Vietnam's upcoming admission to the World Trade Organization, slated for Tuesday, has inspired new waves of foreign investment in the country and revived its stagnant real estate market, local newspaper Vietnam News Monday quoted industry insiders as saying.

The Ho Chi Minh City Real Estate Association in the southern city alone has so far this year received more than 20 delegations from such countries and regions as South Korea, the United States, Australia, China, Singapore, China's Hong Kong and Taiwan.

Most were highly interested in the local market, the association's general secretary Do Thi Loan said, noting that many memoranda of understanding have been signed to develop office buildings, luxury apartments, shopping centers and housing for low- income earners.

Many foreign-invested realty development projects that have been stalled for some years during the recent slump in the market have recovered on the new foreign investor confidence.

Larkhall Group of China's Hong Kong, received an investment license from the Vietnamese Ministry of Planning and Investment in 1997, and planned to establish a joint venture with a Vietnamese partner to build an office building in Ho Chi Minh City. Following the 1997 Asian financial crisis, the project stalled and did not resume until 2005 when Larkhall became the sole investor.

"Investment in the project has grown from 62 million U.S. dollars in 1997 to 125 million dollars at present," said Nguyen Duc Kiet, deputy general director of the company. "The scheduled completion date is now 2008."

Recently, many new property projects, including those on construction of retail shopping centers, have been developed. Market experts said land suitable for the construction of large projects has become rare, creating opportunities for some domestic investors to sell or lease land-use rights initially obtained for failed projects.

The coming entry into the World Trade Organization has helped wipe out many foreign investors'doubts about Vietnam's legal system. As real estate investment requires large volumes of capital, investors want the Vietnamese government to ensure the security of their investment and well protect their interests, a local corporate official said.

Source: Xinhua