Berjaya Group has announced the divestment of its shares, 75 percent of Nghi Tam Village’s capital, to Hanoi Hotel & Tourism Development Co Ltd, a subsidiary of BRG. The value of the deal was VND1.245 trillion, or $54.13 million.

The Malaysian real estate group began  investing in Vietnam in 2007 and has developed big projects, including Sheraton Hotel in Hanoi and Berjaya Long Beach Phu Quoc.

Last year, it sold shares of its largest projects in its investment portfolio, including BVFC financial center and BVIUT university village in HCMC. The buyers were also Vietnamese investors.

Analysts say that Vietnamese investors are making more M&A deals than foreigners, and the value of the deals is higher.

Phu Long Real Estate JSC, a real estate development company owned by the dollar female billionaire Nguyen Thi Phuong Thao, has bought 50 percent of shares of An Khanh JVC, the owner of Splendora, from South Korean Posco E&C.

Meanwhile, the Thanh Hoa Construction Corporation bought Sky Park Residences in Cau Giay district in Hanoi from Licogi 16 in a deal worth VND143 billion.

There were many other big deals, including Vingroup’s sale of Vincom Centre A to VIPD at VND10 trillion and VinaCapital’s sale of Legend Saigon, Sheraton Nha Trang and Movenpick Saigon. 

Meanwhile, Novaland spent VND3 trillion to take over three real estate projects in HCMC.

Analysts noted that previously the buyers in large transactions valued at trillions of dong were foreign investors. They mostly targeted large resorts and 5-star hotels.

A report found that most 5-star hotels in Hanoi and HCMC belonged to foreign investors. Of 35 hotels, two-thirds belonged to foreign investors from Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia, South Korea and Japan.

The recent takeover deals in which Vietnamese investors bought Hilton Hanoi Opera and Intercontinental Hanoi Westlake were described as ‘daring moves’ by Vietnamese investors.

Saigontourist, Bitexco, BRG and Hanoitourist, with hotels bearing international brands such as Four Seasons, Hilton, Sheraton Grand, Metropole, Crown Plaza and Marriott, have been the most frequently mentioned names in recent M&A deals.

Analysts note that the strong rise of Vietnamese realtors should be seen as good news. This creates a counterbalance in the market, and lessens reliance on foreign investors.

Le Hoang Chau, chair of the HCMC Real Estate Association, said that foreign investors are pouring more money into Vietnam’s real estate market, but Vietnamese enterprises arr leading the M&A real estate market.

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Ha Duy