The launch of the ULI Vietnam committee was announced during ULI’s inaugural Emerging Trends in Real Estate® event in Ho Chi Minh City in April that was attended by more than 100 sector experts from around the region and Vietnam.
ULI announced that it will be expanding its Asia Pacific footprint to include Vietnam. To align with its ambitions to grow its presence and membership and establish a locally led council of industry experts, the Institute has formed a ULI Vietnam committee.
At present, the ULI Vietnam committee consists of a growing network of members including industry-leading industry experts, landlords, owners, developers, and urban planners in Vietnam. The newly formed committee has appointed Vo Sy Nhan, a cofounder of Gaw NP Capital and the CEO of Empire City, as chair. He will help formulate the committee’s strategic plan and grow its membership and footprint in Vietnam.
Nhan brings extensive private- and public-sector and industry leadership experience in real estate development and investment to his new role. Prior to his venture into the private sector, he was a public servant at the Department of Planning and Investment of Ho Chi Minh City. Nhan is also an active member of the Young President Organization (YPO) and a Harvard Business School alumnus.
David Faulkner, president of ULI Asia Pacific, commented: “We are really excited to finally establish our footprint in Vietnam, an exciting real estate market and one of our core focuses in Asia. ULI Vietnam will bring together a variety of public and private stakeholders to find solutions and build consensus around land use and development challenges. Moving forward, we aim to provide the avenues for active sectoral dialogues in Vietnam and facilitate the exchange of knowledge between industry experts and the wider community.”
At the well-attended event, ULI also launched the Vietnam edition of the Emerging Trends in Real Estate® Asia Pacific 2022 report, authored in partnership with PwC. The report ranked Vietnam fifth among Asia Pacific markets this year in terms of city development prospects, citing its popularity in the wake of persistent strong foreign investment in local industrial parks. Despite its strong potential in the commercial real estate segment, Vietnam has reportedly been adversely affected by COVID-19 lockdowns as large manufacturers with factories in the country either have found or are looking for alternate bases such as in China, according to the report.
Nhan said: “While Vietnam is seeing significant progress in terms of sustainability, industrial, and investments, rising construction costs, a nascent transaction market, and solutions for affordable housing remain some of the major challenges locally. Introducing ULI to Vietnam unfolds the organization’s strong commitment to shape the future of the built environment in the country. I look forward to working with our members to curate programs that advance Vietnam’s real estate sector by providing leadership, education, and a platform that will facilitate sharing and awareness of global best practices in land development.”
The Emerging Trends in Real Estate ® Asia Pacific 2022 is available here.
