Parts of many parks in HCM City are being rented for cafe shops, eateries and other establishments contrary to their original purpose. (Photo: VNA) HCM City (VNS/VNA) - Rapid urbanisation is eating away at Ho Chi Minh City's green space, with parks coming under increasing threat from shops, cafes, office blocks and parking lots. Ho Anh Tuan, who lives on Tan Binh district's Au Co street, has watched as green areas disappear around his home. Tuan told the Vietnam News Agency that he wanted to exercise every morning but there was a lack of green spaces close by while remaining parks were too far away. He is forced to exercise on the street. Living next to Le Thi Rieng Park in district 10, Nguyen My Oanh has recently been unable to fully enjoy the space. She said the park was a place for everyone to relax after a hard day or at the weekend, but the space was increasingly invaded by shops and play areas, causing discomfort for local residents. According to a newspaper … [Read more...] about HCM City’s residents lament lack of green space
Living spaces for rent
Social homes for rent fail to attract customers in Hanoi
VietNamNet Bridge – The uptake for social housing in Hanoi has been disappointingly low due to indifference from the intended target customers. A view of the Dang Xa social housing project in Gia Lam District, Hanoi. — VNA/VNS Photo Tuan Anh According to official statistics, by the end of 2018, Hanoi’s population stood at 9.6 million – including those from other localities residing long-term in the city. The World Bank said 60 per cent of this figure fall into the middle and low-income groups, with real demand for dwelling spaces. Even with the preferential loan rates and other support policies from the central government and local authorities, not everyone can afford to buy out social housing apartments and it’s expected that these people would opt to rent these low-cost apartments instead. However, the backlog of vacant rental apartments continues to grow in Hanoi. Investors in the city are getting increasingly anxious as the bleak situation … [Read more...] about Social homes for rent fail to attract customers in Hanoi
Social homes for rent fail to attract customers in Hà Nội
Viet Nam News HÀ NỘI — The uptake for social housing in Hà Nội has been disappointingly low due to indifference from the intended target customers. According to official statistics, by the end of 2018, Hà Nội’s population stood at 9.6 million – including those from other localities residing long-term in the city. The World Bank said 60 per cent of this figure fall into the middle and low-income groups, with real demand for dwelling spaces. Even with the preferential loan rates and other support policies from the central government and local authorities, not everyone can afford to buy out social housing apartments and it’s expected that these people would opt to rent these low-cost apartments instead. However, the backlog of vacant rental apartments continues to grow in Hà Nội. Investors in the city are getting increasingly anxious as the bleak situation persists despite numerous open biddings, while they still had … [Read more...] about Social homes for rent fail to attract customers in Hà Nội
Vietnam prepares international media center for Trump-Kim summit
The palace at 91 Tran Hung Dao Street in the central Hoan Kiem District has been chosen by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs as the international media center for reporters covering the meeting between North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and U.S. president Donald Trump. The building, which has a floor area of 3.2 hectares (eight acres), is a gift for Vietnam from the Soviet Union. Construction began in 1978 and was completed in 1985. The major hall of the building has four floors, is 96 meters long, 60 meters wide and 33 meters high, and its conference room can seat 1,111 people. The conference room inside the Vietnam-Soviet Friendship Cultural Palace. Photo by Vietnam National Union of Bank Workers The Foreign Ministry has said that the media center will have a shared work space equipped with networked computers and LCD screens to watch live broadcasts of all events connected to the summit. Press agencies can also rent space and set up their own nine square meter booths with full … [Read more...] about Vietnam prepares international media center for Trump-Kim summit
Technology simplifies house renting in Viet Nam
Viet Nam News By Thu Ngân HCM CITY – “If you have never lost your deposit while renting a house, you have not grown up yet.” When a young woman entrepreneur said this in jest on Shark Tank, the reality TV show for start-ups, audiences laughed but recognised she was telling it as it was: it is risky and not easy to rent a house in Việt Nam. For a long time the demand for rented houses and condos in cities has kept increasing, mostly from students who leave their hometown and move to cities for study. Renting a house in cities has never been easy for students and other renters because of the high risk of losing one’s deposit or getting ripped off in the form of high rents. Such problems could now become a thing of the past thanks to modern technologies as young entrepreneurs apply big data and use social media to create phone applications for house leasing services. The young lady on Shark Tank is one such. Cathy Thảo Trần was … [Read more...] about Technology simplifies house renting in Viet Nam
E-commerce hits shopping centres but boosts office space market
The rapid growth of online business has slowed the shopping centre real estate market; however, experts say it has also provided a boost for the office rental market.— Photo vntrip.vn HÀ NỘI — The rapid growth of online business has slowed the shopping centre real estate market; however, experts say it has also provided a boost for the office rental market. Despite heavy advertising to attract tenants, many commercial centres have still found it hard to attract brick-and-mortar stores. As a result, some shopping centres are being used for office space rather than retail establishments. Some real estate specialists say the shopping centre slowdown is due to the e-commerce boom. Phạm Hùng Thắng, a lecturer at the HCM City University of Finance and Marketing, told Đầu tư chứng khoán (Securities Investment) newspaper Việt Nam had room for more e-commerce development thanks to the high level of internet use … [Read more...] about E-commerce hits shopping centres but boosts office space market
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
Elderly Vietnamese turn to nursing homes for companionship and healthcare
Every morning at 6:30 a.m., Le Thi Thinh, 81, gets up at a knock at her door. “Get up Mom, it’s time for school,” her son says. Thinh's children have been teasing her like this to make her trip to the nursing home more exciting. After breakfast, she gets dressed, grabs her hat and mobile phone, and is helped to walk to a waiting car. After a 10 minute journey she arrives at “school,” which is two kilometers (1.4 miles) away. Thinh and her friends often refer to the nursing home as “school” or “hotel.” Le Thi Thinh, 81, stays at a nursing home in Hanoi's Ha Dong District when her children are at work. Photo by VnExpress/Dien Hong The home was built five years ago in an urban area in Hanoi’s Ha Dong District. Thinh spends the day there with eight others. She has her lunch and takes a bath at the home before her children collect her at 4 p.m. Given her daily routine, it is no surprise that her three-year-old grandchild … [Read more...] about Elderly Vietnamese turn to nursing homes for companionship and healthcare
Ho Chi Minh City eyes tougher conditions for migrants to become permanent residents
Ho Chi Minh City’s Department of Construction has made a controversial proposal to raise the minimum living space required for internal migrants to register as permanent residents by four times. The proposed plan, aimed at relieving pressure from the city’s social and technical infrastructure, has been met with criticism from social experts who see little benefit from the new requirement. According to Vietnam’s law on residency, citizens who want to register as permanent residents in a municipality must have a legal place of residence in the destination city and have been a temporary resident there for at least one year. A legal place of residence can be either their own property or a rent one. In the latter case, one applicant must obtain written permission from the house owners that they agree to have him or her register as a permanent resident in their residence book. The application is only approved if that applicant has a minimum living space of five … [Read more...] about Ho Chi Minh City eyes tougher conditions for migrants to become permanent residents
2018 promising for foreign property investors
Last year saw a lot of merger and acquisition (M&A) activities in the Vietnamese property sector, with transactions totalling US$1.5 billion and the participation of many major foreign players.— Photo vneconomy.vn Last year saw a lot of merger and acquisition (M&A) activities in the Vietnamese property sector, with transactions totalling US$1.5 billion and the participation of many major foreign players. One of the biggest locations was Thu Thiem, the new urban development area in HCM City, that saw a number of high-profile deals including one jointly by Hongkong Land (HKL) and Ho Chi Minh Infrastructure Investment Joint Stock Company (CII). In December last year they signed a contract to jointly develop Thu Thiem River Park in the Thu Thiem New Urban Township, District 2. The project will provide around 1,140 units including luxury apartments, sky villas and garden apartments; designed with a variety of unit sizes ranging from one to four bedrooms, and enjoying the … [Read more...] about 2018 promising for foreign property investors