Formula 1 is set to announce the addition of a Vietnam Grand Prix to its calendar for 2020 in the next month, with sources indicating a deal has been reached.

The Asian country has long been rumoured to be on the radar of F1’s owner Liberty Media, with a venue just over seven miles west of Hanoi having been singled out as a location for the track – which will be partially street-based.

Talks have advanced quickly behind the scenes and sources at last weekend’s Japanese GP insisted an agreement was now in place for the event to go ahead in 2020.

An official announcement about the race, which will be the first new addition to the calendar by Liberty, is likely to come next month.

F1 race director Charlie Whiting visited the Hanoi location ahead of the Japanese GP, and said he had no doubts that the facility would be ready.

“There is no actual progress at building the track, but the site has been identified,” he said.

“It is in the advanced stages of design and as far as I am aware, they are aiming for a 2020 grand prix.

“That shouldn’t be a problem based on previous experience.”

Whiting confirmed that the circuit would partly be based on current public roads, but would also feature a new section being built specifically for the race.

“It is mainly on the streets, but there is a section that is not yet built,” he explained.

“That is an open site where the pit buildings are going to be built.

“Part of the track will be built there, which doesn’t exist at the moment. But it will become a road after that.”

Source: Auto Sport

Vietnam opening up to foreign property ownership in 2015 has created much excitement for overseas investors. Hanoi, the capital, thrives under the spotlight as a core for businesses, trades and manufacturing. Its strong performing economy equates a growing property market driven by infrastructure initiatives, new MRT systems, airport expansion and a new CBD development at Nam Từ Liêm. As livability increases with an expanding middle class, landed properties with limited availability for foreign ownership and in prime locations will soar into high demand.

Golden Emperor Properties will partner with Malaysia’s renowned developer Gamuda Land to introduce Dahlia Homes, a prestigious landed property with limited foreign ownership quota, which will be launched at our Vietnam Landed Property Investment Seminar. Dahlia Homes located at the first mega city-within-city mega project in Hanoi, comparable to Hong Kong’s ‘Taikoo Shing’ but in a much more sizable scale.  Come and find out the potential of this project and how to benefit from the upside of this emerging market.

Dates: 3-4 November, 2018 (Sat & Sun)
2 sessions (please choose one)
Session 1: 12:30-2pm (Eng)
Session 2: 2-4pm (Canto)
Venue: East & West Rooms, 23/F, Mandarin Oriental Hong Kong, 5 Connaught Road, Central, Hong Kong
Cost: Free

***  Landed Property in Vietnam / Price Starting from HKD 3.9M / Limited foreign quota ***

Topics to be covered at the seminar:

1. Understanding the new residential housing law of Vietnam for foreigners (i.e. who are eligible to purchase, what are the restrictions, and whether I purchase under my own name or a company & etc)
2. The impact of the new (MRT) Metro Lines, and Regeneration of Nam Từ Liêm (the new “West Kowloon” area of Hanoi), to the Hanoi property market
3. Investment hotspots in Hanoi – an analysis of various locales within the city will be provided with a summary of the top investment favorites
4. Current updates on the Hanoi property market with an economic impact study
5. Relevant procedures and costs for property investments in Hanoi
6. Infrastructure developments in Hanoi and its impact on the property market
7. Vietnam property market trends and forecast
8. Capital gains and exit procedures for Hanoi property investments
9. Tips for first time buyer

Click here to RSVP now

The Project – Dahlia Homes at Gamuda City

Completed Project at Gamuda City – Gamuda Homes

Project Location:

Project Highlights:

• Price starting from HKD3.9M*
• Down-payment 10% now
• Expected completion in Dec 2020
• Gross Floor Area from 231.57 – 231.90 sq.m. (i.e. 2,492 – 2,496 sq.ft.)
• Gross rental yield is projected up to 6% p.a.**
• Freehold for Vietnamese; Leasehold 50 years with renewal possibility for foreigners – the property immediately becomes freehold when a foreigner resells the unit to a local Vietnamese
• Located in prime location of Hoang Mai, Hanoi’s first mega city-within-city project built by Gamuda Land, with its own private international school (Singapore International School)
• Easy Access to New CBD Nam Thu Liem and 3rd Ring Road
• Full condo facilities including 50M Swimming Pool, Gym, Spa, Children Playground, Tennis Courts, Green Park, Restaurant, Singapore International Schools and 24-hour Security by Guard
• Fully finished villas
• Booking of the units can be done in Hong Kong without the need to travel to Vietnam

*Terms & conditions apply

**Expected Rental Yield is projected and not guaranteed

Vietnam’s real estate market in the final quarter of 2018 is likely to see the strongest growth of the year in housing transactions, even higher than that of the same period last year, according to Nguyen Van Dinh, Vice President of the Vietnam Association of Realtors (VARs).

Binh gave the forecast at a VARs event in Hanoi on October 11 to announce its report on the domestic property market in the third quarter.

He said the nationwide market is anticipating the upcoming launches of various new projects from October to December, and that unit prices will only pick up 0.5-1 percent from the previous quarter, which is not significant.

In the final quarter, the market will welcome launches of a wide range of products while the economy is predicted to remain stable and experience strong growth with positive outlook on housing demand and investment. At the same time, foreign direct investment (FDI) will continue pouring into Vietnam, especially as a wave of FDI will be redirected from investments in China due to great concerns over the US-China trade tension, according to VARs.

This quarter is also the period in which Vietnam usually receives the highest level of remittance in the year, with real estate also often viewed as the best investment channel compared to stocks, gold, and foreign currencies.

In the third quarter of 2018, over 20,000 new units were launched in the country’s two economic hubs, Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, with prices staying flat from the second quarter. About 13,000 units were sold, accounting for 63.5 percent of the total supply.

In Hanoi, middle-range apartments made up 54 percent of the total transactions. Meanwhile in Ho Chi Minh, high-end units dominated with 40.5 percent, followed by the middle-range segment with 36.5 percent.

However, resort properties witnessed drops in supply and successful transactions in the previous quarter. The VARs recommended developers to halt developing new resort projects to avoid oversupply.

Source: Vietnam+

Photo Above: Mr. Terence Chan, Managing Director of Golden Emperor, discusses the current property market and its trend with attending investors.

Photo Above: The weekend launch successfully attracted a number of local investors.

Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc is leading a high-level delegation of Vietnam to attend the 10th Mekong-Japan Summit in Tokyo and visit Japan from October 8-10. The trip is hoped to help lift bilateral trade to 60 billion USD in 2020.

Over the past years, Viet Nam-Japan trade relations have grown rapidly, and Japan has always been among the top four trade partners among more than 200 countries and territories exporting to and importing goods from Vietnam.

The number of Japanese companies investing in Vietnam has been on the rise along with their investment scale. Economic ties between the two countries are opening more cooperation opportunities in many areas.

After 45 years of establishing diplomatic relations, Vietnam and Japan have become increasingly important partners of each other in many fields. Since the two countries upgraded the bilateral relationship to the level of Extensive Strategic Partnership for peace and prosperity in Asia in 2014, Vietnam-Japan ties has developed strongly, comprehensively and practically.

Statistics from the Vietnamese Ministry of Industry and Trade, as of early October 2018, Vietnam’s total export value to Japan reached 13.82 billion USD, up 12.2 percent over the same period of 2017.

Japan is also one of the four markets to which Vietnam’s export turnover exceeded the 10 billion USD benchmark. Especially, Vietnam enjoyed a trade surplus of 141 million USD in two-way trade with Japan so far this year.

Vietnam’s export staples to Japan in the reviewed period were garments and textiles (537 million USD); transport vehicles (365.2 million USD); machines and equipment (259 million USD). Remarkably, Vietnam’s main exports to Japan recorded a stable growth compared to the same period last year.

According to a survey by the Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO), up to 70 percent of asked Japanese enterprises want to invest in Vietnam and 66.6 percent of Japanese enterprises operating in Vietnam plan to expand their production and business activities.

As of April 2018, Japan had 3,693 valid FDI projects in Vietnam with total registered capital of over 49.8 billion USD, ranking second among 116 countries and territories investing in Vietnam. This is a positive sign and a foundation to believe that the flow of of Japanese direct investment into Vietnam will continue to increase in the coming years.

Hoang Quang Phong, Vice Chairman of the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI), said that, to attract more Japanese investments, Vietnam needs to continue reforming its administrative procedures and improving competitiveness of enterprises, increasing labour productivity, and maintaining commitments among investors, and take full advantages of cooperation potential in new fields such as agriculture and tourism, human resources training and development, transportation and distribution.

Together with the Japan-Vietnam Economic Partnership Agreement (VJEPA) and the ASEAN-Japan Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (AJCEP), along with the positive economic outlook of Japan, Vietnam’s export of agricultural products, and seafood are forecasted to see bright prospects in 2018.

According to the VJEPA, the average tariff imposed on Vietnamese exports to Japan will gradually decrease to 2.8 percent in 2018.

When the agreement takes effect, at least 86 percent of agricultural, forestry and aquatic products and 97 percent of industrial products of Vietnam exported to Japan will be entitled to tax incentives.

In return, the average tariff levied on Japanese imports to Vietnam will be reduced to 7 percent by 2018.

Over the last decade, under the agreement, Vietnam and Japan have basically completed the tax reduction roadmap to build a complete bilateral free trade area. Accordingly, 94.53 percent of Vietnamese exports turnover and 87.6 percent of Japanese exports will be exempted from import taxes.

Vietnam and Japan need to promote economic cooperation by fostering cooperation in trade and investment, implementing effectively the VJEPA to realise the goal of 60 billion USD in two-way trade in 2020, Vietnamese Minister of Industry and Trade Tran Tuan Anh said.

During a meeting with Nishikawa Koya, Special Advisor to the Cabinet of Japan, Anh praised Japan as one of the first countries to ratify the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) as well as the country’s role in leading and creating a driving force and strong influence on the ratification of the trade deal in other countries.

He affirmed that bilateral relations between Vietnam and Japan have rapidly improved and developed strongly not only in economy and trade but also in other fields. Both sides should create favorable conditions for agricultural and aquatic products to enter each other’s market, he noted, adding that action plans of six selected industries in the Vietnam Industrialization Strategy within the framework of the Vietnam-Japan Cooperation towards 2020, vision 2030 should be implemented.

Source: Vietnam+

The resort island of Phu Quoc in the Mekong Delta province of Kien Giang expects to welcome about 2.5 million tourist arrivals in 2018, up 25 percent from last year.

Since 2015, the island has received more than 4.7 million tourist arrivals, 20.5 percent of which were foreigners. Earnings from tourism grew 42.5 percent annually in average.

According to Vice Chairman of the People’s Committee of Phu Quoc island district Pham Van Nghiep, Phu Quoc International Airport now has eight airlines operating 12 direct international flights to China, the Republic of Korea, Russia and Thailand and four domestic routes to Can Tho, Ho Chi Minh City, Hanoi and Hai Phong.

The lodging services in the island have rapidly expanded to serve the increasing demand of visitors. The island now has more than 600 hotels and other accommodations, offering about 12,000 rooms, of which 10 are rated 3 – 4 star hotels and five rated 5-star

Phu Quoc is very famous for pearl farming, fish sauce, pepper and “ruou sim”, a wine made from sim fruit or Rose Myrtle. A variety of tours are provided for travellers, such as scuba diving, coral reef snorkeling, fishing and tours to visit traditional fish sauce making establishments, pearl farms, Ham Ninh fishing village, Phu Quoc National Park, pristine beaches and many more.

In addition, Nghiep attributed the success of the local tourism industry to new luxurious tourism services, including 500-hectare Vinpearl Safari Phu Quoc – the first-ever and largest safari park in Vietnam, Vinpearl Resort & Villas, Vinpearl Land and Vincharm Spa. Earlier this year, the world’s longest sea cable car route was launched in the island, connecting An Thoi town and Hon Thom island, he said.

Phu Quoc was once a sleepy area of around 100,000 people. In recent years, however, the 567sq.m island has become a tourist mecca for thousands of visitors from around the world.

Located 46km from the mainland, the island can be reached by air from HCM City within one hour and from Hanoi within two hours.

In September, it was named by CNN among the top five up-and-coming Asia Pacific destinations to visit this fall.

According to CNN, for those planning their first trip to the Asia-Pacific region, major destinations usually top the list, such as Shanghai and Hong Kong (China), Tokyo (Japan) and Singapore.

“If you’re dreaming of a beach getaway in Asia this fall, Phu Quoc in Vietnam should be a top contender. For starters, the dry season begins in November and runs till April,” CNN wrote on its website.

Formerly a prison island during French colonial times, Phu Quoc’s photogenic setting and clear waters caught the attention of international brands like JW Marriott Phu Quoc Emerald Bay, which debuted its Bill Bensley-designed resort late last year.

There’s plenty to do aside from lounging and snorkeling around Ong Lang Beach.

The Phu Quoc Prison Museum offers a peek into the island’s dark history while the Phu Quoc National Park and Suoi Tranh Waterfall will spoil nature lovers, it added.

Source: Vietnam+

The former Manchester United and Real Madrid star, David Beckham, was guest of honour, launching the new VinFast cars at the Paris Motor Show on Tuesday. “These cars are incredible, sleek and high-tech,” said Beckham. “It is amazing. It is so, so beautiful. To create something in such a short space of time is really incredible. VinFast is a miracle for Vietnam.”

Hanoi lured 6.27 billion USD in foreign direct investment (FDI) in the first nine months of 2018, up 5.4 times over the same period last year and exceeding the yearly target by 64 percent.

The result made Hanoi the top locality nationwide in terms of FDI attraction.

Of the total, 5.17 billion USD was poured into 417 new projects, while 661 million USD was added into 116 underway ones and about 431 million USD contributed by 543 foreign investors to domestic firms.

At the same time, 70 non-budget invested projects were implemented with combined capital of 163 trillion VND (7 billion USD), while 41 others received additional 86 trillion VND (3.69 billion USD).

The feasibility reports of four public-private partnership projects were approved with total investment of 14.42 trillion VND (620.06 million USD).

Meanwhile, the city also issued investment licences to four new projects worth 13.94 trillion VND (599.42 million USD).

Hanoi stands ready to aid European investors and will offer them more preferential policies, said Chairman of the municipal People’s Committee Nguyen Duc Chung.

The official made the commitments at a dialogue between the European Chamber of Commerce (EuroCham) in Vietnam and the municipal People’s Committee on September 25 in the capital.

Chung reviewed Hanoi’s development since its administrative boundary expansion 10 years ago.

He told the delegates that the city is stepping up infrastructure building towards the smart city model, administrative reform, personnel training and environmental protection.

Chung expressed his hope that these efforts will help Hanoi improve its business environment and consolidate confidence of foreign investors, including those from Europe.

European partners are leading foreign investors in Vietnam, with total investment of nearly 25 billion USD, and the continent is the country’s biggest provider of non-refundable aid, while two-way trade rose five times in 2006-2017, exceeding 50 billion USD last year.

Source: Vietnam+, Vietnam+

According to Vietnam Plus, since policies to attract foreign direct investment (FDI) were applied from January 1, 1988, Ho Chi Minh City has led the way in luring investment.\

Statistics from the municipal People’s Committee show that after 30 years of FDI attraction, the city has hosted 7,700 FDI projects with a total capital of 44.87 billion USD, clinching the first position in the field.

In 2016-2018 (as of June 2018), the city lured 14.4 billion USD in new projects and through deals with domestic ones, along with 2.14 billion USD injected into 525 underway projects. The city also approved 6,340 investors to contribute capital and buy shares of Vietnamese firms to the tune of 7.27 billion USD.

This year, Ho Chi Minh City is still the hot spot of attracting foreign investment capital. In the first 7 months of the year, total 4.69 billion USD was poured into Ho Chi Minh City, an increase of 70.5 percent year-on-year.

According to the Department of Planning and Investment of Ho Chi Minh city, during this period, total 553 new projects got the new investment licenses. Total investment value reached 508.25 million USD.

Also in this seven months, Ho Chi Minh City administration approved for 1,628 foreign investors to raise capital to buy more stakes. The registered capital is equal to 3.73 billion USD. Compared to the same period of last year, the number of cases rose by 31.4% and 2.3 times in capital.

Source: Bizlive.vn

The 2018 World Economic Forum (WEF) ASEAN summit was hosted in Hanoi, Vietnam,  from September 11th to 13th. Vietnam Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc, pointed out that the summit explores the region’s developmental prospects and the manifestation of the region’s new economic status. The summit, is a representation of the region’s Industry 4.0 Initiative, which calls for innovation and reformation for business and domestic development.

Prime Minister Nguyen released his article, ‘2018 WEF ASEAN Summit: TO JOIN HANDS IN BUILDING THE ASEAN COMMUNITY IN THE FOURTH INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION ERA,’ upon his arrival at the WEF ASEAN summit earlier.

In his article, Nguyen explores the theme of WEF ASEAN: ‘Entrepreneurship and the Fourth Industrial Revolution’ which focuses on the discourse and recommendation of ideas, orientations and policies to explore the potential of the region’s rising business opportunities.

The WEF ASEAN summit is symbolic of the ‘fundamental and innovative changes’ occurring in the region with a rapidly growing workforce and the summit is a representation of the region’s innovative business opportunities. Vietnam and the leaders of its surrounding countries have agreed to explore the potential in the development of the region’s digital economy, employment challenges and sustainable development.

Prime Minister’s Nguyen’s article strongly emphasized that the summit will aid to seek new ways to propel Vietnam’s own Industry 4.0 Initiative in order to extend its economic development to improve the region’s competitiveness on the global platform.

Nguyen stated that the summit was one of the major events across the nation this year, attracting a number of state and government leaders, executives from leading firms and leading figures from all ASEAN countries from over 43 countries to attend. The success of the summit shall continue to create new drivers to propel the region’s economy. On the other hand, Vietnam will be the platform for internationals partnerships and its foreign policies will continue to attract businesses to expands its economy.

Source: CNA