Vietnam Real Estate Newsletter - No. 68, Week 1 Feb, 2009

Weekly Newsletter
A68
Vietnam Real Estate Week 1, February

The first weekly electronic newsletter issued to registered members, approximately 100,000 reads per month
VietRees, a member of
joining to develop the newsletter

Market situation (p.2)

Real estate foreign investment (p.2)

Vietnam in the world (p.3)

Real estate agents (p.3)

Websites of real estate companies in Vietnam (p.4)

Real estate projects and prices (p.5)

Real estate supply for customer groups (p.7)

Real estate legislation (p.8)

Research - Consulting (p.9)

Market forecast, statistics expert opinions (p.10)

Construction material market last week (p.11)

Stock market last week (p.11)

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VietRees – Vietnam Real Estate www.VietRees.com Viet Nam Real Estate Newsletter A68 Page 2

MARKET SITUATION
The actions of setting up the plans for the investment of some enterprises have shown that they still
The real estate market seeking
have high hope for the luminosity of the real estate market, especially the last 6 months of 2009.
the chance for recovery
According to a director of a real estate company, the real estate business investors have to face many
Thanh Nien – 01 Feb, 2009 difficulties in 2009. Because the land prices promulgated in Ho Chi Minh City have doubled at some
places. This will make the site clearance compensation become more difficult. The money for using land
will also be double. The projects started in 2009 will certainly meet difficulties.
In addition, the real estate enterprises have thought that the compensation for site clearance is a
frequent thorny problem. And the secondary investors have to consider paying the personal income tax
on transferring the properties when they make purchases and sales of properties in this year. While the
purchasing power of the real estate market has dramatically dropped and has seen no sign of recovery
yet, the application of the income tax on transferring real estate has also influenced the investors’
psychology. Therefore, whether the real estate market in 2009 will warm up or continue to cool down has
still substantially depended on tax policies, money for the site clearance compensation, etc although the
bank interest rates are going down.

Many experts have shown that in the context of the global economy now facing a crisis, the multinational
Real estate market in 2009: the
enterprises will have to be more cautious about spending, minimize foreign laborers & recruit foreigners
fathomless unknown who are single instead of married couples, etc. These will be also agents that have changed the
Sai Gon Giai Phong – 05 Feb, 2009 demands for leasing houses, the sizes of apartments, locations and standards of dwelling houses.
Meanwhile, the competition pressure from the office buildings in Hanoi and HCM cities will cause a few
difficulties for this market. In fact, the owners of the office buildings for lease have clearly realized the
competition between the supplies in the future. Therefore, they have to reconsider to provide the rents
that are more suitable for the demands. In addition to the changes in field of offices and apartments, the
field of hotel & tourism is predicted to reduce the rental capacity and the rents, especially in the high-
grade segment, due to many reasons.
Up to this time, only very few projects have been offered for sale in HCMC. The main reason may be
that the investors are planning to wait in front of the market, redesigning the apartments with smaller
sizes, handing over the raw parts with fewer facilities and putting an end to the golden age of the high-
grade apartments. Additionally, the fact of the properties’ value falling down has made the investors
worried and likely to formulate many new policies to attract the supply for the purpose of maintaining the
sales turnover.
According to the real estate enterprises’ prediction, there will be many foreign investors withdrawing from
Vietnam or temporarily stop their projects due to the global economic recession in 2009. The real estate
market tends to go down, causing the embarrassment and distraction for all participants. However, the
fact of the developing speed getting slower than anticipated by the real estate market can be a positive
factor because this helps the market not to fall into the excess of supply over demand. However, the
Vietnamese real estate market has still been considered to have full potential and create many good
opportunities. But, it requires not only the effort and experiences of investors, but also the appropriate
policies to develop healthily, steadily and sustainable in order to promote the economic growth and
social security.

REAL ESTATE FOREIGN INVETSMENT
After the resort project in Da Nang, Life Resorts Group (Netherlands) has continued to implement the
Life Resorts builds high-grade
projects of building the high-grade resort Life Wellness Resort Ninh Binh in Ninh Binh province.
resort in Ninh Thuan
With the specific architecture of the North Central Coast region, the design will look like a Vietnamese
Ha Noi Moi – 30 Jan, 2009 village including 32 bungalows with the style of traditional tents, stone-built house, 74 room building, spa
area, swimming pool, restaurant, garden & a lotus pool, cobblestone footpaths close to the ancient Thai
Vi 500 year old temple. Ninh Binh resort is expected to come into operation in the second quarter, 2010.

Sova Co. Holdings Sdn Bhd (Malaysia) and Thai Duong Co. (Vietnam) have cooperated to develop the
Malaysia builds the complex at
complex of over 8 hectares in Phu Hoi, Nhon Trach, Dong Nai province with the total investment of 47
Nhon Trach million USD. The project of Nhon Trach City Center consists of two 15-storey office buildings, four grade-
TheSaiGonTimes – 02 Feb, 2009 B blocks of 13 stories, a villa, terraced houses, shopping centers, sports and a 4-star hotel. The project
is expected to be started at the beginning of April 2009 and completed in 2012.

La Perla International Living (Netherlands) has been licensed to build the 28-hectare resort close to Hoi
One more resort in Quang Nam
An, Quang Nam Province. The project including 390 villas and apartments along with the auxiliary works
VietRees – 06 Feb, 2009 will be started in the third quarter of 2009 and put into operation after one year.
Besides, the corporation plans to build 100 more villas at Bai Tram resort in Xuan Canh commune, Song
Cau district, Phu Yen province in March 2009 and will complete them in 2010 with the investment of
about 80 million USD.

Sponsor:


FDI in Vietnam in January, 2009
s compared to the same period
of last year The Foreign Investment Bureau
Source: The Foreign Investment Bureau forecasts in 2009 and 2010 will be a
difficult year for attracting FDI in
Vietnam due to the impacts of the
If including new-level capital and additional in global financial crisis.
January 2009, the whole country has attracted
the registered capital of 185 million USD equal
However, the prospects for mid-
to 11% as compared to January 2008. Although
term and long-term investment in
the new-level FDI has increased by 43% in the
Vietnam still are considered to be
project, it has only accounted for 10% of the
good by investors.
total registered capital. The increases in the
amount of capital have also decreased
remarkably. The released capital has also fallen
over the same period (only 78.9%).

VIETNAM IN THE WORLD
Viet Nam ranks among countries with According to the report of Economic Analysis Firm SEE (Spain), Vietnam, India, Philippines, China and
Turkey rank in the group of the countries that will achieve the high growth in the world in the period of
the highest growth rate in the world
2005 - 2025.
Sai Gon Giai Phong – Jan, 2009
The report is based on the factors such as capital accumulation; population growth, innovation and
technology transfer of the countries.
According to SEE, the gross domestic product (GDP) of the above countries will averagely increase by
from 6% - 8% per year. Except for China, the countries will reach 6% growth per year; the remaining
countries in this group have reached the higher growth rates than 20 years ago.

REAL ESTATE AGENTS
Hoa Binh wins the contract for Hoa Binh Real Estate Business and Construction JSC has won the contract on executing the reinforced
concrete construction and completing two 23-storey buildings G and H of the Residences Residences
Kenton Residences housing
Kenton projects with a total contract value of 220 billion VND.
project
Kenton Residences complex is 9.1 hectares in size in Phuoc Kieng, Nha Be district, Ho Chi Minh City
VietRees – 23 Jan, 2009
invested by the Resources –Trade – Services and Production Company.

Viglacera real estate transaction Viglacera real estate transaction center has been opened by Vietnam Building Glass and Ceramic
Corporation Viglacera opened on the morning of 4th February, 2009 on the second floor, Viglacera
center officially comes into sight
building, No.1 Lang - Hoa Lac street, Hanoi.
Kinh Te Do Thi – 05 Feb, 2009
With the total area of 400 m2, Viglacera transaction center operates in the fields of legal consulting,
administrative procedures, brokers, evaluating, leasing, buying, selling real estate, etc.

Petrowaco starts in the new year According to Oil & Gas Real estate SJC (Petrowaco), under Vietnam Oil & Gas (PetroVietnam), the
company has been licensed to invest in Hoa Binh Oil & Gas high-grade housing area the lake Dong
VietRees – 05 Feb, 2009
Chanh, Nhuan Trach commune, Luong Son district, Hoa Binh province. The project includes 58.3
hectares including the categories: trade center, tours, hotels, offices for lease, amusement parks and
130 ecology villas.
Phase 1 has begun from the first quarter 2009 to the forth quarter 2011 with the phases of site
clearance, construction of infrastructure and technical services of a part of villas and garden houses. The
phase 2, from first quarter 2012, will implement the rest of the project.
In addition, the project of apartment - commercial office complex at 97 Lang Ha Street, Dong Da District,
Hanoi will be developed in 2009 and put into operational from the second quarter, 2011. According to the
design, the building with 27 stories and 3 basements is built on a site of 4,300 m2, the 5 lowest stories of
the buildings are used for public works and the remaining stories are for apartments.

Works start on lot B of 18-storey On 4th February 2009, No.1 Construction Factory of House Development of Ba Ria-Vung Tau (Hodeco)
started the construction of the project Lot B of 18-storey apartment block at 197-199 Nam Ky Khoi Nghia
apartment block
Street, Ward 3, Vung Tau City invested by the company.
The apartment block includes 2 lots (lot A is completed) with over 1,000 units. It is expected to be
completed in the third quarter 2011 with the investment of 314 billion VND.

Sponsor:


Websites of real estate companies in Vietnam
Property developers Brokerage Evaluation
Ho Chi Minh Ho Chi Minh AREV - www.arev.com.vn
Hoang Quan - www.thamdinhgia.com
Company 585 - www.585.com.vn An Gia - www.angia.com.vn
Vietland - www.thamdinhgia.com.vn
Company 584 - www.congty584.com.vn ACBR - www.acbr.com.vn
VVFC - www.valuation.vn
An Phu - www.anphugroup.vn Dat Xanh - www.datxanh.com.vn
BCCI - www.bcci.com.vn Dia Loi - www.nhadatdialoi.com.vn
Daewon - www.daewon.vn Dat Cat - www.datcat.com.vn Construction
Him Lam - www.himlam.com FICO - www.ficohome.com.vn
Ho Chi Minh
Hoang Anh Gia Lai - www.hagl.com.vn Kim Son - www.kimson.com.vn
CIC8 - www.cic8.com
Linh Phong Conic - www.conic.com.vn Phuc Duc - www.phucduc.com
Coteccons - www.coteccons.com.vn
Nam Long - www.namlongvn.com Hung Phu - www.hungphunhadat.com
Cosaco - www.cosaco.com.vn
Phu Long - www.phu-long.com.vn Hung Thinh 2 - www.diaochungthinh.com.vn
Hoa Binh - www.hoabinhcorporation.com
Phu Quoc Land - www.phuquocland.net Hoang Quan - www.hoangquan.com.vn
Hai Thanh - www.haithanh.com.vn
SacomReal - www.sacomreal.com Intresco - www.intresco.com.vn
Toan Thinh Phat - www.toanthinhphat.com.vn
Sadeco - www.sadeco.com.vn Loc Dien - www.nhadatld.com
Resco - www.rescovn.com Nova - www.novahomes.com.vn
Ha Noi
Thai Thinh Capital - www.richlandhill.com.vn Phat Hung - www.phathung.com.vn
Constrexim - www.constrexim.com.vn
Thu Duc House - www.thuduchouse.com SacomReal - www.sacomreal.com
Cavico - www.cavicovn.com
Phu My Hưng - www.phumyhung.com.vn Tan Dien - www.tandien.com.vn
HANCIC - www.hancic.com.vn
Van Phat Hưng - www.vanphathung.com.vn
HUD - www.hud.com.vn
Vietnam Land SSG - www.saigonpearl.com.vn Ha Noi
Incomex - www.incomex.vn
Cland - www.cland.com.vn
Ha Noi Dong Do - www.dongdobds.com
Architect and Interior Decoration
Phu Thai Group - www.phuthaigroup.com
FPT Land - www.fpt-land.com
Ho Chi Minh
Petrowaco - www.petrowaco.vn
C.E.O - www.ceoholdings.com.vn
Petrolimex – www.pland.com.vn A2 Visualization - www.a2viz.com.vn
Gia Tue - www.giatue.com.vn
Cat Moc - www.catmoc.com.vn
HUD - www.hud.com.vn
Other cities Nha Vui - www.nhavui.com
HDB Viet Nam - www.hdbgroup.com.vn
Nha Viet - www.nhavietdecor.com
Keangnam - www.eng.kne.co.kr Dieu Hien - www.dieuhien.com.vn
Nha Dep - www.nhadep.com.vn
Nam Cuong - www.namcuong.com.vn Thien Loc - www.thienlocnhadat.com.vn
Pho Xinh - www.phoxinh.com.vn
Song Hong Land - www.songhongland.com.vn
Vinaconex - www.vinaconex.com.vn Research
Vincom - www.vincom.com.vn Ha Noi
CBRE - www.cbrevietnam.com
Viet Hung - www.ecopark.com.vn Savills Viet Nam - www.savills.com.vn ACT - www.act.com.vn
VietRees - www.VietRees.com ADKientruc - www.adkientruc.com
Other cities Ashui – www.ashui.com
Consulting Kien Truc Ha Noi - www.kientruchn.com
Becamex IDC - www.becamex.com.vn
Biconsi - www.biconsi.com.vn CBRE - www.cbrevietnam.com
Other Countries
Tuan Chau - www.tuanchau-halong.com.vn Dong Duong - www.indochina-consulting.com
GNSVINA - www.cozyvill.com Eden Real - www.edenreal.com Architects 61, Sing - www.a61.com.sg
Company 579 - www.cecico579.com.vn Hop Nhat - www.uniland.com.vn DP Architects, Sing - www.dpa.com.sg
Duc Manh - www.ducmanhco.com Indochina Land - www.indochinacapital.com SWA, USA - www.swavietnam.com
Long Gia Khang - www.longgiakhang.com Ong&Ong, Sing - www.ong-ong.com
Savills Viet Nam - www.savills.com.vn RSP Vietnam, Sing - www.resp.com.sg
Vina Capital - www.vinacapital.com Surbana Vietnam, Sing - www.surbana.com

Sponsor:


REAL ESTATE PROJECT AND PRICES
Hanoi city People's Committee has promulgated the decision on building the golf course, auxiliary works
Ratifying the planning of Soc
and villas at Soc Son with a total planning area of 130 hectares. The southwest of the project borders
Son golf course Soc temple, the West borders Hong Ky residential, the North borders Mot mountain and Tan Yen lake
Ha Noi Moi – 03 Feb, 2009 and the East borders Dai mountain residential area. The entertainment – sport service investment Hanoi
JSC sets up the planning of the project.

On 2nd February 2009, Hong Quang Co. Ltd. held a groundbreaking ceremony for the construction of
Building 5-star tourism site at
the 5-star tourism company Crown Land Long Hai, Thuy Tien hill, Long Hai town, Long Dien district, Ba
Long Hai Ria - Vung Tau province, with a total area of over 5 hectares.
Tuoi Tre – 03 Feb, 2009
The tourism site includes 100 hotel rooms, 80 bungalows, 41 villas, spa, tennis courts, the tourist bridge
and train, swimming pool... with a total investment of 386 billion VND. The tourism site will officially
welcome guests in 2010.

The project of Vietnam Oil and Gas Hotel invested by the Vietnam National Petroleum Corporation was
Works start on Vietnam Oil &
started on the morning of 3rd February, 2009.
Gas 5-star hotel complex
The complex of hotel - office - high-grade apartment with international standards is built on a site of 3.82
Vneconomy – 04 Feb, 2009
hectares in Me Tri commune, Tu Liem district, Ha Noi City with the total investment of over 7450, 8
billion VND, including 3 blocks: a 30-storey 5-star hotel, a 30-storey high-grade apartment block and a
24-storey office block for lease (each block of houses has 2 basements). The project is expected to be
completed in the forth quarter, 2011.

U & I Construction JSC started the construction of the A1 section with 5 floors in the industrial zone Long
Works start on accommodation
Hau, Long An province on a site of 5.3 hectares on the morning of 3rd February.
for workers
Long Hau project is invested by Long Hau JSC, including the high-rise apartment block and four 5-storey
collective sections with an investment of 56 billion VND.
In general, the prices of the high- The price change level of high-grade apartments in HCMC
grade apartments in HCM City VietRees has recorded that in 2008, April and May had the highest decreases with 15% and 10% respectively.
continue to decline
VietRees – January, 2008

According to the statistics of VietRees, the prices
of the high-grade apartment in December
continued to decrease by about 6% as
compared to November 2008. This has been
considered to be the highest decrease from June
2008 until now.

Announced prominent real estate developments during the last 2 weeks*
Week 4 January 2009 Week 1 February 2009
SaiGon Givral Hotel (Phu Nhuan Dist.)
Ho Chi Minh City
Mui Ne Resort (Phan Thiet) Crown Land Long Hai tourism site (BR-VT)
Other cities
Vietnam hotel - oil Complex Vietnam (Hanoi)
Wellnesss Life Resort Ninh Binh (Ninh Binh)
Nhon Trach City Center (Dong Nai)
La Perla Resort (Quang Nam)

Approved prominent real estate developments in HCM City*
January February
Nguyen Cu Trinh Complex (Dist.1)
Housing, apartment, residential area
* Note: RA=Residential Area, AP=Apartment Building, HA=Housing Area, RuA=Reurban Area, TA=Tourism Area, IA=Investment Area, UA=Urban Area, ReA=Resettlement area

Websites of properties in Vietnam
Ho Chi Minh Ha Noi Other cities
Blooming Park - www.bloomingpark.com Viglacera Tower - www.viglaceraland.vn Cozyvill - www.cozyvill.com
Saigon Paragon - www.saigonparagon.com My Dinh – Me Tri RA - www.sudicosd.com Flamingo Dai Lai - www.flamingodailai.com
Dragon City - www.dragonland.com.vn Bac An Khanh RA - www.vinaconex.com.vn Van Phu township - www.dothivanphu.com
Preche - www.preche.com Ha Noi Plaza Hotel - www.charmvit.co.kr Dam Vac Golf - www.damvacgolf.com
SaigonPearl - www.saigonpearl.com.vn Phap Van – Tu Hiep RA - www.hud.com.vn Sanctuary - http://sanctuary.com.vn
V-Star - www.v-star.com.vn Ho Tram Strip - www.hotramstrip.com
Time Square - www.timessquare.com.vn Sai Gon Sunbay - www.ctc-corp.vn
Other cities
The Everrich - www.theeverrich.com Eden Lagi Resort - www.edenreal.com
Furama Resort - www.furamavietnam.com
Tan Da Court - www.tandacourt.com Van Quan – Yen Phuc township - www.hud.com.vn
Sai Gon – Mui Ne Resort - www.saigonmuineresort.com
Lancaster - www.lancaster.com.vn Quoc Te Do Son - www.vietlandgroup.com
Sunspa ResortVietnam - www.sunsparesortvietnam.com
The Vista - www.thevista.com.vn

Sponsor:


Property Retail Price
Updated on information from ACBR, Van Phat Hung, Hung Thinh, Phuc Duc, Tuoi Tre Newspaper and developers (VietRees gathered by direct surveys), listed prices can be
original prices or transfer prices at current or at one week prior from the date this newsletter is issued.

Typical apartments in HCM city Other apartments and land lots
Area Price (million
+/-
Dist.
(m2) VND/m2)
Apartment building – HCMC
Lancaster 1 120 66.3
Sailing Tower 1 104.6 67.8 +
An Phu – An Khanh 2 62 14.7 +
Thanh My Loi 2 57 9
V- star, Dist.7 Sky Garden , Dist.7
Cantavil, Dist.2
H3 Hoang Dieu 4 75 25.3
* 110m2 – 15.5 million VND/m2 * 71m2 – 27,9 million VND/m2
* 98m2 – 1,900 USD/m2
Hung Vuong Plaza 5 132 26.5 +
* 119m2 – 14.5 million VND/m2 * 91m2 – 27,7 million VND/m2
* 120m2 – 2,100 USD/m2
Noble Tan Thinh Loi 6 60 13.4
Carina Plaza 8 100 15 +
An Suong 12 75 8.5
Morning Star BT 85 22
Botanic PN 109 30.2
Bau Cat TB 55 15.5
Sunview 1 TD 88.5 10.1
Development land lots – HCMC
The Everich, Dist.11
Blooming Park, Dist.2 Phu My, Dist.7 An Phu – An Khanh 2 200 26 +
* 83,65m2 – 19 million VND/m2 * 112m2 – 1,625 USD/m2
Area: 95 – 398m2 Binh Trung Dong 2 140 12
Price: 1,800 – 2,400 USD/m2 * 114,2m2 - 21,5 million VND/m2
ADC Phu My 7 100 23.5
Direct contact with the investor1
Sadeco ven song 7 510 11
Khang An 9 168 6.4 -
Phu Nhuan 9 300 7 +
Ap 5 Phong Phu BC 175.5 8.25
Phu Xuan - VPH NB 120 7.3 -
KDC Song Da TD 85 12.8
Apartment building – Ha Noi
Dich Vong CG 59 19.5
Preche, Dist.2 Panorama, Dist.7 Saigon Pearl, B.Thanh
Dong nam Tran Duy Hung CG 145 26
* 147m2 – 2,222 USD/m2 * 121m2 – 35.5 million VND/m2 * 84m2 – 2,280 USD/m2
Ha Thanh Plaza DD 114 25.2
* 166m2 – 38 million VND/m2 * 135m2 – 2,300 USD/m2
Van Khe HD 85 11.7
Linh Dam HM 86.7 15.5
Ciputra TH 182 32.3 -
Bac Ha TX 58 15.5 +
Development land lots – Other provinces
My Phuoc 3 BD 300 1,38 -
Viet Sing BD 100 8
Lan Anh 5 BR-VT 100 2,6 +
The Manor, B.Thanh
New SaiGon, Nha Be
The Vista, Dist.2 Tuan Hung BR-VT 90 3,15
* 98.9m2 – 17.2 million VND/m2 * 35m2 – 1,750 USD/m2
* 101m2 – 1,729 USD/m2 Nam Can Tho CT 100 2,05 -
* 121.4m2 - 17.7 million VND/m2 * 139m2 – 1,800 USD/m2 Phuoc An – Long Tho ĐNI 100 2,35
Lang chuyen gia Tan Do LA 162 2,2 -

1
Kien A Investment & Services Co., Ltd. - An Phu Ward, District 2, HCMC - Tel: (84.8) 740 6688, Fax: (84.8) 740 6949

Danang: 225 Huyen Tran Cong Chua - T: (84) 511 836 216 * HCMC: 390 Nguyen Cong Tru, D.1 - T: 8 821 7509 * Hanoi: No.6-1D Trung Yen New Town, Caugiay - T: 4 783 1598

Sponsor:


PROPERTY SUPPLY FOR DIFFERENT TARGETS OF CUSTOMERS
* Saigon Construction Corporation investor two apartment blocks high 5-storey for workers in Quarter 1,
Social welfare houses for worker
Linh Trung Ward, Thu Duc Dist, HCMC.
VietRees
* Hung Vuong JSC has just put a 5-storey apartment building into use for cadres and workers. The
company continues to petition Tien Giang Provincial People’s Committee to grant a 5.000m2 land area to
construct more apartment buildings for workers with an investment of 100 billions VND.
* Saigon Paper JSC has put an apartment building into use for workers at My Xuan Commune, Tan
Thanh suburban district, Ba Ria - Vung Tau province. The stage 2 of the apartment building is about to
be implemented with a scale of 8 storey.
th
* Morning of August 28 , 2008, the Ministry of Construction has signed a memorandum for the
cooperation in the field of welfare housing with Korean Ministry of Land-Traffic and Marine.
* Ha Noi Construction Investment JSC (Hancic) has finished 4/10 units of the 5-storey house which
belongs to the housing project for workers at Kim Chung Commune (Dong Anh).
* Construction and Import-Export JSC (Vinaconex) has transferred and put into use 4 blocks of houses
among the total 16 blocks of the housing project for the workers at Thang Long industrial zone.
* The housing area of 7,000 m2 (380 rooms) for 1,500 workers of Dong Quang Knit Limited Company at
Hai Son industrial cluster (Duc Hoa Ha commune, Duc Hoa suburban dist., Long An province) has just
been put into use. The total investment cost of this housing area is 20 billion VND. (02/10/2008)
* The 4-storey apartment building at cluster 5, ward 8, Vinh Long town that serves the cadres,
employees, professional serviceman and etc has been ratified by Vinh Long Provincial People's
Committee with a total investment of over 37 billion VND. (03/10/2008)

* Sai Gon – Gia Dinh Real Estate Company and Hoa Binh Phu Yen Company build Thoi An Apartment
Real estate for the low income
Building in District 12 with 1,000 apartments.
VietRees
* Construction Co. No.8 (CIC8) will invest in construction of 10,000 Keppel Land apartments & Tien
Phuoc Co. will build a resettlement area including 1,900 apartments at An Phu, Binh Khanh, District 2.
* HCM City People’s Committee will advance 50.5 billion to carry out the project of Vinh Loc B, Binh
Chanh residential area for resettlement with hundreds of townhouses and 40 apartment blocks.
* Construction Co. No.5 will invest in construction of 500 apartments at Ward 22, Binh Thanh District.
* HCM City Cooperative Alliance has developed its construction investment project of housing area at Le
Minh Xuan Commune, Binh Chanh Suburban District on a site of 67.49 hectares.
* 50% of the house reserve at The Splendor apartment area (Go Vap Dist.) will be intended to serve
resettlement demand in the district.
* Dat Lanh Co. will offer 1,500 apartments to the market with the prices of 500 - 700 millions VND/unit.
* People‘s Committee of HCMC has approved the project of the resettlement area on a site of 55.24
hectares at Dong Nam Cu Chi industrial - residential area in Cu Chi.
* House management of Dist.1 is assigned to construct the resettlement area at 7/4ª Kha Van Can, Thu
Duc district.
* In early 2010, Hai Thanh company will complete 352 apartments of Hai Thanh 1 resettlement area
project, Binh Tan District for the civil servants at Binh Tan District.
* People’s Committee of Binh Chanh has just cooperated with Hung Vuong university Investment &
Development JSC to construct resettlement area at Tan Kien commune, Binh Chanh suburban district.
* People’s Committee of HCM City has just licensed Cho Lon Real Estate JSC to invest in the
construction of the apartment building at No. 99 Ben Binh Dong, ward 11, district 8 in order to make the
house reserve at the social welfare housing program.
* People’s Committee of HCM City has promulgated the decision about reclaiming the land areas at
Phuoc Kien, Nhon Duc and Phuoc Loc communes, Nha Be suburban district for the construction of the
resettlement area in order to serve the project of Nhon Duc - Phuoc Kien new urban area.
* The HCM City Union of Housing Co-operatives has prepared to commence the construction of Thanh
Loc apartment building with 238 apartments on a site of 6.600 m2 in District 12. The Union intends to
construct another apartment building with over 200 apartments at Truong Tho ward, Thu Duc district.
* HCMC People’s Committee has ratified the planning of Binh Khanh residential area (Dist.2) which is
built on a site of 384,019 m2 to serve the resettlement of the locals in Thu Thiem new urban area.
* Dat Xanh has cooperated with Truong Son Vanguard Youth General Squad to build apartments for low-
income people at Dist.12
* Go Vap People’s Committee and Go Vap Public Benefit Service Co. have bought back the house
reserve belonging to Phu Gia Hung high-end apartments, Duong Quang Ham Street, Ward 15, Go Vap
Dist. and Dong Hung Thuan 1, 2 apartment buildings, Dist. 12 to serve the resettlement of the locals at
Tham Luong project - Ben Cat - Nuoc Len ditch.
* Approximately 184,000 apartments belonging to the investment program in the construction of the
social welfare houses in the stage of 2009 – 2015 with the total investment of about 49,000 billion VND
have been submitted to the government for approval. (30/09/2008)
* 800 social welfare houses for lease - lease to purchase will be built at 19A and 21A plots, Viet Hung
urban area in 2009, which have been ratified by The People’s Committee of Ha Noi City. (16/10/2008)
* 462 units of Khang Gia 3 apartment building (Go Vap Dist.) invested by Khang Gia Real Estate
Investment – Development JSC will be used for the resettlement demands. (27/10/2008)

The Committee for overseas Vietnamese in HCMC has showed that there have been 130 overseas
Dwellings for overseas Vietnamese Vietnamese buying houses, mainly in HCMC. Those who brought houses are those who come back to
and foreigners the country for their long term and direct investment, scientists, culture researchers invited to come back
to the country to become experts and repatriating overseas Vietnamese. To buy houses, beside
VietRees
documents verifying priority subjects, the buyer must present their passport (issued in Vietnam). In the
case that house buyers bring foreign passports, they must have certificates of Vietnamese nationality or
documents confirming their losing Vietnamese nationality, or certificate of citizenship registration.
Sponsor:


REAL ESTATE LEGISLATION
Hanoi city People's Committee has ratified the new project in terms of the selling prices of single houses
New regulations on prices of
located on main streets with high profitability and the houses with the sizes of exceeding the limits in the
State-owned properties in Hanoi city. The regulation is implemented in the former Hanoi and Ha Tay (before expanded).
Tuoi Tre – 01 Feb, 2009 Regarding the house prices, the city continues to carry out the real estate prices following the regulation
of Decree 61/CP. Only the land prices have also been calculated following the price level of 31st
December 2004 and multiplied with coefficient k = 1.5 (increasing by 50% as compared to the old price).
th
The cases of signing contracts of purchasing or selling houses after 25 September 2007 will suffer from
the price increase of 50% as above. For the cases of exceeding the land limits, the surplus area will be
imposed the payment of 100% following the land prices announced annually of the city.

The construction works in four town squares before Independence Palace (HCMC) will have to comply
Allow the buildings of maximum
with the regulations on architecture, space setback and the number of the floors according to a
8 stories in front of Independence regulation draft that the Department of Planning and Architecture has submitted to the HCMC People's
palace Committee for the purpose of embellishing and protecting the landscape. The regulation will be applied
to all domestic and foreign organizations, individuals relevant to the activities of constructing and
TheSaiGonTimes – 02 Feb, 2009
managing urban architectures in these four town squares.
These town squares include: (1) The first town square is limited by Nam Ky Khoi Nghia - Nguyen Thi
Minh Khai - Pasteur - Alexandre de Rhodes with an area of 15,110 m2; the maximum construction
density of 50 - 60% and the number of floors of 3 - 8 storeys and the works with tile roofs are
encouraged. (2) The second town area is limited by Nam Ky Khoi Nghia – Han Thuyen – Pasteur -
Nguyen Du with an area of 14,849 m2; the construction works ranges from 3 to 8 floors. This area will be
for the complex works. (3) The third town area is limited by Pasteur - Nguyen Thi Minh Khai - Pham
Ngoc Thach - Alexandre de Rhode with an area of 18,189 m2 and the maximum height of 8 storeys.
This area will be for trading, services and dwelling houses. (4) The fourth town area is limited by Pasteur
– Han Thuyen – The Paris Commune - Nguyen Du with an area of 14,245 m2 and the height of 3, 5, 7 or
8 floors. This area is for the functions of trading, services, housing with the type of complex works.

One of the remarkable content in the new regulation on the construction costs of production works,
Submit 0.5% of construction
trading and dwelling house Hanoi that is promulgated by Hanoi city People's Committee is that quot;The
costs if building houses housing works invested by the organizations and individuals (at the districts within Hanoi and Ha Dong)
VietRees – 04 Feb, 2009 shall submit 0.5% of the construction costs”. The works in the suburban districts of former Hanoi and
Quoc Oai, Hoai Duc, Thach That, Dan Phuong, Thuong Tin, Son Tay should submit 0.2% of costs and
the remaining districts shall submit 0.1% of the construction feequot;.
For the works used as the headquarters, production bases, trading services (such as hotels, offices for
lease, shops, dwelling houses for sale, etc), besides the classification according to the locations as
above, the fee is also classified under the project groups (group A, B, C) with the lowest level from 0.2%
to 2% of the construction fee. The investors will have to pay this fee before receiving the construction
permit or the decision of land handing over or leasing.
For the works of protecting national security, belonging to the state secret, religion, being constructed
under the urgent order or belonging to the fields of education, health, culture that receive the
socialization policy will not have to pay the construction fee.

Free register for weekly newsletter: Please send your email to marketnews@VietRees.com * Sponsor and advestising: T: (08) 3948 5574 - E: properties@VietRees.com


RESEARCH – CONSULTING
Solutions to enhancing the competitive abilities of the Vietnamese real estate enterprises
1. Why should the Vietnamese real estate 4.1. Enhance the management ability and train In addition, the enterprises should combine with
enterprises enhance their competitive abilities? the leaders of the enterprises. universities and colleges to recruit excellent
Enhancing the competitive abilities of the To develop the above abilities, the decisive factors undergraduates in order to build the active young
Vietnamese real estate enterprises is an are the activeness and positive striving of every team to undertake the important professional
indispensable thing in the process of integration businessman. positions in the near future.
especially in the difficult situation of the current real According to VietRees, firstly, the leaders of the
estate market and the decline of the economy, enterprises should pay attention to enhancing the 4.7. Build up a good image to the public.
helping the real estate enterprises stand firm on essential skills and update the modern knowledge. Any enterprise understand clearly that if it wants to
their feet & develop in the coming years. Thereby, Some knowledge and skills should be updated and have a good public image, firstly, it has to win the
it has contributed to enhancing the competitive systematized. If the basic skills are combined with customers’ trust by the quality of its service
power of the whole economy. On the other hand, the effective management knowledge, there will be products, the marketing business activities and
in the current situation of the market, if the the decisive impacts on the managers of the real after-sales service, etc.
competitive abilities are not enhanced, the estate enterprises. Thereby, this contributes to Through the marketing and after-sales strategies
enterprises will be able to suffer the losses, close improving the competitive abilities of the real estate to promote the enterprises’ own brands, if this
down and go bankrupt. According to VietRees, to enterprises. work is well implemented by real estate
assess the competitive ability of one real estate enterprises, it would be very convenient for them
enterprise, firstly the real estate enterprises need 4.2. Improve the quality of service products and to raise the capital through issuing their shares
to identify the internal factors and external factors the diversity of the provided services and bonds to the public.
impacting on their competitive abilities. When the source of real estate products is However, the real estate marketing activities on
According to VietRees, the essential internal growing, the quality of service products is getting the current market have not received the proper
factors that the enterprises need to use to assess more attention of the customers. The quality of the investment from the investors, including the big
the competitive ability of one real estate enterprise real estate service products should deserve the real estate investors. When the market was
include: money that customers have paid. The enterprises eventful as in 2006 - 2007, the investors mainly
• The quality of service products have to rearrange the structure of the products in focused on the phase of organizing the sales, the
many segments, direct the products at the current
• The diversity of provided services events and introducing the products and the
needs of the customers and take the quantity to
• Human resources marketing activities through media took place very
offset the profits (for example: investing in the incoherently and inconsistently.
• The ability to develop the market
housing segment for the medium - income and The investors have not created the difference or
• Trademarks and the prestige of the real estate
low-income people). prominence for their real estate products besides
enterprises
the architectural design elements. Many investors
• Financial ability
4.3. Build up the market information have had many large real estate projects and
• Organizational and management ability of the
department; regularly follow and fully update traded products on their own but they have not had
real estate enterprises
the movements of the market through the mass the marketing/business departments, marketing
• The real estate information system media channels and the actual surveys. departments or the professional staff that are in
• The level of using the information technology This is not work that any enterprise can also well charge of marketing.
The external factors influencing the competitive perform while the real estate market information In the current difficult situation, a few real estate
abilities of the real estate enterprises can include has become less transparent as now. When there companies have had many new marketing ways,
the macroscopic policies of the government – the have not been State agencies that can organize, aiming at the real customers.
law factor, the domestic and foreign competitors, collect and analyze the market information, the real
the capital market, the psychology of the subjects estate enterprises should choose the prestigious 4.8. Expand the channels of raising capital for
joining the market, etc. For these external factors, units to agree on providing suitable and essential the real estate enterprises.
the real estate enterprises are very hard to information for their enterprises. In fact, according The current capital source of the real estate
intervene, change or adjust. Therefore, the to the VietRees, it has been so hard for many enterprises has mainly come from the commercial
enterprises only need to thoroughly study and businesses to carry out this work on their own. In
banks. Although the banks have reduced the loan
understand the external factors and focus more on the case that they cannot build up and effectively
interest rates, the loan conditions have become
the internal factors. operate a team to handle this work, they can more difficult than before. As a result, only a few
perform this through professional units that real estate enterprises can borrow money from this
2. How to enhance the competitive abilities of specialize in researching, providing the market
main capital channel. A few companies have
the Vietnamese real estate enterprises information and consultancy in terms of real estate.
issued the shares on the stock market but they
To enhance the competitive abilities, one of the
could not raise much capital because the stock
things that the enterprises need to do is to actively 4.4. Expand the business investment market
market has been freely falling.
evaluate their real ability and find out the most following the specific routes depending on the
In addition to the capital borrowed from the banks
basic strength in order to promote the flexibility in scientific results of the market research
and mobilized from the stock market, the
each economic period. surveys. enterprises should expand issuing the enterprise
According to VietRees, only when the real estate
bonds and real estate bonds from the real estate
enterprises possess, construct and promote their 4.5. Build up the legal department in each
projects that they invested, meanwhile, promoting
key competitive abilities in comparison with other enterprise having the function of offering legal
the works of the joint-venture, cooperation and
competitors, they can have the sustainable and consulting to the managers and hold the works
merger for development.
long-term development. of preventing the crisis risks.
This definition will help the enterprises build the
Summary:
4.6. Improve the real estate knowledge of the
effective development and competitive strategies.
In the current market situation, if the competitive
current employees and attract the good
abilities have not been enhanced and there have
3. The weaknesses in the competitive abilities employees.
not been the basic strategies, the enterprises will
This is the weakness of most of the Vietnamese
of most of the current real estate enterprises
be able to suffer the loss, close down and go
• The quality and competitive abilities in terms of enterprises in general and the real estate bankrupt. To ensure the objectivity in assessing
enterprises in particular. To have highly
management are poor. the competitive abilities, VietRees would like to
• The human resources are not methodically professional staff, the enterprises need to have the advise the enterprises to perform this work
strategies for holding and attracting talents. To
trained in terms of the real estate field. seriously and probably need the help of the
enhance the work effect, every enterprise should
• The real estate information lacks transparency. prestigious consultants on the market.
offer professional training courses to the key staff
• The quality of work is bad. On the other hand, no matter how they assess,
in order to suit its requirements in each period.
• The financial ability is low. they also need to have the bases to compare with
Therefore, the effective training programs and
other enterprises that are in the same operation
• The weakness in terms of brand. plans have been one of the methods that the
field, market segment and directly and indirectly
• Not really aiming at their right customers. enterprises have used to enhance the competitive
compete with them.
abilities. Meanwhile, the enterprises should pay
• Not understanding and strictly execute the law.
attention to building up the reasonable treatment
4. Solutions to enhancing the competitive policies such as salary policy, bonuses to keep the
stability in their volume of staff, especially the
abilities
VietRees – December 2008
excellent staff.



REAL ESTATE MARKET FORECAST
* Note: Information on market forecast is only updated every 4 periods (after one month) by VietRees – January, 2009
The transaction situation of apartments, townhouses and project ground bases in December has
General tendency of Ho Chi Minh
continued to decrease. According to VietRees’s forecast, the real estate prices can continue to go down
City market with the decrease of approximately 5% per month in December and before Lunar New Year. The
property prices in 2009 are hardly likely to be on the upturn.
The successful transactions at the end of December last year was a little bit higher than the previous
months. However, the transactions have just focused on the segment of low-value townhouses and
apartments. For the group of the high-grade apartments, the rate of the successful transactions was
quite low and inconsiderable. The amount of overseas national currency exchange at the end of this
year has dramatically dropped and not been invested in the real estate field as in the previous years but
it has been used for the production or paying the debts.
The difficulties in the credit situation, the deflation of the economy and the coming maturity of the
contracts mortgaged by the properties have made many properties to be sold out at the prices that are
quite low, even lower than the initial selling prices of the investors. The total outstanding real estate
loans have accounted for nearly 10% of the debts of the whole the banking system, therefore, the banks
demand payment of the debts. And as a result, many investors have to sell their projects and products at
the low prices. Many real estate enterprises have lacked the cash to maintain their business and it is
very hard to borrow more money from banks. On the other hand, currently, some banks have consigned
the mortgaged high-grade properties of the customers for sale and extended the debts so that the
customers have more time to sell their properties in order to pay the loan contracts.

The supplies of the apartments belonging to the medium and low segment have been quite limited;
Apartment market
therefore the market belonging to this segment has also seen no changes as compared to the previous
month. Many high-grade apartments with low prices (mainly belonging to those who sell out their
properties) are hunted for. Meanwhile, the situation of checking the prices of the sellers has appeared on
the market through the self-listed selling prices that are quite low. The sellers have really not wanted to
sell because they will suffer considerable losses if they do so. However, if they offer the high prices
(though suffering little losses), it will be very hard for their properties to be sold at this time.
The high-grade apartments have seen few customers, especially many apartments in Phu My Hung and
many other areas in District 2 and 7. Although the prices have dramatically declined (over 50%), there
have been few buyers. With the movements of the current market, according to VietRees, the prices of
the high-grade apartments will continue to go down after Lunar New Year.

Project ground base market Although the prices of the project ground bases have considerably dropped, they have still been too high
to those who have real housing demands. As a result, the transactions have been are also very low. If
these people have real housing demands, they will choose the apartments or townhouses, not buying
ground bases. Therefore, the transactions have still been very slow.
The prices of many ground base projects in some areas of District 7, Nha Be have declined by 60% but
the successful transactions have still been very scarce. Many investors are worried about the ability of
selling their real estate in the current difficult situation of the economy and the frozen market.

Real estate companies Many previous companies that expanded their real estate business investment have now come back to
their main business fields. Many secondary investors have faced many difficulties such as no cash and
no customers. If this situation continues, the real estate investors who lack the capital will face
bankruptcy risk; have to sell the projects at low prices and withdraw from the market in 2009. In fact,
according to VietRees, there are a lot of middle-ranking and senior managers have withdrawn or
temporarily withdrawn from this field or reciprocally convert their assignments between the real estate
companies.
According to VietRees, the real estate investors should switch to the apartment projects with suitable
prices for the medium-income people, instead of aiming at the projects with the high prices like before.
The medium-price projects can be sold quickly; help turn over the capital and take back the capital
quickly. Then, the capital has been continued to be used for reinvesting in serving the customers who
have the real demand because the demand of this group of customers has still drawn little attention and
not been properly exploited yet.
Forecast in 2009 The real estate market with the current movements under the growing impacts of the financial crisis and
global economic recession, the Vietnamese real estate market has seemed to be gloomier. VietRees
has shown that there is a faint possibility that the market will recover in 2009. The market in 2009 will
have more difficulties than in 2008. Many real estate investors and speculators will face the bank
payments while the real estate prices have still not seen any signs of the recovery.
According to VietRees, after Tet holidays, the real estate market will be an attractive playground and
opportunity for the investors with the large capital and long-term investment strategies. The decline of
the market will minimize the speculation. The market will be under the control of buyers, not sellers like
before. For this reason, the potential real estate enterprises should build the long-term development
strategies and actively work in the research and development, especially seriously investing in
researching the market and customers; sustainable developing and avoiding the investment on a large
scale in the current difficult situation.
The coming investment trends The tendency of switching to the investment and development of the low-and-popular-price houses to
attract the majority of customers is getting clearer. Many enterprises are planning to promote their
for Vietnamese real estate
investments in this market segment. It is expected that those who have medium and low incomes have
enterprises many opportunities to approach this supply in the future.
According to VietRees, enterprises should invest in the apartments with the relative areas of 40 – 60 m2,
good structure, relatively good materials and equipments – (not need to be high-level ones), the selling
prices of nearly 10 million/m2. The apartments with the value of around 400 – 600 million VND/flat will be
likely to attract many customers. The customers that should be aimed at include the young families,
students, workers and civil servants in Ho Chi Minh.
In fact, some foreign investors are interested in this market segment. Therefore, the domestic investors
should be quicker because, according to VietRees, Vietnamese enterprises can have more advantages
than other foreign enterprises in this market segment.



CONSTRUCTION MATERIAL MARKET
In 2009, steel cools down, Vietnam Steel Association showed that the steel price on the market has decreased by 500,000 VND/ton
as compared to the end of December, 2008 because the government has approved of 5% decrease of
cement will meet the demand
Value Added Tax as from February, 2009. Thai Nguyen steel price has slided from 11 million VND / ton
Edited by VietRees to 10.6 million VND / ton, the Southern steel is at 11.2 million / ton. On the retail market, the average
price is 1 million VND/ ton more than the factory prices (tax included). This price level is equal to that of
the first half of 2007. The steel market has been stable with the fair consumption. According to experts,
Vietnamese steel market in 2009 will recover well because the bank interest rate is lowered, VAT is 5%
instead of 10% applied to the first month of this year and there is no big change of the steel price due to
the excess of supply over demand in the world. It is estimated that the consumption of the whole industry
this year is 9 million tons with the growth rate of 2 - 5%.
Until the end of 2009, the total capacity of the cement factories in the whole country will reach 60 million
tons (in which the reverter furnace cement reaches 56.8 million tons, vertical shaft kiln cement is about 3
million tons) while the consumption demand is estimated to be about 45 - 46 million tons. Thus, the
domestic cement production capacity will meet the consumption demand and there is no shortage of
supply. From 2010 onwards, some new projects that are being built will continue to be completed and
put into operation. Therefore, Vietnam does not need to import clinker and will have a surplus for export.
However, currently the situation of losing the balance between the supply and demand in the South and
the North continues and needs the reasonable calculation and goods transfer to avoid the “virtual fever”.

STOCK MARKET
* At HCMC bourse, at the starting bell, good signals have
Vietnam stock slightly up,
appeared when many share codes reversed the direction to
VN-index adds 3.82 points, upturn with the relatively large number of buying orders.
HASTC-Index adds 2.45 points Ending the first phase, the VN-Index has added 1.93 points to
Edited by VietRees close at 279.74 points. The total trading volume has reached 1
million units. Entering the consecutive order-matching phase,
Chart Source: Vietstock
VN-Index has increased rather dramatically but then, the
Up to date: 06 Feb, 2009
purchasing power has rapidly dropped, which made VN-index
have volatile ups and downs. Till the end of the session, VN-
Index has added 0.68 points as compared to the first phase, to
close at 280.6 points. Ending the session, the Vn-index has added a total of 286.63 points. The total
trading volume on the whole market has reached over 7.2 million VND worth 153.34 billion VND.
One trading week after Tet holidays, the Vn-Index has had 4 downward sessions and 1 upward session.
As compared to the session on 23th January, 2009, VN-Index has lost 21.58 points (or 7.12%). The total
trading volume has averaged nearly 4.5 million units/ session per day.
* At Hanoi bourse, the HASTC-Index has come back to the upturn with an increase of 2.45 points and
recorded at 92.66 points. The total trading volume on the whole market has reached 4.2 million units
worth only over 83.3 billion VND.
In sum, the HASTC-Index has lost 7.27 points (from 99.93 points down to 92.66 points) as compared to
the closing session before Tet holidays. Hanoi bourse has had 4 downward sessions and 1 upward
session in the last week.


Vietnam Real Estate Newsletter - No. 68, Week 1 Feb, 2009

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Vietnam Real Estate Newsletter - No. 68, Week 1 Feb, 2009