Temasek-backed CapitaLand buys 8-ha site in HCMC

CapitaLand Development (CLD) is acquiring a mixed-use site of eight hectares in Ho Chi Minh City to develop a project including over 1,100 high-end residential units and shophouses, the latest move in CapitaLand Group’s Vietnam expansion.

“We continue to expand in our core market Vietnam by securing another highly coveted site in Thu Duc city of Ho Chi Minh City after our recent investment in Binh Duong and a memorandum of understanding with the government to invest in up-and-coming Bac Giang province,” CLD Vietnam CEO Ronald Tay said Thursday while announcing the deal.

CapitaLand, a Singapore-based real estate group backed by state investment firm Temasek, did not reveal the transfer price but disclosed the new project would have an estimated total gross development value of $720 million.

The site acquisition is expected to be completed by the fourth quarter of 2023, and construction start in 2024 with completion set for 2027.

“Leveraging our global real estate expertise in delivering high-quality residential projects, we are confident of transforming our latest site in Thu Duc city into a vibrant and iconic mixed-use development that will meet the evolving aspirations and needs of discerning homebuyers and consumers.

“We will continue to seek more investment opportunities across various asset classes to strengthen CLD’s position as a leading developer in Vietnam,” Tay said.

CLD’s residential portfolio in Vietnam already has more than 13,000 units in 17 properties, not including the investment announced Thursday.

Thu Duc city on the outskirts of HCMC has been earmarked to become a new economic and technology center in the southern economic hub. It is attracting more and more residents and businesses.

CLD signed an MoU in February with Bac Giang province’s administration to develop the firm’s first industrial park, logistics park, and township in Vietnam in the northern province, with projected investment capital of around $1 billion.

In December 2021, the company started its $242 million acquisition of a 19-hectare site in Binh Duong New City from Vietnamese industrial property developer Becamex IDC for its first large-scale residential development in the country.

With an estimated gross development value of some $800 million, the project will offer over 3,700 homes to about 12,000 residents in the industrial province of Binh Duong, a neighbor of HCMC.