PETALING JAYA: Gamuda Land Sdn Bhd, the property arm of Gamuda Bhd, has acquired 9.1-acres of prime land in Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC), Vietnam, for RM1.47bil.

In a filing with Bursa Malaysia, Gamuda said the land will be developed into a mixed-use development and have a projected gross development value (GDV) of US$1.1bil (RM5bil).

Gamuda Land Vietnam operations chairman Angus Liew said prime development sites in HCMC have, until now, been difficult to come by.

“This has been further exacerbated by development restrictions set by HCMC authorities for the 2021 – 2030 period in the form of tightening issuances of planning approvals, leading to an acute shortage of supply in specific locations.”

Liew added that the authorities have also cracked down on excessive lending to the real estate sector, leading to local developers facing defaults and having to undergo financial restructuring and divest strategic assets.

“Gamuda Land was able to capitalise on these two key factors in this opportunistic acquisition – to obtain a shovel-ready development site in a prime location with all requisite planning approvals in place and rapidly sell in-demand products to a market short on supply.”

According to Liew, the newly acquired site is located within Thu Duc City, a newly minted secondary city within greater HCMC.

He said the area has a population of 1.2 million high-value economic contributors with a gross regional domestic product (GRDP) per capita of US$18,022 (RM82,045), which is 4.3 times the national average of US$4,193 (RM19,088).

“It is home to major hi-tech industrial parks and contributes over one-third of HCMC’s GRDP annually,” said Liew.

In respect to HCMC, Liew said the site is just 6.5 kms from the central business district and is the most centrally located development site amongst Gamuda Land’s portfolio of five projects in HCMC.

“The plan is to develop the land into a mixed-use high-rise project. With a projected GDV of US$1.1bil (RM5bil), it comprises 1,968 exclusive apartments, 12 penthouses, 51 podium shops and 21 shophouse units across six towers of up to 40 levels, all fully developed and sold within five years.”

Liew said the target positioning for this development will be in the high-end category.

“This market segment has a pricing range of US$4,000-US$7,000 (RM18,210- RM31,867) per sq m, subject to location and product quality.

“New properties within this category have recorded stable absorption rates of over 75% across the past five years, according to Savills.”

Liew added that there is an acute lack of supply of properties within this price range in this prime location, as most of the market supply has been in the “upper high-end” category, with prices of over US$7,000 (RM32,000) per sq m.

“As such, our product will be highly sought-after by high-income expatriate families and the growing local middle and high-income Vietnamese seeking value and proximity to the premium amenities nearby, such as the British and American International Schools, private hospitals, sports and recreational clubs.”