Foreign investors target cleared land as property market heats up The real estate market continues to be bustling, with a series of M&A deals in 2007 and to be made in 2018.   JLL noted that hundreds of millions of dollars are about to flow into all segments of the real estate market, from houses, offices and retail premises to hotels and industrial zones. The investors are mostly from Japan, Singapore and South Korea. The market has also witnessed the rise of investors from China, namely CFLC, Country Garden and Jiayuan. Japanese have been increasing their presence in Vietnam. Kajima, one of four of the  largest Japanese conglomerates, in September 2016 joined forces with Indochina Capital to set up a joint venture to develop projects with estimated total capital of up to $1 billion over the next 10 years. In the immediate time, they will focus on housing and resort projects in Hanoi, HCM City and Da Nang. The real estate market continues to be bustling, with a series of M&A deals to be made this year and in 2018. The domestic market has seen many big M&A deals this year. In March, Keppel Land from Singapore, through its subsidiary Krystal Investment Pte, acquired a 16 remaining stake in the Saigon Centre project. And Hongkong Land will become the strategic partner of CII to develop houses in the Thu Thiem new urban area. In May, Quoc Cuong Gia Lai sold its project in Nha Be district to Sunny Island Investment, but the value of the deal remains a secret. More recently, Phat Dat Real Estate announced the transfer of a part of Everrich 3 project in HCM City. Hung Thinh Real Estate is moving ahead with the strategy on taking over 20 projects which have been delayed for a long time. Ten of the projects have been developed and products have been marketed. VinaCapital has sold 70 percent of its stake in the 198.5 hectare Dai Phuoc Lotus project in Dong Nai province to China Fortune Land Development (CFLD). CFLD has signed an MOU with Tin Nghia Corporation on the development of a new industrial city in Ong Keo IZ. The housing market segment is always attractive for investors who are aware of the rapid rise of middle-income earners. They also target commercial real estate with a special focus on hotel and A-class offices. More and more foreign investors have come to Vietnam and set up offices and are expanding their staff in Vietnam instead of bringing more foreign workers. JLL commented that the office rent in Vietnam is far higher than in other regional countries, which reflects the short supply. However, foreign investors face big challenges in Vietnam. They tend to look for ‘clean’ land, that is, land plots where site clearance has been completed. However, there are few such projects in Vietnam because the real estate market is young. Kim Chi, VNN