CapitaValue Homes Ltd., a subsidiary of Singaporean property developer CapitaLand Ltd., has signed a joint venture agreement with Khang Dien Sai Gon Real Estate Co. to develop a condo project in HCMC’s District 2.

CapitaLand said on Wednesday that the joint venture, in which CapitaValue Homes holds a 70% stake, will develop the project covering 29,000 square meters in Binh Trung Dong Ward, with 974 apartments targeting middle-income earners.

The condo project requires some US$70 million for development, according to the project developer. CapitaLand said the project is the group’s sixth residential project in Vietnam with some 5,500 housing units in HCMC and Hanoi.

Liew Mun Leong, president and chief executive officer of CapitaLand Group, said CapitaValue Homes was a new strategic business unit set up to capitalize on the untapped demand for the mid-end housing segment in Asia.

“We are on track for expansion into the value housing segment and building 10,000 to 15,000 housing units in Vietnam and China annually over the next three to five years,” he said.

The Singaporean property developer has set Vietnam as one of four core markets, the others being China, Singapore and Australia.

The group said it wants to be a long-term real estate player in Vietnam, where the real estate market is supported by the country’s strong economic growth coupled with rapid urbanization and its young population.

The Saigon Times Daily