VietNamNet Bridge – It is rumored that about ten Japanese firms will invest up to US$2 billion in the real estate market in Vietnam, particularly HCM City and Hanoi, in the coming time.

Than Thanh Vu, President of Sao Khue, said the information is accurate because recently his company had organized a trip to Japan for a group of Vietnamese estate firms to promote investment in this country.

Vu said during meetings with Vietnamese firms, Japanese investors were interested in high-end hotels, commercial centers, office buildings, and luxury apartment projects in big cities like HCM City, Ha Noi... 

In particular, Sumitomo Group planned to build an office tower with investment of about $100 million, and Toshin Group wanted to develop a $200 million estate project.

Le Hoang Chau, chairman of HCM City Real Estate Association, said this was a good sign for new developments in the estate market of Vietnam.

Chau said the current time is favorable for calling for investment from Japan. The two countries have become comprehensive strategic partners; they have many things in common in culture, geography. 

While Vietnamese enterprises need to find funds for major projects and look for professional project management partners, Japanese investors want to find partners to invest abroad in the field of real estate.

Earlier, at the Vietnam Mergers & Acquisition (M&A) Forum 2016, many experts, including representatives of the leading consulting firm from Japan, forecasted this trend.

According to Mr. Masataka Sam Yoshida, a senior manager of Recof, the M&A activities by Japanese firms in Vietnam continued the growth momentum in 2015 and 2016, following the decline in 2014. They are focused on real estate.

"This is an area that Japanese investors were not interested in 20 years ago," he said, adding that Japanese companies were also paying attention to some other big cities in Vietnam.

Vu, who has nearly 20 years as a consultant, said that it was difficult for Japanese investors to find space in the central area of Hanoi and HCM City to invest directly so they will have to choose the form of M&A. Japanese investors aim for some luxury apartment and hotel projects in the two cities, he revealed.

Chau also said that Vietnamese enterprises will benefit in many aspects from the trend of investing in real estate through M&A. However, the biggest barrier for Vietnamese partners is the Japanese investors' requirement of transparency.

Nam Son