According to the HCMC Department of Planning and Investment, foreign direct investment (FDI) approvals in the property sector made up 61% of the total capital registered by foreign firms in the period.

Data of the HCMC Statistics Office showed that HCMC granted investment certificates to 327 FDI projects worth a combined US$2.31 billion. Notably, five projects in the real estate sector accounted for nearly US$1.43 billion of the total, much higher than in other sectors.

FDI pledges for property projects in HCMC accounted for nearly 78.5% of all FDI approvals for the sector in the first eight months in the country.

The Empire City commercial center-office-hotel project worth some US$1.2 billion of Empire City Limited Liability Company in Thu Thiem New Urban Area in District 2 is a major contributor to the city’s FDI pledges, according to the Foreign Investment Agency under the Ministry of Planning and Investment.

This is the first project worth over US$1 billion approved by HCMC in the year to date. It also helps the city rank second in terms of FDI attraction in the country after the northern province of Bac Ninh.

Empire City is a consortium grouping two local firms, Tien Phuoc Real Estate JSC and Tran Thai Real Estate Co. Ltd., and Denver Power Co. Ltd., a member of Gaw Capital Partners based in the UK.

The investor is completing procedures to begin work on the megaproject in the last quarter of this year and expects to finish it in 2022.

Experts said lax conditions for foreigners to own houses in Vietnam together with the good prospect of the country’s economy had encouraged more foreign firms to invest in the real estate sector in Vietnam, especially in HCMC. They eye apartment building, office, commercial center and luxury hotel projects in the southern economic center of Vietnam.

South Korea’s Lotte Group has agreed to place a deposit of some VND2 trillion in land rent for the right to use six land lots in Thu Thiem New Urban Area to develop a complex worth US$2.1 billion there.

Realty developers said Vietnam holds much potential for property investors and the real estate market is steadily recovering. This is the reason why FDI pledges for the sector have increased.

A large population and high demand for houses and trade centers have led foreign companies to invest in the property market in HCMC.

In the first eight months, the city approved eight projects worth US$71.3 million in the education sector, 73 projects in the technology sector and 53 projects in the information and communication technology sector.

According to the Foreign Investment Agency, total FDI pledges for new and operational projects in Vietnam reached US$13.33 billion in January-August, up 30.4% year-on-year.

Of the amount, FDI approvals in the manufacturing-processing sector accounted for 77.7%.

The real estate sector ranked second with US$1.82 billion, equivalent to 13.7% of the total.

The northern province of Bac Ninh ranked first with FDI approvals of US$3.33 billion, or 25% of Vietnam’s total, followed by HCMC with US$2.42 billion, or 18.2%.