Ministry sounds alarm as Chinese own rights to prime land lots in Danang

As of the end of 2019, some 149 enterprises with Chinese involvement were active in 22 border cities and provinces in Vietnam. In Danang, there were 135 coastal land lots held by Chinese-invested firms between 2011 and 2015.

These land lots are situated in prime locations, such as the city’s coastal urban area; near Nuoc Man Airport; along the Hoang Sa and Vo Nguyen Giap streets in Khue My Ward, Ngu Hanh Son District; and urban areas in Phuoc My and Tho Quang wards, Son Tra District.

As Vietnam does not permit foreigners to make land use transfer transactions, many Chinese nationals have funded Vietnamese people to have them purchase land lots in Danang.

Between 2011 and 2015, Chinese and Taiwanese nationals provided money to eight Vietnamese people to buy 84 land lots covering some 20,000 square meters in total in the city. Moreover, seven Chinese-invested firms own several coastal land lots and have leased land for 50 years.

Chinese people have also founded Chinese-Vietnamese joint ventures, with Chinese capital contributions initially below those of the Vietnamese. However, the Chinese investors gradually increased their investment to take over the firms as well as their land.

According to the Ministry of National Defense, the prime minister has asked the relevant ministries, departments and the Danang authorities to handle individuals and organizations involved in these cases.

The ministry stated that the total capital of 149 Chinese-invested firms operating in Vietnam’s border areas is nearly US$31 billion. They are active in various fields including hospitality, catering services, entertainment, clothing, aquatic products, footwear, packaging, toys and electronic components.

All of them were founded before December 2018 and employ nearly 4,240 Chinese workers. Most of them comply with Vietnamese laws, but some have infringed on the law, including employing Chinese workers without registration, producing drugs, polluting the environment and evading taxes.

The ministry suggested that the Government assign ministries, departments and local authorities to inspect all Chinese-invested firms and projects in border areas, tighten control over Chinese nationals’ activities and amend the law to prevent Chinese nationals from taking advantage of loopholes.