DRAFT AMENDMENTS FORSEE LOOSER VIET KIEU REALTY SALES

By Nguyen Phan

The Ho Chi Minh City People’s Committee has proposed a number of liberal amendments to the draft of a prime ministerial decision on house sales in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City to Viet Kieu (overseas Vietnamese).
The Committee has written to the Ministry of Construction proposing to allow Viet Kieu to buy houses from individuals and organizations with legal ownership documents, instead of only apartments.
Le Thanh Hai, the city’s vice chairman, affirmed that under the pilot house sales scheme, Viet Kieu would not be confined to purchasing apartments only, and that the committee was discussing relevant issues with the ministry.
The government’s decision to permit the city to sell homes to Viet Kieu on a pilot basis was regarded as a positive move, he told the news briefing late last month on the celebration of the 25th anniversary of the American War’s end.
"The pilot scheme is designed to boost the property market, which has been sluggish since the regional economic downturn broke out in mid-1997, and encourage more Viet Kieu to invest in Vietnam," stressed Hai.
Viet Kieu, according to the city, should be allowed to authorize the selling party to cover all necessary procedures, including registration for payments, for obtaining house-ownership documents.
The city has also proposed that Viet Kieu should either return home to proceed with purchase procedures or authorize other people in line with the laws and regulations on legal consular procedures to go ahead and do so.
While owners were away, they should be allowed to open restaurants or transaction offices at their houses or lease them or have other Vietnamese people look after their homes, or hire housekeepers, the committee said.
The draft decision states that if Viet Kieu leave the country but do not transfer ownership rights to others, nor authorize Vietnamese individuals and organizations to look after their homes, the city authority will assign a property trading entity to manage their residences.
Alpha Chen, executive sales director of Phu My Hung Corporation, which is developing luxury houses in Ho Chi Minh City’s newly urbanized area Saigon South, said several Viet Kieu had purchased houses directly or through their relatives here.
Viet Kieu have accounted for around 50% of sales of houses, villas, and high-rise flats in the Saigon South urban extension since the government approved the pilot scheme allowing them to buy property early in March.
Other Viet Kieu have sent email messages enquiring about property in Saigon South and a number of them offered to put down the deposits, he said.
However, pending detailed guidelines, the corporation could not sign "lease-to-buy contracts" with Viet Kieu when they purchased houses there, Chen said.
Viet Kieu, who accounted for 20% of those wanting to buy flats in the area, had to do so under the names of relatives living in Vietnam.
So far over 15 purchases, representing 30% of buyers, had put down deposits on flats in Hy Vong (Hope) street in Saigon South, he said.

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