Developers make proposals to revitalize depressed realty market

Real estate developers on Thursday voiced their ideas about how to improve Vietnam’s ailing property market in a dialogue with Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh.

Bui Thanh Nhon, chairman of leading developer Novaland, said the process of removing legal obstacles at all projects should be accelerated.

"Vietnamese leaders should also make it clear about the Party Central Committee’s policy of encouraging and protecting local-level officials so that they can secure peace of mind to be more decisive in removing legal obstacles facing property developers," he told the online forum.

Nhon noted that the third should be making assurances in terms of legal issues for the private sector to continue to develop, and not to criminalize business activities by adding regulations to legal grey areas. Further support for the private sector’s sustainable development is also needed, and the private and public sectors should not be treated differently.

“The government should offer special incentives to businesses that have to build traffic and infrastructure facilities at projects in disadvantaged areas, and businesses using high technologies or developing green urban areas,” he added.

The online conference connected all cities and provinces across the country, and was held in Hanoi to review the implementation of the government’s Resolution 33 dated March 11, 2023 on solutions to remove obstacles facing the market and boost its safe, healthy and sustainable development.

Chairing the conference, Chinh said after Resolution 33 was issued, ministries and agencies have proposed the government and the Prime Minister issue new mechanisms and policies to quickly untangle knots in the market.

"However, the market has remained unstable and the recovery has been sluggish, pushing many real estate firms into difficulties. Such issues need time and joint efforts to be addressed," the PM stressed.

Nguyen Dinh Trung, chairman and CEO of developer Hung Thinh Corp., told the conference that it still takes a long time for a developer to secure a project license, and this needs to be shortened.

Banks should make it easier for realty developers to access loans. For example, when developers obtain investment approval from authorities for a project, banks should provide loans, Trung said.

To support the government’s plans to create one million social housing units by 2030, buyers should be allowed to trade them freely after purchases, he added.

Sun Group chairman Dang Minh Truong suggested the government continue its open visa policy to welcome more international tourists, supporting the hospitality real estate sector. He said he expected the government to offer visa-free entry for India and more EU states.

"The Ministry of Transport should grant more international flight slots to bring more travelers from major markets to Vietnam."

Truong said the decentralization of authority should be expanded in order to save time spent in the whole investment process for projects.

Dr. Can Van Luc, chief economist at state-controlled bank BIDV, argued that the government should speed up the removal of legal obstacles and allow the conversion of commercial housing projects into social housing as it had allowed in the 2013-2016 period.