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The property market will continue to grow this year, the HCM City Real Estate Association (HoREA) predicts.

“The social housing segment will further develop while there will be a restructure of the high-end segment to meet market demand,” it said. “Condotels and land plots in housing projects will continue to be in great demand.

“Disputes over apartment buildings will be more knotty and need to be resolved in a timely manner.”

Le Hoang Chau, chairman of HoREA, said the city real estate market would expand this year to neighbouring regions. Investors, both domestic and foreign, would strengthen co-operation, he said.

“The market will develop more steadily with online trading becoming more popular and more green constructions that are environment-friendly becoming trendy.”

The association said there would be a raft of mergers and acquisitions this year, boosting construction activities in the city. Foreign direct investment would remain the main source of funding for the market, it said.

There is no threat of a bubble this year thanks to timely action by the Government, it predicted.

Furthermore, developers too have made efforts to tweak their investment so that they develop products that match the actual demand in the market, it said.

Buyers are becoming smarter and understand the market clearly, it said.

In a report it released two days ago, global property consultant CBRE said, “In 2018 the mid-level segment will continue to account for the biggest proportion of the market, while the high-end and luxury segments will observe more considerate new supply, helping the market develop more sustainably.

“The east and south will continue to be the hotspots of the market, with more new launches in districts 2, 7, 8, Binh Thanh.

“The average selling price in 2018 is expected to increase by 3 percent, with high-end and luxury segment showing an increase of 5 percent, and the mid-level and affordable segments increasing at a lower rate of 1.5 percent.”

The association said in 2017 the real estate market grew at over 4 percent.

The medium and low-end segments saw high demand and accounted for 74 percent of the market, it said, adding that FDI was at record levels.

In HCM City, real estate accounted for the second highest level of FDI last year, it said.

Domestic developers still dominate the market, it said, listing Vingroup, Hung Thinh, Phuc Khang, Khang Dien, Novaland, Thu Duc House, Son Kim, CityLand, and Him Lam as some of the major players.

Source: Vietnam+

Through a cooperative arrangement with Vietnam’s Digiworld Corporation (DGW), the first Mi Store of China’s Xiaomi’s has officially opened at Crescent Mall in Ho Chi Minh City’s District 7, as part of its strategy to promote customer care and the customer experience. The opening marks the great progress made by Xiaomi and Digiworld in plans to expand the Xiaomi brand in Vietnam.

Known for its successful online sales strategy, as the ecosystem for Xiaomi’s products expands along with increasing technology facilities, the demand for a real experience among users grows. Building the Mi Store chain to enhance brand awareness and influence therefore makes it easier for consumers to experience actual products prior to purchase.

Xiaomi expects to open more than 1,000 outlets worldwide by 2020. In the past two years it has opened outlets extensively in markets where it has a presence, such as India, Malaysia, Singapore, and Thailand.

Mi Store in Crescent Mall is the also outlet in Vietnam to date and designed in accordance with Xiaomi’s international standards, featuring a with modern décor and open space. Not only showcasing the full range of genuine smartphones, accessories, and smart devices, Xiaomi’s unique and limited global versions will also be on display.

On the difference between the Mi Store and other outlets of technology companies in Vietnam, Mr. Doan Hong Viet, CEO of Digiworld, said: “Upon arrival, consumers are consulted and can see and experience products in Xiaomi’s advanced ‘Internet of Things’ ecosystem – possibly through the Mi Home app on a single Xiaomi smartphone – to connect and manage all personal and household devices on Mi-Eco. Users can easily make smart purchasing decisions, optimizing utility and cost.”

“In just one year since the Xiaomi’s launch in Vietnam, Digiworld has continuously introduced a range of Xiaomi products that have the most advanced technology at reasonable prices,” he went on. “While the ecosystem concept for smart devices is very expensive, Xiaomi helps your smart home dream come true.”

The Chinese phone maker early last year announced its partnership with DGW to distribute products in Vietnam and also provide marketing and customer support.

Source: Vietnam Economic Times

Vietnam witnessed positive development in the real estate market in 2017 with increased transactions of apartments and reduction in real estate inventory.

According to the National Financial Supervision Commission’s report on financial markets in 2017, the market did not see much change in property prices last year.

Prices mainly increased in the segments of high- and mid-end apartments. Prices rose by 3-10 percent for some high-end apartment projects in the urban area having convenient location, synchronous infrastructure, construction as per schedule and reputable investors, as well as attractive sales and promotional policies.

The price of high-end apartments increased at the fastest rate of 7-10 percent, while it rose 5-7 percent for mid-end apartments and 3-5 percent for affordable apartments.

In the domestic market in 2017, trading volume increased significantly compared with 2016, the report noted. The high- and mid-end apartment segments witnessed the highest trading volume. The number of successful transactions was estimated to reach 68,000 units.

Meanwhile, the report said real estate inventory of Vietnam was some 25.7 trillion VND, a reduction of 17 percent compared with December 2016. Hanoi and HCM City continued to be the cities with the largest real estate inventories, accounting for 40 percent of the country’s total inventory.

In 2017, the credit flowing into real estate trading and construction activities decreased slightly, accounting for 15.8 percent of total credit.

The end of 2017 marked a positive development in Hanoi’s condominium market, according to CBRE Vietnam’s quarterly report on Hanoi property market, released on January 4 in Hanoi.

In the last quarter, the market welcomed a record 9,500 new units, bringing 2017’s total fresh supply to 35,000 units, a year-on-year increase of 16 percent. This was also the highest number of new apartments entering the market in a year since the past five years. Fresh supply was spread across all districts in the city.

The market saw improved infrastructure and expansion of the out-of-centre area, while two new apartment projects were launched in Dong Anh district for the first time. The mid-end and affordable segments continued to dominate the market with a total 80 percent of the new supply in 2017.

The Hanoi property market had more than 23,000 successful transactions in 2017, a year-on-year surge of 12 percent.

Some projects were not located in favourable positions but still achieved good business results because of reasonable investment for the development of products and improved design of these products, along with providing convenient services for residents.

This showed that buyers paid more attention to quality property products, and, therefore, there was higher demand, CBRE Vietnam said.

CBRE Vietnam said in the future, positive development of the macro economy would continue to support the property market in general and the condominium market in particular.

With the development of the market and future supply in almost all areas of the city, the developers of apartment products will be under pressure to professionalise the sales team and perfect marketing activities for higher competitive ability and revenue, it said.

2018 is expected to see a sharp difference in development among segments, with high-end projects being developed in near-urban locations, while developers in the lower segments will improve their products further to deal with competitive pressure.

Source: Vietnam+

Viet Nam’s benchmark stock index, VN-Index, could exceed 1,300 points in 2018 due to the positive outlook for the country’s economic growth and a strong inflow of foreign investment.

The benchmark index on the HCM Stock Exchange ended 2017 at 984.24 points, setting a new 10-year high after having rallied a total of 4 per cent in six sessions. The benchmark index has risen 48 per cent since the end of 2016.

The benchmark VN-Index was also among the top three stock indices with the best growth rates worldwide, along with Argentina and Mongolia’s markets.

The minor HNX Index on the Ha Noi Stock Exchange also finished last year on a positive note at 116.86 points. The northern market index made up a five-straight-day increase of 3.4 per cent and totaled annual growth of nearly 46 per cent.

Viet Nam’s stock market has doubled in size in the past year to reach VND3.52 quadrillion (US$155 billion), equal to 72 per cent of the country’s total gross domestic product (GDP).

The strong development of the Vietnamese market was fueled by the sale and listing of large-cap enterprises—including brewers Sabeco and Habeco, petrol dealer Petrolimex, dairy producer Vinamilk and retail giant Vincom Retail—and by a net purchase value of VND27 trillion ($1.2 billion) recorded by foreign investors for the whole year.

The country also gained some achievements in its macro-economic conditions, such as the higher-than-expected GDP growth rate of 6.81 per cent published by the General Statistics Office on Wednesday, some 120,000 new businesses formed in 2017 and the reduction of administrative procedures by ministries and sectors.

Analysts expect all of these factors to provide a further boost to both the country’s economy and stock market in 2018, with strong growth expected in banks and energy firms.

“The VN Index in 2018 could outstrip the 2007 record high of 1,180 points, made with strong market trading liquidity,” said Nguyen The Minh, deputy head of capital market analysis and individual investors at Saigon Securities Inc (SSI). “The VN Index can rise up to 1,340 points this year.”

In 2018, the stock market will receive a strong boost from many companies that sell shares in initial public offerings (IPOs) and from commercial banks that are beginning to list shares on the stock exchanges, Minh said.

The HCM City Development Bank (HDBank) will become the first commercial bank to go public in 2018, listing 981 million shares on the HCM Stock Exchange under the code HDB on January 5.

Bac A Joint Stock Commercial Bank (Bac A Bank) wass the latest commercial bank to go public last year. The Ha Noi-based bank started trading 500 million shares on the Unlisted Public Company Market (UPCoM) on Thursday. Bac A Bank was the fifth commercial bank to trade shares on the stock market after VPBank, Kien Long Bank, Lienvietpost Bank and Vietnam International Bank. The total number of traded banks has reached 14.

According to Minh, banks are expected to post high profits for 2017, and their performance will be kept steady in 2018 thanks to the restructuring of non-performing loans and the improvement of the banking structure to meet the standards of Basel II.

The energy sector is also expected to boost the market as it has underperformed in the last two years as a result of low oil prices. Duong Van Chung, head of the northern market division at MB Securities Company (MBSC), told tinnhanhchungkhoan.vn that energy shares will see strong growth and drive the market up.

Chung said energy firms had barely advanced in 2017 when crude prices reached the expected breakeven price point of $60 per barrel in December 2017, set by those energy firms.

US crude West Texas Intermediate finished 2017 at $60.42 per barrel, having recovered from its 13-year-low range of $33.62 per barrel in late January 2016. Brent crude ended last year at $66.87 per barrel, up from the low level of $34.74 per barrel in late January 2016. Oil prices are expected to advance further this year on the extension of an output curb deal between the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and non-OPEC exporters.

According to SSI analyst Minh, the strong improvement of the Vietnamese market will attract more attention from foreign investors.

Source: VietNamNet Bridge

Bookings for the Vietnamese cities have increased more than threefold from last year.

The year is closing in and vacation enthusiasts around the world have made numerous travel plans for 2018, and they have expressed much bigger interest in Hanoi and Da Nang.

New data from Airbnb, an accommodation service that allows people to list their homes and hotels for holiday rentals, named the Vietnamese cities among the top 10 trending destinations based on booking increases over last year.

Vietnam is seeing booking surges in the cities of Hanoi (212 percent) and Da Nang (255 percent), “which blend gleaming waterfronts and centuries-old architecture with cosmopolitan amenities,” the site said in report earlier this month.

Da Nang in the central coast ranks fifth and the 1,000-year-old capital Hanoi ninth in the list, which is dominated with laid-back beach towns and mountain retreats.

The two cities are among the most popular destinations in Vietnam’s fast-growing tourism market. Hanoi expects 4.3 million foreign visitors this year, up more than 7 percent from 2016. Da Nang, which hosts the annual international fireworks festival and welcomed world leaders for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Summit in November, is seeing a staggering 37 percent increase in foreign arrivals, to 2.3 million.

Airbnb has received bookings for the first half of 2018 and it expects the biggest year for the booking service.

Gangneung of South Korea is the most trending destination with bookings rising 2,175 percent from last year, indicating excitement for the 2018 Winter Games.

Midwestern cities in the United States with new restaurants, nightlife and local arts, and ocean-side communities in southern America also expect surges in number of visitors.

The biggest bookings go through the familiar popular destinations Tokyo, Paris, Osaka, New York, London and Rome.

Source: VnExpress.net