Foreign and Vietnamese investors spent at least US$1 billion in deals to acquire real estate projects in the first three months, the Ministry of Planning and Investment's news website Dau Tu reported Thursday, citing industry data.

That was equivalent to nearly 70 percent of the total value of all M&A deals recorded in the sector last year.

Several analysts forecast the value will increase strongly with more deals to be signed in the upcoming months.

Phan Xuan Can, chairman of Hanoi-based real estate consultancy firm Sohovietnam, said in the news website that the robust growth was partially the result of the real estate market's strong recovery last year.

Another boost was a decree that took effect at the end of last year to ease rules on selling real estate projects, he said, expecting M&A deals to increase sharply this year and upcoming years.

One of the biggest deals to have been reported was the acquisition of Keangnam Hanoi Landmark Tower in Hanoi, according to Dau Tu.

London-headquartered financial group Aon is set to collaborate with South Korea's securities firm Mirae Asset in taking over the 72-story tower at 500 billion won ($437.7 million) from South Korean developer's Keangnam Enterprises, it said.

Most of the other notable deals involved projects in the capital city and Ho Chi Minh City.

Singaporean developer Keppel Land, for instance, has spent $93.9 million acquiring a 40 percent stake in a consortium that is building Vietnam's tallest building, Empire City, in Ho Chi Minh City.

Thanh Nien News

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