Mr Howang Yu Nam.

What do you think of Vietnam’s economic performance since the beginning of the year?
In the first nine months Vietnam’s economy recovered from the global economic crisis when compared with other South Asian countries. According to a recent Ministry of Planning and Investment report, Vietnam’s GDP increased 5 per cent, its financial market is stable and the VN-Index has exceeded 600 points, compared with 300 points at the beginning of the year. The trade deficit still has people concerned about shortages of US dollars (USD), but in general I think the economic performance has been good.
The government has changed some major macroeconomic indicators since January. How do you view these changes from your industry’s perspectives?
The Vietnamese Government has introduced many policies to support and drive the development of the real estate field since January. For example, commercial banks can provide loans to investors to invest in the construction of houses and apartments, etc. Many people and companies have taken the opportunity to participate in the market, pushing up property values and resulting in more real estate transactions. This was also the main reason the government applied a housing income tax last month.
Was it a good time to apply the housing income tax?
Personally, I think it is still too early to apply a housing income tax, particularly in a circumstance where the real estate industry has just recovered after nearly two years of difficult times from the global financial crisis.
We are going to expand our real estate business, but with the application of the housing income tax we are afraid that the number of buyers will fall and greatly affect our company’s business as well as other general real estate investors. Moreover, it also impacts negatively on Vietnam’s economy at the beginning of the recovery period. In my opinion, it would be better if the government only applied tax policy on land transfers, not land including houses.
Do you think the ups-and-downs of the real estate market have reflected the country’s economic performance over the past nine months?
The real estate market impacts on many industries, such as construction, construction materials, transportation, trading and even the labour market because it requires a large number of workers. Therefore, in other countries, governments adopt many policies and introduce advantages for real estate investors in order to support and encourage them to build technical infrastructure such as bridges, roads and even houses, apartments, offices and hotels. Real estate investors have assisted those governments in steadily developing their economies. So I strongly believe that fluctuations in the real estate market reflect the Vietnamese economy in some positive respects.
Has Cantavil-Daewon changed its 2009 plan or adjusted some of its targets? Why?
With positive support for the economy coming from the Vietnamese Government in the nine months of this year, we have successfully developed and expanded our real estate investments. Our strategy is to focus on building houses for low- and medium-income earners and the resettlement housing business, which are suitable with ongoing government policies. We are also thinking of renovating and upgrading old housing complex projects, to provide higher living conditions and comfort for Vietnamese people in major cities.
Previously we only focused on investment in luxury and high-class apartments projects. Now, though, we would like to diversify our real estate products. We will do our best to provide good quality apartments at competitive prices.
Ha Anh