A conference Saturday organised by the Ho Chi Minh City Business Association has produced some very mixed media coverage with key takeaways for media firms in attendance varying widely.
Lao Dong, for example, has led with comments from Dao Quang Duong the Deputy Head of the Land Economics Division, Department of Natural Resources and Environment, who has said that the department has not received any negative feedback on the most recent land price list. (Prices are much higher than in the past with regulations capping growth removed as part of the new Land Law which kicked in at the start of August).
Conversely, Saigon News is carrying comments from To Ngoc Ngoi, General Director of Saigon Forest Products Production, who has estimated the new price list has increased the company’s land rent by 30 percent.
On the same topic, but not the same event, Dai Doan Ket has calculations from the Ministry of Construction that suggest the new land price list will increase housing costs by between 15 and 20 percent–Basically, several taxes and fees are determined as a percentage of the land value. Ergo, with increase in the land valuations these fees and taxes will rise too eventually being passed on to home buyers.