Hotel deals in Vietnam indicate industry growth

Singaporean developer Low Keng Huat Limited has sold the Duxton Hotel Saigon in downtown Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, to an undisclosed investor for US$49 million. 

The sale is the fourth reported hotel acquisition in Vietnam this year.

Last month, South Korean carrier Asiana Airlines reportedly sold a 50-percent stake in Kumho Asiana Plaza, a serviced apartment and hotel complex, to Saigon Boulevard Holdings (a subsidiary of Singaporean developer Mapletree Investments) for $107.5 million. 

In April, Que Huong Liberty Corporation, which owns several hotels in Ho Chi Minh City, sold the Novotel Saigon Centre in the downtown area to a Vietnamese investor for $46.7 million.

In Hanoi, local hotel company BRG Group recently bought the Sedona Suites Hanoi from Singapore's Keppel Land Vietnam at $31.5 million.

Savills Vietnam predicted that the country’s hotel sector will see more mergers and acquisitions this year as international tourism to the country continues to rise. Official figures showed Vietnam's international arrivals rose 21.3 percent year-on-year to more than 4.7 million in the first six months of 2016.