters (2,690 square feet), and malls with more than 10,000 square meters (over 107,600 square feet). The new rules also say supermarkets and malls can only have a maximum of three discount events a year, with 30 days at the most for each event, and 70 percent of all items must be discounted at such events. Supermarkets and malls also need to open from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. every day, including holidays. They must offer delivery service and online shopping to customers, the bill says. Whether a supermarket offers delivery … [Read more...] about Vietnam retailers bristle at coercive rules
Woods to stay on yacht during US Open
Tiger Woods. — Photo thebiglead.com Viet Nam News NEW YORK — Tiger Woods is planning to stay on board his US$20 million super-yacht during next week’s US Open at Shinnecock Hills. The New York Post’s Page Six celebrity news site said Woods had decided to spend the week of the tournament on his 155-foot yacht named "Privacy". Woods’ yacht is docked at the exclusive Montauk Yacht Club, about an hour away from Shinnecock in Southampton. The former world number one’s boat offers 6,500 square feet of living space, including a master suite and six other bedrooms. The vessel also includes a gym, movie theater, full bar, eight-person hot tub and a scuba decompression chamber. Woods, 42, will be chasing his fourth US Open title at Shinnecock Hills next week as he continues his comeback after nearly two years out injured. The 14-time major champion is currently ranked 80th in the world following last weekend’s Memorial Tournament, where he … [Read more...] about Woods to stay on yacht during US Open
To street vendors in Vietnam’s biggest cities, sidewalk is a lifeline
A new day starts at 2:30 a.m. for Hiep and her four housemates who rent a small apartment tucked away down a Saigon alley. They need to make tofu pudding in time for 6 a.m., when they loads pots full of the hot dessert onto their bicycles and off they go to the inner city to find customers. At the same time, around 1,800 kilometers (1,100 miles) north, Quyen loads duck embryos and chicken eggs onto the back of a motorbike and travels from the outskirts of Hanoi to the Old Quarter in the downtown district of Hoan Kiem. Everyday, tens of thousands of vendors leave their rented apartments in big cities for busy streets to pay off debts and keep their families in the countryside afloat. They are the faces behind telling statistics that have been troubling policymakers for years: migrants and unofficial workers. Official government data from 2015 showed that migrants aged between 15 and 59 made up 17.3 percent of the country’s population of 90 million. The majority of them work in the … [Read more...] about To street vendors in Vietnam’s biggest cities, sidewalk is a lifeline
CapitaLand to develop first integrated development in Hanoi
Stepping up growth momentum in one of its key markets, Singapore’s CapitaLand Limited has acquired a prime site for its first integrated development in Hanoi and has successfully set up its second commercial fund in the country, the $130-million CapitaLand Vietnam Commercial Value-Added Fund (CVCVF). With a fund life span of eight years, CapitaLand will hold a 50 per cent stake in CVCVF with the balance interest held by MEA Commercial Holdings Pte. Ltd. CVCVF will focus on Grade A commercial properties in Vietnam. Located in Hanoi’s exclusive Tay Ho district with unblocked views of the scenic West Lake, the upcoming 25-storey integrated development worth about $217 million will comprise of a 380-unit residence including SoHo apartments, around 230,000 square feet of office space, and over 208,000 square feet of retail space. According to Lim Ming Yan, president and group CEO of CapitaLand Limited, this mixed-use development allows the company to strategically diversify and … [Read more...] about CapitaLand to develop first integrated development in Hanoi
Vietnam emerging as attractive destination for foreign property investors
Vietnam has emerged as a favored destination among foreign firms looking to invest in property, with prices standing at among the best value in Southeast Asia. Vietnam has emerged as a favored destination for foreign property investors Last year, Japanese investors Nishi Nippon Railroad and Hankyu Realty hooked up with a local property firm to develop a residential project with total investment of US$350 million in Ho Chi Minh City. Half of the funding came from the two Japanese firms, while the rest was put up by their local partner. Japan’s Mitsubishi Corp. has also diversified its portfolio in Vietnam by buying into a property development project in Hanoi, which has total investment of US$1.9 billion. The company signed a partnership deal with Vietnam’s Bitexco Group after acquiring a 45 percent stake in the first phase of the former’s The Manor Central Park project in Hoang Mai District. Bitexco holds the remaining 55 percent. This foreign interest has … [Read more...] about Vietnam emerging as attractive destination for foreign property investors
Homeless in Hong Kong: soaring costs fuel housing crisis in Asian financial hub
Cheung Muk-gun's home is an illegal, wooden shack under a highway in one of the poorest areas of Hong Kong, where sky-high property prices and a yawning wealth gap have helped fuel a surge in homelessness. The 72-year-old earns about HK$10,000 ($1,279) a month working seven days a week at a frozen meat store in the working-class district of Mong Kok, a short trip across Victoria Harbour from the city's opulent financial centre. With property prices up 200 percent in the past decade, and a bed in a tiny, windowless apartment - often shared with other tenants - going for about HK$2,000 a month, Cheung said he preferred to live in his shack. An apartment of around 250 square feet (23 square meters) in a new building with windows and a bathroom near Mong Kok would rent for about HK$12,000. "Why would I want to spend so much on rent, not to mention other related miscellaneous expenses. After paying all that, my salary could hardly cover my daily expenses," he said. Since Cheung became … [Read more...] about Homeless in Hong Kong: soaring costs fuel housing crisis in Asian financial hub