Malaysian developer SkyWorld makes first land acquisition in Vietnam

Malaysia’s SkyWorld, developer of the well-known Genting SkyWorlds Theme Park, has acquired 5,300 square meters of land in Ho Chi Minh City, its first land acquisition in Vietnam.

In a Thursday announcement, SkyWorld said its wholly-owned subsidiary SkyWorld Vietnam has entered into a conditional shares sales and purchase agreement with Thuan Thanh Trading Production and Real Estate Training JSC and three individuals.

SkyWorld will spend VND350 billion ($14.5 million) on acquiring 100% of the Vietnamese firm’s shares.

Upon completion of the deal, SkyWorld will own several land lots, including a 2,060-square-meter plot and five parcels of between 64 and 1,026 square meters each, all in District 8, HCMC.

Thuan Thanh Trading Production and Real Estate Training JSC is carrying out relevant legal procedures to implement a 24-storey apartment building project on these land lots. The project is set to house 1,200 people with a construction density of 40%.

SkyWorld said the acquisition was in line with its expansion plan, with particular focus on HCMC.

The apartment project is in a prime location and can fetch VND50-70 million ($2,100-$2,900) per square meter, taking the gross development value of the project to VND1.6 trillion ($66.4 million), it added.

The transaction value of real estate mergers & acquisitions in Vietnam reached $500 million in the first half of this year, up 41.2% versus the same period in pre-pandemic 2019, according to Jones Lang LaSalle.

In July, Gamuda Land, the property arm of Malaysia’s Gamuda Berhad, said it would spend VND7.2 trillion ($315.8 million) to acquire 100% equity in Vietnam’s Tam Luc Real Estate Corporation. With the transaction, Gamuda will acquire a 3.6-hectare project solely owned by the Vietnamese firm.

In June, Thailand’s real estate investment trust SHREIT sold three hotels representing 632 keys altogether in Ho Chi Minh City and Jakarta for a combined $106.1 million.

In May, Singapore’s conglomerate Keppel Corporation initiated the acquisition of a 49% stake in two adjacent residential projects in HCMC from Vietnamese property developer Khang Dien for VND3.18 trillion ($135.42 million).

In January, Hong Kong-based real estate giant ESR acquired a “strategic” equity stake in its Vietnam partner BW Industrial, as part of a funding round that could raise up to $450 million for the major industrial developer.