HoREA proposes recalculating project terms after transfer

The Ho Chi Minh City Real Estate Association (HoREA) has submitted recommendations regarding the draft amendment to the Investment Law. The association proposes that when a project—or a portion of it—with a commitment to non-reimbursable transfer is transferred to a domestic investor, the project's operational term should be recalculated starting from the date the new investor takes over.

This proposal applies provided that no foreign investors or foreign-invested economic organizations remain as members or shareholders in the transferred portion. HoREA suggests that recalculating the term would allow new investors a project lifecycle more appropriate to their capital investment. However, the new term must still comply with existing Investment Law limits, which typically cap projects outside economic zones at 50 years, with exceptions up to 70 years for large-scale projects with slow capital recovery.

Le Hoang Chau, Chairman of HoREA, noted that the term ‘non-reimbursable transfer’ often appears in projects involving foreign investment. Under current regulations, such investors must hand over assets in normal operating condition to the Vietnamese State or state-owned enterprises without compensation upon the project's expiration. HoREA is also proposing a transitional mechanism for projects already implemented before the amended law takes effect, specifically for those that have been granted land use rights certificates and fulfilled land-related financial obligations.