Japanese investors ready to pour $2 bln into Vietnam’s real estate market

Property firms are confident of the growth fundamentals in Vietnam.

Japanese real estate companies are looking outside the domestic market for a potential investment destination, and Vietnam is looking like an ideal candidate with annual returns of up to 20-25 percent.

Vietnam's Real estate

Japanese companies are planning combined investment of up to $2 billion in the Southeast Asian country, said Than Thanh Vu, president of a merger and acquisition consulting company.

A large number of Japanese groups, including Sumitomo, Sanyo Homes, Daiwa House, Aeon and Toshin, are searching for large scale mixed-use developments comprising apartments, serviced apartments, retail and office space in major cities like Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, Vu said, citing the $100 million office building project funded by Sumitomo as an example.

Investor interest is being fueled by Vietnam’s economic growth, which has on average been above 5 percent since 1999, Vu continued.

There are other factors driving the inflow of Japanese investment into Vietnam’s property sector. Japanese investors want to tap into the potential of Vietnam’s growing population which will lead to a rapidly expanding demand for real estate. With their domestic market shrinking as population is aging rapidly, Japanese companies are increasingly looking at Vietnam as a promising market.

Japanese investors are entering the local market through mergers and acquisitions, Vu said, explaining that as long-term investors, Japanese companies prefer acquiring stakes in local property developers gradually over time so that they can gain a better understanding of the local market. Mergers and acquisitions also allow foreign investors to quickly gain a foothold without going through the massive amount of complicated paperwork involved in the real estate sector.

Industry experts forecast a surge in mergers and acquisitions (M&As) in the real estate inHanoi and Ho Chi Minh City.

“Japanese companies are financially strong and vastly experienced in property developments, so it will be easy for them to take the projects at some of the most sought-after locations from local developers,” said Vu, adding that given extremely low interest rates and limited economic growth in Japan, these investors are sitting on huge cash piles and have little option but to invest overseas.

Japanese investors have just laid their eyes on Vietnam’s real estate market, said Masataka Sam Yoshida, chief executive of Tokyo-based Recof, which is mainly involved in M&A consulting.

In the past, Japanese companies were very cautious about making real estate deals in Vietnam due to the high risk of speculation, lack of transparency and information, Masataka explained.

But things have changed, he said.

One of Japan's largest builders, Kajima Corporation, has formed a joint venture with Indochina Capital to channel funds worth $1 billion into property developments in Vietnam over the next 10 years. The 50:50 partnership has plans to acquire several local projects in the pipeline.

Vietnam is currently viewed among the top markets in Asia for foreign direct investment, said Keisuke Koshijima, market development executive at Kajima, adding that the company has identified the Southeast Asian country as the next key driver for its growing business in the region.

ANT Consulting is here to assist you from the outset; providing corporate intelligence, risk advisory, management consulting services that assist market entrance, and ensure efficient business start-up operation.  Our services are as following:

• Advisory
• Market Entry
• Tax Advice
• Legal Advice

We strive to save your cost by guiding you towards economical solutions that comply with local legislation and procedures. We support you through early logistic solutions and carry you through as your business grows.  We aim to bridge the gap between international best practices and local cultures and assist foreign companies and organizations entering Vietnam market to overcome commercial and regulatory issues.

We could be reached at email: ant@antconsult.vn or tel: +848 3520 2779 .  To learn more about us, please visit www.antconsult.vn

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Korea Convenience Store Chain Presented in Vietnam

In September 2016, the two first Ilahui stores in Vietnam have opened in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC) in the form of franchise.

According to Ilahui brand manager in Vietnam, in the fourth quarter of 2016, this brand will expand to 6 – 8 stores to serve the needs of customers both throughout the country. In the next 5 years, Ilahui will have at least 200 stores spreading across the provinces of Vietnam.

With the advantages of products and prices are updated, diverse in types and designs with elegant shopping space, the company expects this will be a new business model with strong penetration step intoVietnam retail market.

According to Nielsen Vietnam – a market research firm, among 93 million people of Vietnam, there are nearly 60% of the population are under 35 years old. The income of this class has also increased from 433 USD per person per year (in 2000) to 2,111 USD per person per year (in 2015). Vietnamese consumers also have demand to enjoy new and quality shopping experiences.

That is the reason leading to the explosion of the Vietnam retail market in recent years, especially the chain of convenience stores, which significantly including Family Mart, MiniStop, B’s Mart, Circle K, Shop & Go, Vinmart Plus and 7-Eleven… Now we have Ilahui – convenience store chain specializing in Korean style utilities items and fashion accessories in Hanoi and HCMC.

Ilahui strengths are Korean style utility items and fashion accessories, which are interested by Vietnam young people. With more than 3,000 products; 20,000 -25,000 products on shelves at a price from 10,000 VND; 100 new products every month with all types from men/women fashion, accessories, toys, stationery, home appliances, electronic accessories, cosmetics… bringing to customers many choices in terms of models and pricing. Besides, the new trends, fashion accessories that are favored by Korean idols will be updated quickly in Ilahui.

Besides customers are young people aged 15 – 35 years old, Ilahui also owns large numbers of customers over 35 years old who have modern spending habits, preferred the products with good designs and competitive price… All of them have created competitive advantage for Ilahui comparing with other convenience stores chain in the market.

Furthermore, Ilahui also target the personality of today’s youth through creating new style of shopping experience with simply but modern decorated space. The fashion accessories and cosmetics products are packaged in cute and colorful packaging. The number of products is a lot but they are sorted neatly on wooden shelves.

According to representative of Ilahui Vietnam, the Vietnam retail market is booming and the competition will become fiercer. High success rate along with the increasing openness of the market have led the franchise to become the investment plan that is interested by a lot of young Vietnamese people.

Ilahui is the convenience stores chain specializing in Korean style fashion accessories, which is expanding very fast in Asia with more than 500 stores within a year. Despite many challenges but with the advantages in product, distinct market segments and new shopping style, Ilahui is believed to have steady steps to conquer Vietnamese customers.

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M&A Activities in Vietnam in Recent Years

Vietnam’s population is more than 90 million people so that foreign investors are looking at Vietnam as a fertile ground to expand their market by M&A deals.

Accordingly, along with the process of restructuring the economy and international integration of Vietnam, in recent years, merger andacquisition (M&A) activities have been fairly active, in which many major transactions involving Thai enterprises.

In 2009, the total value of M&A transactions in Vietnam reached 1 billion USD then in 2015, the number is 5 billion USD. Particularly for the first 6 months of 2016, the value of M&A in Vietnam has exceeded 3 billion USD, in which it took place in such sectors as retail, commodities and real estate…

Thailand, Japan and Singapore are still the major buyers in Vietnam market. While Japan invests in companies in aviation, petroleum and pharmaceutical sectors, Singapore emerges with commercial real estate projects. Lastly, Thailand continues to focus on the retail segment with the goal of expanding the market.

Head of M&A transactions last year is the retail sector and consumer goods, accounting for 38.46% of the total value. In particular, the scale of 2 M&A deals from Thailand accounted for 24.8% of the total value of 2015 and the first half of 2016. This shows the trend that retail businesses at home and abroad continue to explore the market with more than 90 million people of Vietnam. Recently, Thailand’s major corporations continuously acquired large supermarket chains such as Metro, Big C…  Singha has also become a strategic partner of Masan with investment value of 1.1 billion USD.

According to experts, there is a great competition in the business sector of Thailand and Japan when investing in Vietnam because Vietnam market has now fully matured and become more attractive. On the other hand, the market of Thailand and Japan has begun to saturate.

Especially, there is a wave of M&A of Thai investors in Vietnam in order to expand the market for the “Made in Thailand” products. While Thailand’s population is about 50 million, the size of Vietnam’s population is almost double – over 90 million people.

With many innovations in policy such as the Investment Law and the Enterprise Law, the process of international integration will create opportunities and new playing field for the M&A transactions to boom.

ANT Consulting is here to assist you from the outset; providing corporate intelligence, risk advisory, management consulting services that assist market entrance, and ensure efficient business start-up operation. 

We strive to save your cost by guiding you towards economical solutions that comply with local legislation and procedures. We support you through early logistic solutions and carry you through as your business grows.  We aim to bridge the gap between international best practices and local cultures and assist foreign companies and organizations entering Vietnam market to overcome commercial and regulatory issues.

We could be reached at email: ant@antconsult.vn or tel: +848 3520 2779 .  To learn more about us, please visit www.antconsult.vn

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Vietnam Tourism Industry

Vietnam is a country with abundant and diverse tourism potentials. For Vietnam’s economy, tourism is a key economic sector, plays an important role in the development of the country.

The tourism industry continues to bring potential revenue stream for Vietnam. In the context of the accommodation need is constantly increasing, many new projects will join the market within the next ten years.

According to statistics, the hotel industry in Vietnam has recorded impressive growth in quarter 1 of 2016.

According to the Tourism Authority of Vietnam, Vietnam has welcomed nearly 108,750 Russian tourists in quarter 1 of 2016, increase by 13.5% over the same period last year. Experts said that thanks to the loosen visa policy of the Government, Vietnam is considered as a safer destination for Russian tourists compared to other traditional tourist destinations.

In fact, the hotel industry of Vietnam is just in the early stages of the long developing way. In recent years, Vietnam is considered a leading tourism destination for seasonal tourists and who love exploring cultural values.

Currently, Vietnam is increasingly known as an international tourism destination with favorable climate, rich culinary, beautiful beaches, diverse cultures as well as facilities to meet international standards for foreign tourists.

With the expansion of the international airport, improved infrastructure, better quality hotels and entertainment facilities, Vietnam is gradually becoming a great alternative destination than Thailand and Malaysia.

According to statistics, since January 2016 to May 2016, Vietnam has welcomed nearly 3,248,634 international passengers, increases by 17.8% over the same period last year, with the largest number of visitors coming from China and Korea.

Notably, Quang Binh and Ninh Binh are emerging tourist destinations that recognized increasing visitor arrivals.

ANT Consulting is here to assist you from the outset; providing corporate intelligence, risk advisory, management consulting services that assist market entrance, and ensure efficient business start-up operation.  Our services are as following:

• Market Entry
• Tax Advice
• Legal Advice

We strive to save your cost by guiding you towards economical solutions that comply with local legislation and procedures. We support you through early logistic solutions and carry you through as your business grows.  We aim to bridge the gap between international best practices and local cultures and assist foreign companies and organizations entering Vietnam market to overcome commercial and regulatory issues.

We could be reached at email: ant@antconsult.vn or tel: +848 3520 2779 .  To learn more about us, please visit www.antconsult.vn

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Private Hospital Projects Attract Foreign Investment

After many domestic investors failed to investin the construction of private hospital, from 2014 until now, especially in the first months of 2016, there were many foreign investors interested in this area.

Recently, a US delegation composed of more than 40 representatives from US leading hospitals, pharmaceutical companies, medical equipment companies, research institutions and medical training institutions came to offer Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC) leaders, as well as with the 175 Military Hospital to join hands and develop the private health sector under the health socialization policy of HCMC till 2020.

According to the chairman and founder of the worldwide health service network company, they want to invest in Vietnam medical sector. If so, in addition to investment in infrastructure and equipment in the public – private cooperation model, investors also need to invest in manpower training and hospital management model to operate more efficiently.

According to the Director of the HCMC Health Department, the city is having a lot of large projects that need the cooperation of both domestic and foreign investors such as the Health Complex in Tan Kien, Binh Chanh District, with many projects such as the City Children’s Hospital, Hospital of Otolaryngology campus 2, Hematology and Blood Transfusion Hospital, Oncology Hospital, Pham Ngoc Thach University of Medical campus 2…

The Government of Vietnam is conducting the socialization schedule  in the medical field. In fact, the total health expenditures of 93 million people in Vietnam now accounts for 5.8% of GDP, the highest in ASEAN, which is said to become the magnet for investors in this market.

In 2016, many foreign investors such as Bumrungrad Hospital Corporation (Thailand) and Lippo Group (Indonesia) have expressed their intention to develop hospital chain in Vietnam. This is considered a good time to invest in Vietnam health sector.

In a recent meeting with leaders of Vietnam Government, Temasek Corporation (Singapore) said that in the coming time, this corporation wish to promote investment activities in Vietnam, in which they will mainly invest in health sector by building private hospitals.

Earlier, in January 2014, Shangrila Corporation of Malaysia has invested to build Thanh Do Hospital in Binh Tan district, HCMC. The hospital has 320 beds, 21 clinical and subclinical specialties such as obstetrics and gynecology, pediatrics, surgery, cardiology, otolaryngology, ophthalmology, urology, cancer, hepatobiliary, digestion… Until June 2015, the hospital has announced to change their name and logo into City International Hospital (CIH).

At the beginning of 2016, the investors in the health sector continues to surprise when VOF Investment Fund (managed by VinaCapital) announced to takeover 75% stake in Thai Hoa International Hospital in Dong Thap province. The amount of money that VOF invested here is about 10 million USD.

According VOF, in the coming time, the Fund will continue to seek investment opportunities in the healthcare sector, including investment opportunities in equitized public hospitals if they feel attractive enough.

ANT Consulting is here to assist you from the outset; providing corporate intelligence, risk advisory, management consulting services that assist market entrance, and ensure efficient business start-up operation. 

We strive to save your cost by guiding you towards economical solutions that comply with local legislation and procedures. We support you through early logistic solutions and carry you through as your business grows.  We aim to bridge the gap between international best practices and local cultures and assist foreign companies and organizations entering Vietnam market to overcome commercial and regulatory issues.

We could be reached at email: ant@antconsult.vn or tel: +848 3520 2779 .  To learn more about us, please visit www.antconsult.vn

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