A panel discussion at the seminar on Global Property Investments held in HCM City on October 13 by Denzell. — Photo courtesy of Denzell

HCM CITY — More and more Vietnamese are looking for opportunities to invest in property abroad to diversify their portfolio, according to experts.

Speaking at a recent seminar on Global Property Investments held in HCM City by Denzell, Barry Winter, director – Southeast Asia at Pafilia, the largest privately-owned residential developer in Cyprus, said: “We have been here for almost three and half years in Việt Nam. We see more and more Vietnamese looking to invest overseas.”

Kingston Lai, CEO of Denzell Vietnam, said a few years ago many Vietnamese invested overseas for a number of different reasons such as children’s education or residency.

But now the trend had changed, and the top reason was to diversify their portfolio, he said.

Concurring, Pantazis Therianos, CEO of Euroterra Capital, a multinational property investment and development company headquartered in Europe, said Vietnamese were now looking for good global investment, looking to diversify their portfolio and find the best return for their investment abroad.

“I also saw that in the past they used to buy property in different ways from friends, from platforms but now most of them are looking for the best agencies to buy from them.”

According to speakers at the seminar, Việt Nam is one of the most attractive overseas markets for international businesses thanks to its high economic growth, rising income and increasing demand for making overseas property investment.

Four international property developers, Euroterra Capital, Pafilia, Australian developer Lendlease, and Thai real-estate developer Sansiri, introduced their products as well as residence permits such as Greece Golden Visa, Cyprus Citizenship Programme and Thai Retirement Visa at the seminar.

They also advised investors in choosing where to invest.

Therianos said investors should consider places they understand, and since tourism is what Việt Nam is famous for, Vietnamese should invest in properties related to tourist such as on an island, in the city centre or near the sea.

Winters said investors should look at “locations that can generate over 70 per cent of sales to foreign investors and locations that give a good return regardless of the reason for investing.”

Poomipak Julmanichoti , executive vice president of Sansiri, said: “There are two locations that I would like to recommend for investment - Bangkok and Phuket.

“Obviously these two cities are among the most visited by foreign tourists and you can retire there easily.”

According to Eric Chan, residential director, Lendlease Malaysia, Malaysia has a low and friendly tax structure.

Malaysia is very culturally adaptable for most Vietnamese and also a very easy place to retire in, he said.

But investing overseas is not an easy task for investors since they are not familiar with the market, legal processes, developers, and language, according to delegates.

Winters said the two key elements that investors should think about when they want to invest abroad were “making sure that you are investing in a reputable company in that country and making sure you have a good performance agency here in your home country.”

Lai said Denzell would be a bridge connecting Vietnamese investors with globally reputed real estate development.

The company checks developers and projects to make sure they are reliable before it introduces their projects to the market, and invites clients to visit those countries, whether Greece, Cyprus, Thailand, or Malaysia, to enable them to see the property for themselves and meet and work with partners (lawyers), and offers comprehensive after-sales service such as leasing and property management, according to Lai.

Denzell next plans to organise an event to introduce TRX, an integrated 70-acre development that will be Kuala Lumpur's new financial district, on November 3 in HCM City. — VNS