CapitaLand To Build Viet Condo

Source : The Business Times, March 28, 2008

It’ll hold 60% stake in US$500m project in Ho Chi Minh City

CAPITALAND said yesterday that it will build a US$500 million project in Ho Chi Minh City with a Vietnamese partner.

CapitaLand will take a 60 per cent stake in the proposed joint venture. Thien Duc, one of CapitaLand’s strategic partners in Vietnam, will hold the other 40 per cent.

Thien Duc is a shareholder of CapitaLand’s The Vista condominium in Ho Chi Minh City.

For the latest project, CapitaLand, as lead development manager, will build a 28-storey condo with about 1,400 apartments and commercial and retail space on a 6.7 hectare site.

Most of the apartments will enjoy sweeping views of the Saigon River and skyline, CapitaLand said. It aims to launch the first phase of the project by the second quarter of 2009.

‘Ho Chi Minh City continues to be a key focus for our residential and other investments in Vietnam,’ said Lui Chong Chee, chief executive of CapitaLand Residential.

‘For residential, given the rapid growth in population, increased affordability and tight supply, we are confident of strong sales, especially for well-designed homes.’

CapitaLand will continue to look for prime development sites in Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi to build quality homes, he said.

Including the newest project, CapitaLand will be building more than 4,200 homes in Ho Chi Minh City.

Vietnam’s residential property market is booming, with queues of buyers in 2007 for CapitaLand’s The Vista and Keppel Land and Tien Phuoc’s The Estella, property firm CB Richard Ellis (CBRE) said in a recent report.

But buyers are becoming more discriminating. CBRE said: ‘Increased development in some sectors will relieve the supply crunch in the future. (But) well-priced quality developments are, and will remain, the top sellers.’

CapitaLand’s shares closed 14 cents higher at $6.40 yesterday. The stock has climbed 2.1 per cent this year.