According to the Foreign Investment Agency under the Ministry of Planning and Investment, there were 75 new projects in the sector during this year with a combined capital of more than 1.8 billion USD, and 37 others adjusting their investment capital up by a total 1 billion USD.

Meanwhile, 103 transactions of capital contribution and share purchase were recorded in the sector with an accumulative value of around 1.6 billion USD.

Notably projects included the 900 million USD Lotte Eco Smart City complex in Ho Chi Minh City and the Green Park, developed by YSL Group from the Republic of Korea (RoK), covering nearly 300 hectares in the northern province of Vinh Phuc.

The ssector also saw several major M&A deals, which were Singapore-based Viva Land's acquisition of the Grade-A office building Capital Place in Hanoi from CapitaLand Development (CLD) of CapitaLand Group for 550 million USD, and Keppel Land's purchase of a 49% stake in three residential land plots in Hanoi’s Hoai Duc district for a total of 119 million USD.

Substantial potential remains for the domestic property market in particular and the national economy in general, Nguyen The Diep from the Vietnam National Real Estate Association told Lao dong (Labour newspaper), noting that the real estate sector is expected to attract more foreign investments next year.

Pointing out challenges to the market, he suggested that relevant policies should be adjusted to match the new situation.

Economist Dinh Trong Thinh stressed the need to carefully select investors, with their financial capacity, investment capital and reputation taken into consideration.

Vietnam attracted a total of 27.72 billion USD in FDI as of December 20, equal to 89% of the figure recorded in the same period last year./. VNA