Can foreign investors carry out real estate projects in Vietnam?

Can foreign investors carry out real estate projects in Vietnam?

Due to its amazing potential for growth and high-profit opportunities, the real estate industry is one that draws the interest of many investors, including foreign investors. However, many foreign investors are still hesitant about the possibility of executing projects on real estate business in Vietnam, whether or not the Vietnamese government will allow the implementation of projects in this field. If so, What are the most noticeable aspects? In the following article, further information is hereunder provided by HTC.

Real estate trading means capital investment in building, purchasing, and receiving real estate for sale, for transfer, for lease, for sublease, or for lease purchase; provision of real estate brokerage services; real estate trading floor services; real estate counseling services or real estate management for profit purposes. Thus, performing a project on real estate trading includes real estate trading and real estate services. According to Vietnam’s Law on Investment, this is on the list of conditional business lines for foreign investors, hence they must satisfy business investment conditions as prescribed by law in order to be permitted to carry out business investment activities.

1. Types of real estate to be put on the market

Types of real estate to be put on the market in accordance with the Law on Real Estate Business include:

- Existing buildings of organizations or individuals;

- Off-the-plan buildings of organizations or individuals;

- Buildings which are public properties to be put on the market permitted by competent agencies;

- Types of lands whose land-use rights are permitted to be transferred (hereinafter referred to as land), leased, sublet as prescribed in law on land.

2. Scope of real estate trading conducted by foreign-invested enterprises:

Compared to other organizations, the real estate trading of foreign-invested companies is somewhat more constrained which includes:

- Rent buildings for sublease;

- Build houses on the land which is leased by the State for lease; build houses or constructions other than houses on such land for sale, for lease, or for lease purchase;

- Receive total or a part of real estate project from investors to build buildings on it for sale, for lease, or for lease purchase;

- Build houses on land which is allocated by the State for sale, for lease, or for lease purchase;

- Build buildings on land which is leased out or transferred in industrial parks, industrial complexes, export-processing zones, hi-tech zones, or economic zone for trading for the proper land use.

3. Scope of real estate services:

Scope of real estate services provided by Vietnamese organizations or individuals, overseas Vietnamese, or foreign organizations or individuals

Foreign organizations or individuals are entitled to provide real estate services including:

- Real estate brokerage services;

- Real estate trading floors;

- Real estate counseling, or real estate management;

In addition, foreign investors who want to conduct real estate trading projects in Vietnam must establish a foreign-invested business organization; capital contribution, purchase of shares or stakes to a Vietnamese business organization, specifically:

For real estate trading:

- They must establish an enterprise in accordance with the law on enterprises or a cooperative in accordance with the law on cooperatives, with a line of business in relation to real estate trading, except for the following cases: organizations, individuals that sell, transfer, lease, lease-purchase real estate on a small scale and discontinuing operations.

- In case an investor is selected as the investor of a real estate project according to law, such investor must have an equity of not less than 20% of the total investment capital for the project with a land use scale of less than 20 hectares, not less than 15% of the total investment capital, for the project with a land use scale of 20 hectares or more.

For real estate service:

- They must establish an enterprise in accordance with regulations of law on enterprises.

- They must conform to requirements in human resources, and technical material bases (specified in the Law on Real Estate Business 2014).

Legal consulting services on the establishment of a foreign-invested real estate business

HTC Vietnam Law Firm provides the following consultation on matters relating to the registration of establishment of foreign-invested enterprises in the field of real estate business. Such services are as follows:

- Consulting on matters related to the selection of the type of enterprise procedures for business registration;

- Consulting on subjects related to business registration orders and procedures;

- Guiding customers to draft and complete documents related to business registration procedures;

- Drafting dossiers for enterprise registration of conditional business lines for foreign investors;

- Representing the Client to work with the competent agencies.

Service Quality Commitment

The following are HTC Vietnam Law Firm’s Principles of Operation: Conscientious - Effective - Reliable. HTC Vietnam Law Firm assures service quality, specifically as follows:

- Ensure that the work is carried out according to the agreed schedule, in accordance with the law, and in accordance with the code of ethics and Codes of Conduct of Vietnamese lawyers.

- Give priority to customers' interests, and make every effort to provide customers with the best quality of service.

- Respect the confidentiality of information that clients provided and information pertaining to the clients.

We are looking forward to a long-term cooperation.

Best Regards!

(Writer: Trịnh Minh Phương/200. 28/04/2022

Translator: Nguyễn Thị Liên)

HTC Viet Nam Law Firm .

Địa chỉ: 15st floor, Building 169 - Nguyen Ngoc Vu Street, Trung Hoa Ward , Cau Giay District, Hanoi City..

Mobile: 0989.386.729;

Email: htcvn.law@gmail.com, [email protected];

Website: https://htc-law.com ; https://luatsuchoban.vn