HCM City expands foreign ownership quotas to attract more FDI

In the long term, greater transparency in project listings, administrative reform, and synchronised infrastructure investment will help position HCM City as a real estate hub in Southeast Asia. The city has the opportunity not only to attract FDI into real estate, but also to expand into finance, asset management, and associated services.

Saturday, September 13, 2025 05:26

Buildings in Ho Chi Minh City (Photo: VNA)

HCM City (VNA) – The policy of expanding foreign ownership quotas for eligible projects to sell to foreigners is seen as an important step to help the market absorb international capital, while positioning Ho Chi Minh City as an integrated real estate hub in Southeast Asia.

The city recently announced an additional 48 projects eligible for sale to foreign individuals and organisations, bringing the total to 65. The move is regarded as significant in attracting international capital and creating additional demand in the market.

According to Nguyen Khanh Duy, Director of Residential Sales at Savills Ho Chi Minh City, the ownership cap of 30% of apartments in a building or 250 landed houses in a ward will help the market absorb foreign capital without causing excessive price fluctuations. This is an important boost to liquidity.

Savills Vietnam reports that HCM City has faced a housing supply shortage for the past five years. The city aims to develop 235,000 new units from 2021 to 2025, but has so far achieved only about 24% of that target, falling short by approximately 179,000 units. In the first six months of 2025, primary supply reached 6,800 units, with sales totalling 3,800 units. For the 2025–2027 period, future supply is projected at around 39,000 apartments - still relatively modest compared to actual demand.

In the landed property segment, the situation is even more challenging. In the first half, the primary supply was only 700 units, with just 170 transactions recorded. From now until 2027, the city is expected to add only around 3,600 new landed homes, primarily located in suburban areas.

However, according to Savills Vietnam, in the long term, positive changes and improvements, from the implementation of new laws and policies to the streamlining of legal approval procedures, are expected to create growth prospects for the residential real estate market in HCM City.

Foreign buyers typically buy mid- to high-end apartments of moderate size, located in central areas or near metro lines, from international developers. The typical transaction value ranges from 500,000 USD to 1 million USD per unit, with most investors coming from Singapore, Hong Kong (China), the Republic of Korea, Taiwan (China), and the overseas Vietnamese community.

A controlled opening policy will support primary market prices and raise service standards. Developers with projects on the list approved for foreign sales will have a significant advantage in accessing international distribution channels, Duy noted.

Alongside foreign capital inflows, Savills has also observed a strong shift of investors from the North towards HCM City. According to Duy, three factors are driving this trend: price levels in HCM City remain lower than in Hanoi; major infrastructure projects like Ring Road No. 3 and Long Thanh Airport are creating strong expectations; and the new supply in HCM City and surrounding areas is more diverse.

The Southern market remains an appealing choice for northern investors.

In the long term, greater transparency in project listings, administrative reform, and synchronised infrastructure investment will help position the city as a real estate hub in Southeast Asia. The city has the opportunity not only to attract FDI into real estate, but also to expand into finance, asset management, and associated services./.

VNA

#Foreign ownership quotas #Ho Chi Minh City #foreign capital Ho Chi Minh City

See more

Permanent Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Hoa Binh speaks at the UK-Vietnam high-level IFC conference (Photo: VNA)

🏅 Vietnam needs support from UK partners in developing financial market: official

15/09/2025 15:24

Ho Chi Minh City, as the country’s largest economic and financial hub, is expected to take the lead in key areas such as capital markets, banking, and commodity trading. Meanwhile, Da Nang, with its strategic location and open-minded spirit, holds great potential to become a pioneer in sustainable finance, green finance, and digital financial services.

A series of policy reforms pushed ahead to draw greater foreign investment. (Photo: VNA)

ཧ Ministry introduces reforms to attract foreign investment, accelerate upgrade

15/09/2025 12:48

By aligning regulatory frameworks more closely with international practices, the Vietnamese Government expects to create a more transparent, efficient and investor-friendly market environment.

Participants in Financial Insights 2025 pose for a photo (Photo: VNA)

ꦰ Financial Insights 2025 helps boost Vietnam-UK cooperation

15/09/2025 12:03

The Vietnam Investment and Finance Association (VIFA) in the UK has successfully organised the event “Financial Insights 2025” in London, aiming to strengthen financial and business ties between the two countries.

ꦉ Vietjet welcomes new wide-body aircraft, expanding fleet to 121

15/09/2025 10:29

Equipped with the state-of-the-art Rolls-Royce Trent 700 engine, the A330 aircraft will immediately be put into operation on routes to Australia, Kazakhstan, India, Japan and Europe, offering passengers a modern and comfortable travel experiences.

Vietnam sets the target of transforming its stock market into an important channel for medium- and long-term capital mobilisation. (Photo: VNA)

🃏 Vietnam approves plan to upgrade stock market status

15/09/2025 09:36

To deliver on the goal, the document highlighted the need to remove such barriers as pre-funding requirement for foreign investors ahead of trades while the central counterparty clearing (CCP) is being developed. Transparency on foreign ownership limits should be enhanced across all areas, together with streamlined registration procedures for account opening and indirect capital registration.

Vietnam to enforce 8% capital adequacy ratio for banks from September 15 (Photo: VNA)

♋ Vietnam enforces 8% capital adequacy ratio for banks from September 15

15/09/2025 09:16

From September 15, commercial banks and foreign bank branches must maintain a minimum capital adequacy ratio (CAR) of 8%, including at least 4.5% in Tier 1 core capital and 6% in Tier 1 capital.

Can Tho bridge is built with ODA from the Japanese Government and counterpart capital from the Vietnamese Government. (Photo: VNA)

🌳 Vietnam eyes additional 370 million USD in ODA by year-end

15/09/2025 09:14

During 2025-2027, Vietnam aims to mobilise over 2.22 quadrillion VND in official development assistance (ODA) and foreign concessional loans.

The daily reference exchange is set at 25,216 VND/USD on September 15. (Photo: VNA)

🎉 Reference exchange rate kept unchanged on September 15

15/09/2025 08:50

The State Bank of Vietnam set the daily reference exchange rate at 25,216 VND/USD on September 15, unchanged from the last working day of the previous week.

There are currently about 334 paper packaging companies nationwide, with more than 100 FDI companies and over 200 domestic companies. (Photo: vtcnews.vn)

💛 E-commerce booms, packaging paper industry benefits significantly

15/09/2025 02:27

One of the key growth drivers for the paper packaging industry is the boom in e-commerce, FiinGroup reported, forecasting that the size of Vietnam's e-commerce market will reach 60 billion USD by 2030, leading to a massive demand for corrugated cartons used for shipping.

The Ministry of Finance's headquarters in Hanoi (Photo: VNA)

𝓡 Vietnam enhances trade, investment ties with UK, Italy

14/09/2025 20:35

The Finance Minister's mission in the UK and Italy is expected to unlock new cooperation opportunities across multiple high-potential sectors, contributing to economic and financial cooperation between Vietnam and European countries.

Deputy Director of the Department of Forestry and Forest Protection Nguyen Huu Thien (centre) and delegates press the buttons to officially launch the Vn-WoodID application. (Photo: VNS)

Tool for wood traceability management debuts

14/09/2025 15:00

The application integrates artificial intelligence (AI) and is capable of analysing images of wood cross-sections, providing identification results with an accuracy of up to 98.6% in less than one second.

Workers produce canned tuna at the Seaspimex factory in Ho Chi Minh City. (Photo: VNA)

꧅ Vietnam eyes EU as key destination for agro-forestry-fishery exports

14/09/2025 14:00

The EU is among the world’s top three importers of farm produce, but Vietnam holds only a 2% share – still modest compared to its agricultural production capacity and potential, which indicates vast growth potential in the EU if backed by a proper strategy.

Minister of Finance Nguyen Van Thang (Photo: VNA)

♏ Stock market a key capital channel for national development: Experts

14/09/2025 11:50

Vietnam’s stock market has emerged as a key driver of economic growth, serving as a channel for medium- and long-term capital mobilisation and a launchpad for businesses to enhance governance and financial transparency, said insiders.

Vietnam is drawing on international practices to develop its North-South high-speed rail project. (Source: VNA)

𒁃 Vietnam taps global expertise to develop high-speed railway

14/09/2025 09:45

With clear planning and a complete legal framework, Vietnam could draw private firms’ participation in the project. This is not only about mobilising capital, but also about fostering supporting industries, improving management capacity, and advancing sustainable economic and social development.

♈ Sun Group, US Embassy foster aviation–hospitality cooperation

13/09/2025 17:39

The roundtable was regarded as one of the largest international aviation cooperation events held in Vietnam this year. It was positioned as an investment promotion platform, where businesses from both countries - particularly in the fields of aviation and hospitality - had the opportunity to meet, exchange insights, and explore new avenues for cooperation.