A new draft regulation would limit foreign ownership of real estate in future special economic zones in Vietnam to 30% of any project.
VnExpress reports that the Law on Special Economic and Administrative Units would allow foreign investors to enjoy 99-year leases in the upcoming special economic zones. The maximum lease period offered elsewhere in the country is 50 years.
However, under the draft regulation foreigners would only be allowed to purchase up to 30% of apartment buildings or resorts in these regions, despite official promises that special incentives would make these zones more enticing to outside investors.
Tran Huy Dong, director of the Economic Zones Management Department under the Ministry of Planning and Investment, told the news source: "The limit is to guarantee security and prevent acquisitions by foreigners in special economic zones."
At the moment three such areas are planned in Quang Ninh and Khanh Hoa provinces, as well as on Phuc Quoc Island. The government has pitched these regions as investment draws similar to Singapore and Hong Kong, VnExpress adds, but Dong explained that the ministries of national defense and public security will have to approve the granting of land to foreign investors.
The official added that this policy could change depending on demand from investors.
Casinos have already been approved in the three special economic zones, while one member of the National Assembly recently suggested legalizing prostitution within their borders.
