Analysts say the FTA would give more power to turn the country into a leading destination for investors in manufacturing in Asia. Thanks to the agreement, bilateral trade will increase and FDI will also see an increase, which means bigger opportunities for real estate developers.

According to John Campbell from Savills Vietnam, the number of requests from EU clients increased significantly while waiting for the agreement signing. The FTA attract attention to Vietnam's industrial real estate, Savills’ report says.

A stable and affordable business environment compared to China's is appreciated by investors.

By facilitating the application of the latest production technologies and strengthening human resource training, the Government of Vietnam is gradually eliminating the fear of businesses about feasibility, or lack of human resources and increased costs. The improvement of the transparency of the business environment will help reduce investors' concerns and raise production standards in Vietnam.

Vietnamese and foreign realtors have been flocking to Vietnam. In Binh Duong, called Vietnam’s industry metropolis, the developer of Nam Tan Uyen IZ is in the second phase of the IZ, 255 hectares. The project is hoped to bring high revenue and profit in the next 4-5 years, VND5.1 trillion and VND4.2 trillion, respectively.

The EVFTA officially signed last June is expected to give another push to the industrial real estate market in Vietnam.

 Nam Tan Uyen has a great advantage that it can expand the land in the long term. With the presence of big shareholders, namely the Vietnam Rubber Group and Phuoc Hoa Rubber, Nam Tan Uyen can obtain a large land fund with low cost. It can implement projects quickly because it can buy rubber growing land from Phuoc Hoa Rubber Company and turn the land into industrial land.

Realtors now tend to develop IZs in the localities which still have large land funds and the land rent is more reasonable. They especially pay attention to land areas along highways which are taking shape.

In Quang Ninh province, Amata, a group from Thailand, is developing an IZ project in the first phase, while it is seeking permission to build a complex of urban area and hi-tech industry worth $2 billion.

Encouraged by the success of the first phase of VSIP Quang Ngai, the developer of the IZ is moving ahead with the second phase as it can see a new foreign investment wave.

A VSIP senior executive said the IZ attracted$351 million worth of FDI in 2018, which accounted for 93 percent of total FDI in Quang Ngai province.

According to Military Bank Securities, 250 IZs throughout the country have become operational with the relatively high occupancy rate of 73 percent. Meanwhile, 76 other IZs are under the site clearance phase.

Kim Chi

Vietnam's industrial zone projects face obstacles

Because of local agencies’ tardiness in setting up a land rental framework, the HCMC Hi-tech Park (SHTP) in the first four months of the year granted licenses to only two projects with registered capital of $5 million.

Real estate market focuses on industrial zones

The reports released by securities companies so far this year all show the bright prospects of the industrial real estate market segment.