PropertyGuru Vietnam Property Awards reveals elite shortlist

The 5th PropertyGuru Vietnam Property Awards has selected this year’s nominees following a rigorous selection process

More than 20 developers from Ho Chi Minh City, Hanoi, Halong Bay, Cam Ranh, and top investment locations made the cut, following the rigorous nominations, judging, and site inspection stages as conducted by an independent panel of experts. All stages were supervised by BDO Vietnam, a part of BDO, one of the world’s largest networks of accounting and auditing firms.

Some of the country’s biggest developers are returning to the competition with nominations at this year’s awards programme, including last year’s multiple winners Alpha King, CapitaLand Vietnam, Gamuda Land Vietnam, Kien A Corporation, SonKim Land Corporation, and TNR Holdings. New nominees this year include Gotec Land, GFS Group, Phuc Khang Corporation, and Maxland.

With 52 competition categories and special awards, including corporate social responsibility (CSR) and sustainable development, the fifth PropertyGuru Vietnam Property Awards programme acknowledges the most active segments of the market, as well as the exemplary achievements in community-building and public facilities.

Gamuda Land Vietnam’s chairman, Cheong Ho Kuan, has been chosen by the editors of PropertyGuru Property Report magazine to receive the prestigious 2019 Vietnam Real Estate Personality of the Year award, to honour his exemplary leadership and benchmark-setting vision for Celadon City, the company’s acclaimed eco-friendly township project.

This edition of the PropertyGuru Vietnam Property Awards programme follows the hugely successful 2018 edition, which presented 43 awards to more than 25 companies and public-private entities, including top winners CapitaLand Vietnam, KIEN A Corporation, newcomer Alpha King, and SonKim Land Corporation, which garnered the Best Boutique Developer (Asia) title at the regional 2018 PropertyGuru Asia Property Awards Grand Finals held in Thailand.

The local edition of the prestigious regional awards programme was first held in Vietnam in 2015 and has been regarded as the “gold standard in real estate”, backed by the Vietnam National Real Estate Association (VNREA) as the supporting association. The biggest real estate organisation in Vietnam, VNREA has endorsed PropertyGuru Vietnam Property Awards since its inaugural event in 2015. Nguyen Tran Nam, former Deputy Minister of Construction and chairman of VNREA, and Dr Phan Huu Thang, deputy president of VNREA and former general director of the Foreign Investment Bureau of the Ministry of Planning and Investment of Vietnam, previously keynoted the 2016 and 2017 ceremonies, respectively.

The 2019 central panel of judges is led once again by chairperson Thien Duong, managing director at Transform Architecture. He is joined on the panel by David McDonald, general director of WT Partnership (Vietnam) LLC; Duc Truong, CEO of OJS Investment & Consulting Ltd., and chairman of Edison Academy Vietnam Ltd.; Edward Haysom, general director of HAYSOM Architects Vietnam; Francois Magnier, chairman of Archetype Group; Hang Dang, managing director of CBRE Vietnam; John Reeves, creative director/founder of REEVES Design; Mauro Gasparotti, director of Southeast Asia, Savills; and Paul D. Volodarsky, senior associate of DFDL Legal and Tax.

The Hanoi panel consisted of Andras Gem, project director of Artelia Group; Dang Thanh Long, executive director of the Vietnam Green Building Council; Dang Van Quang, associate director of PAM Services, JLL Vietnam; Huynh Dai Thang, partner of DFDL; and Tran Quynh Trang, owner of Sapphire Indochina. The Danang panel comprised of Peter Frieske, managing director of CVR (Central Vietnam Realty); Tien Cao, CB Richard Ellis; and Thae Le, market research and consultant of CBRE Vietnam.

The team of BDO Vietnam supervisors was led by audit partner Jeffrey Ong Peng and audit manager Vu Thu Huong.

The 2019 PropertyGuru Vietnam Property Awards is supported by title sponsor Kohler; gold sponsors Hitachi Elevators & Escalators, An Cuong Wood Working, LMG, and Malloca; silver sponsors Dulux Professional, Electrolux, and VietCeramics; official portal partner Batdongsan.com.vn; official magazine PropertyGuru Property Report; official supervisor BDO; media partners Deluxe Magazine, Vietnam Heritage, Vietnam News, and Forbes Vietnam; and local representative Oriental Media Vietnam.

PropertyGuru’s Asia Property Awards, established in 2005, is the region’s most exclusive and prestigious real estate awards programme. The Asia Property Awards are recognised as the ultimate hallmark of industry excellence in the Asian property sector. Boasting an independent panel of industry experts and trusted supervisors, the Awards have an unparalleled reputation for being credible, fair, and transparent.

In 2019, the Awards is open to more than a dozen property markets around the region. With gala dinners hosting up to 600 senior industry leaders to recognise excellence within each Asian market, each local awards culminate in the PropertyGuru Asia Property Awards Grand Finals, which takes place alongside the PropertyGuru Asia Real Estate Summit in Bangkok in November 2019.