Da Nang City

Travelers to the sea city of Nha Trang in Khanh Hoa can see shop signboards with Chinese words in many areas. 

Khanh Hoa provincial authorities have been alerted about the massive arrival of Chinese who buy land, build houses, reside and set up businesses.

The director of the provincial planning and investment department, Tran Hoa Nam, said his department is checking 173 Vietnamese businesses which have had changes in shareholders’ structure as the owners have transferred shares to foreigners. 

The department has requested the business registration division to find out how many businesses have sold shares to Chinese.

In Ngu Hanh Son district in Da Nang City, a Chinese quarter has been taking shape in the area of Nuoc Man airport. Many restaurants and hotels run by Chinese have arisen with signboards in Chinese. 

Nguyen Hong, a resident in Ngu Hanh Son district, confirmed that more Chinese have arrived and settled down there. They open restaurants and hotels under the names of Vietnamese and receive only Chinese travelers.

A local official in Khe My ward in Ngu Hanh Son district, who asked to be anonymous, said there are tens of households in the locality leasing houses to Chinese and many Chinese have married Vietnamese women.

State agencies have discovered that many land plots in coastal areas have been bought recently. A report from Ngu Hanh Son district authorities showed that institutions and individuals have received land-use rights for 246 land plots in the Nuoc Man Airport area. 

Dien Dan Doanh Nghiep found that though the registered buyers were Vietnamese, the real owners of the land plots were Chinese.

The massive collection of land plots in coastal areas by the Chinese has raised concerns.

Former deputy director of Da Nang’s Department of Natural Resources and the Environment, Nguyen Dieu, said that one Chinese bought a land plot worth VND5 billion in a Vietnamese person’s name. 

After that, the Chinese teamed up with the Vietnamese person to set up a joint stock company with charter capital of VND50 billion, in which the Chinese contributed VND40 billion.

Holding the controlling stake, the Chinese have the right to make decisions about the company’s business, including the use of the land plot. This is a legal loophole that needs to be fixed, experts have said. 

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