Sumitomo eyes investment in valuable Ho Chi Minh City land plot

Sumitomo Corporation wants to invest in the land plot adjoining Le Duan and Hai Ba Trung streets in District 1, Hirokazu Higashino, General Manager of Building and Overseas Real Estate Business Department, said at a meeting with the city’s chairman Le Hoang Quan on Thursday. The area is deemed a "golden land plot" by locals, implying that it is as precious as gold.

The Tokyo-based global trading company expects to construct a building intended to serve the increasing number of Japanese investors arriving in Vietnam, he said.

Sumitomo Corporation is also interested in setting up a 20-hectare financial-commercial center in Thu Thiem, and hopes to be able to find a plot of land in District 7 to build a school for Japanese children living in the city.

In response, chairman Quan said the city is willing to help speed up the process of obtaining a license and implementing the project for Sumitomo.

He also said Sumitomo should first focus on boosting the progress of the construction of the 19.7-km metro route No.1 from Ben Thanh to Suoi Tien, as Sumitomo is one of the main contractors of that project.

The chairman said the “golden land plot” will be available in the near future and the city strongly supports Sumitomo to join the auction.

Sumitomo Corporation has been doing business in Vietnam for more than 20 years. It has opened two main office branches in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, with 19 subsidiaries and 3,600 employees.

In related news, on Thursday afternoon, chairman Quan also received Hiroshi Fukada, the newly arrived Japanese Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to Vietnam, on the occasion of his taking office.

Fakada said HCMC, with its constant development, is an attractive destination for Japanese investors.

However, to lure even more investors as well as support sustainable development, the city should upgrade its infrastructure and focus on environmental protection and administrative simplification along with development, he suggested.

The city is home to some 600 projects operated by Japanese investors, worth a total of more than US$3 billion.