Real estate tycoons compete to hunt for clean projects with great potential

Most investors prioritize choosing projects that have sufficient legal documents or are only in the final stages of completion.

Many positive signals from policies, the strong participation of both domestic and foreign investors and foreign capital inflows have made real estate mergers and acquisitions (M&A) activities become the focus of the market.

A series of trillion-dollar deals

According to data from Grant Thornton, in July alone, the country recorded 34 completed M&A transactions in many fields with a total value of nearly 786 million USD. Of which, real estate continued to play a leading role with 7 transactions, with a total value of up to 483 million USD, equivalent to 62% of the entire market. This recovery, according to the research unit, comes from important legal reforms such as the 2024 Land Law and the Digital Technology Law issued in June 2025 along with the market's better capital absorption capacity.

The report of the General Statistics Office ( Ministry of Finance ) also shows that in the first 7 months of 2025, the total registered foreign investment capital (FDI) - including new capital and M&A - reached 24.09 billion USD, up 27.3% over the same period. In which, the biggest highlight is still real estate-related deals.

A corner of the Paragon Dai Phuoc project ( Dong Nai province) was recently sold by Nam Long to Nishi Nippon Railroad.

Notable among the recent deals, Vinaconex Group sold 70% of its shares in Vinaconex ITC (investor of the 172-hectare Cat Ba Amatina urban tourism project in Hai Phong) to three domestic investors with an estimated total value of 250-300 million USD. Gateway Thu Thiem Company, a member of Huong Viet Holdings, spent more than 2,600 billion VND to buy back 42% of shares of Nam Rach Chiec Joint Stock Company from Kepple Land Group (Singapore), thereby taking control of the Palm City project - a 30-hectare urban complex in Ho Chi Minh City.

Another notable deal comes from UOA Group, a large Malaysian real estate corporation. Through its subsidiary UOA Vietnam, the company spent 68 million USD (about 1,700 billion VND) to buy all shares of VIAS Hong Ngoc Bao Company.

The deal is expected to be completed in September and will help UOA own the right to develop a prime land area of ​​over 2,000 m² on Vo Thi Sau Street, opposite Le Van Tam Park. This is a rare prime location remaining in the center of Ho Chi Minh City, with a 22-storey building approved for construction. UOA plans to develop a Grade A office project here, adding high-end products to the office market that is lacking quality supply.

Not only foreign corporations, domestic enterprises are also actively operating in the M&A wave, such as: Hoa Sen Group continuously acquires land near Long Thanh airport (Dong Nai province). Saigon General Services Joint Stock Company (Savico) completed the transfer of capital in the Long Hoa - Can Gio high-end residential project to GELEX Infrastructure Joint Stock Company.

Meanwhile, the leaders of KIDO Group said they are calling for investment cooperation and M&A with reputable domestic and foreign partners to implement large-scale projects. Currently, the group owns a significant clean land fund, including a land area of ​​more than 15 hectares near Mui Den Do (old District 7), with a total estimated commercial product value of up to 3 billion USD. Some partners have initially approached and are waiting for a suitable plan to officially participate.

Dat Xanh Group also does not hide its ambition to expand its land fund through M&A, saying it is actively looking for projects with complete legal documents, large scale and the ability to implement immediately, in order to shorten the time to bring products to market.

There is still room

According to Ms. Giang Huynh, Director of Research Services & S22M, Savills HCMC, the merger of administrative units to reduce to 34 provinces and cities from July 1, 2025 has opened up new development space, while promoting investment capital flows into real estate, including M&A activities.

Meanwhile, Ms. Nguyen Le Dung, Head of Investment Advisory Services at Savills Hanoi, said that domestic investors have recently dominated the number of M&A transactions thanks to their ability to make quick decisions and their understanding of the market. However, in large-scale deals, especially in the fields of high-end housing, urban areas and industrial real estate, foreign investors still play a leading role.

Typically, Capitaland (Singapore) acquired a project in the former Binh Duong province from Becamex IDC for 553 million USD; the joint venture Sumitomo Forestry, Kumagai Gumi and NTT Urban Development joined hands with Kim Oanh Group to develop The One World project (former Binh Duong province); or Nishi Nippon Railroad bought 25% of the shares of the Paragon Dai Phuoc project (Dong Nai province) from Nam Long.

According to Mr. Vo Hong Thang, Deputy General Director of DKRA Group, M&A activities have been remarkably active since the beginning of the year. Statistics from listed companies show that the number of public M&A projects has increased by about 20%-30% compared to the same period last year and the actual number may be even higher due to many unannounced deals.

Notably, most investors now prioritize projects that are legally complete or only have the final steps to complete, in which many old projects have been cleared and restarted. "The important thing is that legally complete projects often have quite high transfer prices. To approach and close deals, new companies need to have strong financial capacity, development experience and brands to create synergy value after M&A" - he emphasized.

Ms. Nguyen Le Dung believes that from now until the end of 2025, M&A activities will have many opportunities to break through thanks to factors such as legal reform, proactive economic diplomacy strategies and capital flows seeking sustainable values. She noted that many investment funds now set ESG (environment, society, governance) criteria and long-term efficiency as prerequisites, thereby promoting the shift of capital flows into green projects, industrial parks and housing for experts.

Mr. Vo Hong Thang added that the draft amendments to the Land Law and the Real Estate Business Law 2023 are becoming a big driving force for the market. The new regulations will help simplify land acquisition procedures, improve access to "clean" land funds, and reduce legal risks for investors, especially foreign investors. He assessed that the excitement of M&A not only helps the market restructure but also contributes to solving the problem of capital shortage and project inventory.

Pressure on real estate prices

However, many experts warn that the rapid increase in large-value deals could put pressure on real estate prices. Because, the vibrant M&A market can cause real estate prices to increase, creating barriers to access for buyers and increasing the risk of a bubble if not controlled.

Not to mention, when the project's legal status is complete, the selling price is often so high that it is beyond the ability of many investors. Therefore, only foreign investment funds or domestic developers with strong potential have the advantage in successfully "closing the deal". "For this reason, most of the upcoming M&A deals will focus on the high-end real estate segment, especially land funds in urban centers" - Mr. Vo Hong Thang said.

Source: https://nld.com.vn/dai-gia-dua-nhau-san-du-an-sach-196250908212927941.htm