Foreign property investors sought by domestic firms that need capital As the Vietnamese real estate market has begun to recover, foreign investors have sought new investment opportunities and being welcomed by domestic real estate developers who need capital.   An Gia Investment JSC has signed a multi-sided investment cooperation with Japanese Creed Group, under which the investment fund committed to spend $200 million to buy a stake in An Gia. The Japanese investment fund also committed to provide loans to An Gia to help the real estate developer buy projects and build Japanese-quality houses in HCM City. It has also promised to transfer real estate development technology, experience and opportunities to An Gia. Creed Group is known as an investment fund specializing in injecting money into the real estate sector. It has invested in 22 large real estate projects in Japan and now manages assets worth $5 billion. According to An Gia Investment’s chair Nguyen Ba Sang, An Gia is now developing four projects with investment capital of VND3 trillion in total, which is expected to provide nearly 2,000 apartments to the market. An Gia is negotiating to buy 10 land plots in the central districts of HCM City for which it will need about $1 billion. Therefore, the cooperation agreement signed with Creed Group will bring additional financial resources to fulfill its plans. Nguyen Dinh Bao, deputy general director of Khang Dien Housing Investment and Trade JSC, said the company is considering amending its chapter on foreign ownership ratio ceiling in order to call for more foreign investment capital. Khang Dien is one of the few real estate firms which have foreign investors holding 49 percent of the company’s stake – the ceiling level in accordance with old laws. VinaCapital now holds 21 percent of Khang Dien’s shares, worth $26 million, while Dragon Capital, the second largest investor, holds 16 percent, worth $20 million. The other big names such as Mutual Fund Elite, Vietnam Holding and SAM are also the company’s shareholders. Bao said some foreign investment funds are negotiating with Khang Dien on their additional capital contribution to raise their ownership ratios. A source said that Khang Dien has more than 100 hectares of clean land, which makes it more attractive to foreign investors. The foreign investors’ interest in the real estate market has increased significantly compared with 2012-2013. They are willing to invest in different market segments with investment value of between $5 and $100 million. Nguyen Vinh Tran, managing director of Jen Development Vietnam Fund, noted that investors believe the real estate prices in Vietnam have decreased to acceptable levels, while domestic firms have become more flexible when looking for foreign investors. Lao Dong