6-, 7-star hotels needed in Ho Chi Minh City: municipal Party chief
6-, 7-star hotels needed in Ho Chi Minh City: municipal Party chief
Ho Chi Minh City is calling for investment in luxury hotels to meet its economic development, Secretary of the municipal Party Committee Dinh La Thang said in a meeting with a foreign investor on Saturday.
Secretary Thang received Ang Wee Gee, CEO of Singapore-based Keppel Land Limited, in Ho Chi Minh City in the afternoon to discuss the company’s vision for its future development in Vietnam.
One of Asia's premier property companies, Keppel Land is behind such signature landmarks in Singapore as Marina Bay Financial Centre, Ocean Financial Centre and One Raffles Quay.
According to Secretary Thang, Ho Chi Minh City is at the beginning of a new renovation cycle, 30 years after the country’s historic ‘Doi Moi’ (Renovation) movement in 1986 that has brought about major positive changes to the city.
The Party chief asserted that the real estate market in Ho Chi Minh City has welcomed considerable foreign investment, but has yet to reach its full potential.
According to Thang, Ho Chi Minh City lacks 6- and 7-star hotels despite being a dynamic city that attracts remarkable numbers of annual visitors.
The Vietnamese official encouraged investors to pour money into the property industry, saying the city would do its best to create a favorable business environment.
“Choosing to invest in real estate in Vietnam is a wise and strategic choice. It’s common for the real estate market to have its ups and downs, but a wise investor would foresee those fluctuations, and the success of Keppel Land in Vietnam serves to prove it,” Thang said.
Thang added that Ho Chi Minh City hopes to receive breakthrough proposals from investors to boost the real estate market.
According to Ang Wee Gee, the Singaporean company currently owns 20 real estate projects in Vietnam, most of which are located in Ho Chi Minh City, after over 20 years of joining the market.
Ang also expressed the wish of his company to make long-term investment in Vietnam in the coming years, and said Keppel Land will soon launch new projects in the Southeast Asian country.
Responding to Thang’s suggestion, the chief executive officer said he would have his team consider the offer and soon propose his company’s plan to develop the real estate market in Ho Chi Minh City on the basis of Singapore’s experience as well as lessons from international markets.
Apart from the Saigon Center project currently under construction in District 1, Ho Chi Minh City, Keppel Land is also investing in condominium projects for middle-income people through their capital in a local property company.
