Japanese investors bet on Danang

Japanese real estate developers are showing increasing interest in Danang real estate market while South Korean investors are backing away from the central coast.

During a recent annual meeting between Danang municipal authorities and foreign investors, two Japanese-backed real estate projects received investment licences and another billion-dollar one got greenlight to carry out due diligence.

Mikazuki, which is operating more than 1,000 hotel rooms in Japan, was granted the investment licence to develop Xuan Thieu tourism complex in Danang.

The Japanese hotel company plans to start construction on the $100-million resort on an area of 13 hectares in March.

Earlier in 2017, Route Inn Group, which is running 273 hotels in Japan, opened the first Grandvrio brand hotel with 169 rooms in Danang.

Other Japanese investors are also seeking opportunities to build hotels in the central city. Among them, construction contractor Kajima Corporation has set up a joint venture with Indochina Capital to develop a hotel chain across Vietnam and has selected two locations in Danang.

The first hotel will be built at 178 Tran Phu street, featuring 243 rooms once complete next year under the Wink brand. The bigger one will be built at B4-15 Tran Hung Dao street at the cost of $40 million and designed with 252 hotel rooms and 70 serviced apartments.

Another Japanese-financed company Sun Frontier Investment has also received investment licence to develop a twin tower project in Hai Chau district at the cost of $56.4 million.

Meanwhile, a joint venture between Sakae Holdings Ltd, Fission Holdings Pte.Ltd and Newtechco Import-Export Joint Stock Company, has been given a nod to study investment opportunities for Danang Gateway complex in Son Tra district. The project is estimated to cost $2 billion to build.

Until now Danang has attracted 170 Japanese-invested projects with total registered capital of $650 million.

Japanese ambassador to Vietnam Umeda Kunio told Danang Communist Party chief Truong Quang Nghia in a recent meeting that Japan was considering to open consulate general in the city.

Nghia said the municipal authorities would facilitate Japanese investors to join other projects such as Lien Chieu seaport, an international hospital and a high-tech township.

Danang has seen a strong inflow of South Korean investment into real estate over the last decade. However, in recent years, South Korean real estate developers have been backing away from the city, selling some major projects to local groups.