Another Nail In The Coffin...

Picked this one up in another forum. was not able to verify the source, but nayway interesting if proves to be true...

From the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION of REALTORS

Draft Rule Allows Foreigners into Vietnamese Market.

Foreigners will be able to buy houses in Vietnam, under a regulation

being drafted by the Ministry of Construction and other agencies.

Under the draft, foreign homebuyers would be required to satisfy

three conditions: (1) they are living and working in Vietnam; (2)

they are authorized to reside in the country for at least one year;

and (3) they buy houses for residential use for themselves and their

families while in Vietnam for work-related purposes. The ministry

also proposes five classes of foreign individuals and organizations

eligible to buy homes. They include those directly investing in

Vietnam; those who contribute to Vietnam, e.g., scientists and

artists; persons married to Vietnamese citizens and living in the

country; and foreign organizations which provide employee housing.

The ministry has estimated that 81,000 foreigners lived and worked in

Vietnam during 2004-2006 including 25,000 investors, 1,600 employees

for international organizations and 54,000 working in other fields.

The regulation will be implemented experimentally in Ha Noi and HCM

City and other areas with significant foreign investment activities

and high demand among foreigners for housing. The Ministry of

Planning and Investment reported last month that almost US$4.37

billion in foreign direct investment (FDI) was pumped into the red-

hot Vietnamese economy in the first five months of the year, FDI

investment capital recorded a 25% increase over the same period last

year and the number of newly licensed initiatives surged by 32%.

Market observers have pointed to Vietnam's improving business and

investment environment and its adherence to international economic

commitments as key drivers in attracting FDI.