Indochina Land taps affordable housing market

November 20, 2013 | 15:46

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The luxury property developer and fund management firm Indochina Land has started to invest in reasonably priced housing in Vietnam to capitalise on burgeoning demand.

Indochina Land and Vietnamese property developer Nam Long announced on November 12 their 35-65 stake partnership to develop the latter’s EHome 3 affordable housing project in Ho Chi Minh City’s Binh Tan District.

The VND1.467 trillion (about $70 million) project will consist of 14 apartment blocks with more than 2,000 flats, with first-phase sales already launched last year. Nam Long’s chief operating officer Nguyen Vinh Tran said Indochina Land’s 35 per cent holdings included both investment capital and loans to Nam Long, with interest rates based on the profit from sales.

Explaining this new investment, Indochina Land CEO Peter Ryder said, “Affordable housing has huge potential in every market in the world. In Vietnam, we believe Nam Long’s affordable housing is the best in the market, and we’ll continue to invest in this segment.”

He added Indochina Land, as a fund management firm, put money in places where it could gain profits.

“Nam Long has plans to provide 14,000 EHome apartments over the next five years. If they agree more deals with us, we’ll invest in their other projects” said Ryder. “However, we’re just an investor in this segment and will not be a property developer.”

Nam Long’s property development includes finding investment opportunities, securing land, planning and design, construction and project management, marketing and sales. However, it focuses mainly on affordable housing with EHome as an established brand.

Nam Long chairman Nguyen Xuan Quang said Ho Chi Minh City needed around 70,000 reasonably priced flats per year but his firm could supply just 2,000.

By By Tuong Thuy

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