Indochina, VinaCapital Seek to Boost Investment in Vietnam Property

Indochina Capital and VinaCapital Group, two of Vietnam’s biggest investment managers, are raising funds to invest in the country’s real estate market as the credit crunch hurts local developers, the Pioneer newspaper said citing the Bloomberg report.

 

Vietnam’s biggest fund manager VinaCapital is in negotiations with several investors to start its second property fund in early 2009, VinaCapital CEO Don Lam said.

 

Meanwhile, Rick Mayo- Smith, co-chairman of Indochina Capital, the third biggest investment firm in Vietnam, said the company plans to increase the size of its property fund to between US$400 million and US$500 million in the first half of next year from the US$155 million it raised in July.

 

Don Lam said high interest rates and banks’ credit limit have forced smaller and medium-sized developers to delay projects or sell assets to raise money, while the demand for medium-cost apartments is still great.

 

Both VinaCapital and Indochina said the demand for apartments, offices and hotels in Vietnam will keep growing as the country continues to grow at the fastest pace among Southeast Asia’s six biggest economies, the newspaper said.

 

Currently, VinaCapital is managing its first US$790-million realty fund, VinaLand, which is traded at London Stock Exchange. The second fund is expected to have capital of US$300 million -US$500 million, and not listed on the exchange.

 

VinaCapital is also holding stakes in such hotels as Sofitel Metropole Hanoi and Hilton Hanoi Opera. (Pioneer)