Unlocking New Opportunities: Real Estate Businesses Anticipate Expanded Land Reserves and International Capital with Resolution 68

According to Ms. Huong, with Resolution 68, the private business community has been recognized for its rightful role, boosting energy and consolidating faith. In fact, with over 33 years of experience, most of Nam Long’s projects have attracted capital from foreign investors.

Especially in the last decade, the company has consistently endeavored to unlock capital, with some projects having up to 50% foreign investment. For international investors, the most crucial requirement when participating in a project is legal clarity and commitment to the implementation timeline.

However, in the past 3-4 years, the suspension of many real estate projects has prevented foreign investment from flowing into Vietnam as expected, despite strong interest and long-term investment intentions from international partners.

In this context, Nam Long Group’s representative believes that the most significant value of Resolution 68 is trust. This factor indirectly enhances the reputation of Vietnamese enterprises in the eyes of foreign partners.

“We eagerly anticipate the swift realization of this policy. Once the resources are unlocked, participating in large-scale projects, such as transportation-oriented development (TOD), will become more feasible,” shared Ms. Huong.

According to her, with government support, investment capital will surge as foreign investors are particularly keen on the real estate sector. They are ready to participate as soon as the mechanism is implemented with transparency and timeliness.

For real estate enterprises, the investment preparation phase can take several years to finalize the legal process. With the new institutional system, this duration will be shortened, enabling more efficient business operations. Resolution 68 is establishing a level playing field, allowing private enterprises to access critical resources such as land and capital.

“For real estate businesses, land funds are pivotal. Opening up fair competition will enable the private sector to access these resources. We eagerly anticipate the forthcoming pillar policies to be institutionalized so that real estate enterprises can access land funds,” she stated.

Previously, at the “Market Outlook 2025” event organized by CBRE, Ms. Nguyen Thanh Huong shared intriguing insights into the company’s land fund acquisition strategy. According to Ms. Huong, Nam Long currently possesses a land fund of 700 hectares, mainly in Ho Chi Minh City and its satellite cities. Increasing the land fund is a criterion and an annual target that the Group must implement.

Most recently, Nam Long announced its plan to expand into the Northern market with its first EHome project. After succeeding with this segment in the Southern market, providing over 30,000 affordable homes for customers, the EHome line—developed by Nam Long ADC—is identified as a pioneer in the Group’s Northern expansion strategy. It targets customers with genuine housing needs, including young families living and working in large cities and developing urban areas.

EHome is an integral part of Nam Long Group’s integrated product ecosystem, alongside the standalone Flora apartments, Valora villas/townhouses, and the upcoming high-end The Legacy Collection.

Nam Long’s Sales Director shared that, in the face of regulations from three new laws taking effect in August 2024, enterprises have different approaches to accessing land funds. These range from acquiring existing projects, participating in land-use conversion for some projects, to M&A and auctions. However, participating in land auctions is a challenging equation for real estate enterprises, not just for Nam Long, due to the involvement of various input costs that drive up housing prices.

The director believes that, as an investor, they must consider multiple factors when bringing products to the market. The primary objective of selling real estate is to cater to the needs of genuine homebuyers. Hence, the company aims for reasonable and affordable prices for customers while ensuring their survival and development. However, land auctions significantly increase input costs, coupled with escalating construction material prices, land use fees, and inflation. This dilemma poses a significant challenge for enterprises.

Experts argue that, as an essential component of the private economic sector, the real estate sector benefits considerably from positive shifts in policy approaches and designs. When private economic resources are unlocked, and a fair and stable business environment is assured, real estate enterprises can thrive.

In a recent report, experts from the Vietnam Real Estate Brokers Association (VARS) asserted that Resolution 68 of the Politburo on private economic development ushers in a turning point for the private sector and presents a breakthrough opportunity for real estate enterprises and the Vietnamese real estate market in the medium and long term.

The solutions mentioned in the Resolution play a pivotal role in paving the way, boosting confidence, and motivating private real estate enterprises to thrive. They are also expected to help unlock supply and support the real estate market’s development toward safety, health, and sustainability.

Resolution 68 not only underscores the central role of the private economy but also offers a transparent, efficient, and conducive policy corridor for private enterprises, including real estate businesses, to flourish and contribute profoundly to the nation’s modernization. These new orientations can provide a powerful policy impetus, helping remove legal barriers and instilling market confidence, especially during the current recovery and restructuring phase.

Dr. Nguyen Van Dinh, Chairman of VARS, argued that Resolution 68 not only unlocks thinking but also sets very specific and measurable goals. For instance, by 2025, there should be a reduction of at least 30% in the time required for administrative procedures, business conditions, and compliance costs. Furthermore, there should be continued significant reductions in subsequent years. These targets have not been directly mentioned in previous resolutions.

Another breakthrough is Resolution 68’s goal of implementing electronic transactions in the land sector, minimizing time and risks in site clearance, red book issuance, land leasing, and allocation. These are considered pivotal in accelerating project implementation, reducing financial, administrative, and opportunity costs, thereby enabling enterprises to adjust prices reasonably, especially for social and commercial housing projects that cater to the majority of people’s income levels.

“With transparent procedures, the market will have a basis for accurate pricing. Enterprises will also save costs, leading to lower selling prices. This is particularly crucial for social housing and affordable commercial housing projects, which the State prioritizes in the coming period,” said Dr. Dinh.

In reality, not just Nam Long Group but many other private enterprises also have high expectations for Resolution 68 and related policies to remove institutional bottlenecks and unlock development resources.

At the workshop held by VTV, Dr. Nguyen Xuan Thanh, a senior lecturer at the Fulbright School of Public Policy and Management, shared that the new policies in Resolution 68 and Resolution 139, along with the Government’s concrete actions, have opened up multiple avenues for enterprises to access resources.

Regarding land, there is the potential for re-exploiting unused public land, and facilitating small, high-tech, and startup enterprises to lease land in industrial parks with minimum area requirements.

In terms of capital, the policy aims to diversify credit channels, unlock the corporate bond market, amend laws to expand the beneficiary scope, and simplify procedures for capital access.

However, Dr. Thanh believes that the current bottleneck lies in implementation. He asserts that policy enactment is insufficient; what matters is whether the policy creates a mechanism for equitable and efficient access to resources for enterprises.