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Vietnam's property giant Vingroup decides to tap affordable apartment market

TUOI TRE NEWS
UPDATED : 12/05/2016 11:21 GMT + 7

Vietnamese conglomerate Vingroup has unveiled its new affordable property brand Vincity, which develops apartments for lower-income earners.

The new brand is the property developer’s latest foray into the local real estate market, with its previous brands Vinhomes, Vincom, and Vinpearl focusing on luxury condos, shopping centers, and high-end resorts.

Vingroup has announced its plan to build between 200,000 and 300,000 Vincity apartments starting from VND700 million (US$31,250) each over the next five years.

The first phase of its projects will be launched in the seven major Vietnamese population centers of Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, Nha Trang, Hai Phong, Hung Yen, Thanh Hoa, and Ha Tinh.

The apartments will be located on the outskirts of these provinces and cities, reflecting the group’s ambition to form satellite urban areas that reduce population density and congestion in the central areas of established metropolises like Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City.

Vingroup’s vice chairman, Le Khac Hiep, has described the conglomerate’s ambitious project as a “makeover of Vietnam’s suburbs.”

Despite their affordable price tag, Vincity apartments will retain the core values of a Vingroup property, which are quality, synchronicity, and utility, Hiep said.

Vincity apartments will be developed as a part of self-sufficient mini-suburbs with integrated hospitals, schools, stadiums, shopping centers, and parks.

Vingroup is Vietnam's largest listed property company by market capitalization.

Its cash receipts from the sale of residential units and recurring revenue from its investment property portfolio – comprising retail, hospitality, healthcare and education businesses – increased strongly in 2014 and the first half of 2015, according to Fitch Ratings.

Vingroup's cash sales from property development rose 73 percent to $649.7 million in 2014 and its pace of growth was sustained during the first six months of 2015, the rating agency said in a report earlier this month.