The results are in! Vietnam Property Awards 2015 winners announced

Some 400 developers, VIPs and real estate professionals from all over Vietnam came to Ho Chi Minh City on Friday evening, 14 August to reward the achievements of the local property sector in an exclusive, black-tie gala event held at the InterContinental Asiana Saigon for the inaugural Vietnam Property Awards.

Recently buoyed by the relaxation of foreign ownership laws and other positive developments, Vietnam’s real estate sector has been enjoying a market revival, with the Vietnam Property Awards – the latest addition to the decade-old Asia Property Awards programme from organiser Ensign Media – being heralded as the latest boost to the country’s thriving industry.

Featuring an opening keynote by a VIP speaker from the Vietnam National Real Estate Association (VNREA), the largest industry organisation in the country, the Vietnam Property Awards presented a total of 21 accolades to celebrate the top developers and finest current developments in Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi as well as various emerging resort destinations across Vietnam, plus one special award for Real Estate Personality of the Year.

Taking the year’s highest honour – Best Developer – is the Novaland Group, which faced stiff competition from some of Vietnam’s leading developers: multiple nominees CapitaLand, M.I.K. Corporation and Vingroup. The Ho Chi Minh City-based developer also went home with two Highly Commended certificates for its two projects, Icon 56 and Sunrise City, in the Best Mid-Range Condo Development (HCMC) category.

Other big winners of the night were: Keppel Land, whose Saigon Centre Phase II was honoured with the Best Retail Development and Best Commercial Development awards, beating Hôtel des Arts Saigon by MGallery Collection by International Diplomat Corporation (winner, Best Hotel Development) and Deutsches Haus Ho Chi Minh Stadt by Deutsches Haus Ho Chi Minh Stadt Limited (winner, Best Office Development) in the latter category; and SonKim Land and Hamon Development, whose Gateway Thao Dien development, a luxury condominium project located in HCMC’s vibrant District 2 – one of Vietnam’s fastest-growing property hotspots – was presented with the Best Luxury Condo Development (HCMC) and Best Condo Development (Vietnam) trophies.

With the increasing popularity of resort developments in Southeast Asia among global investors, the resort subcategories were also highly anticipated, with double nominee Vina Capital winning Best Condo Development (Resort) for The Ocean Apartments at Danang Beach Resort, and Jen Tuan Chau Co. Ltd’s Caye Sereno project taking home the award for Best Villa Development (Resort).

Meanwhile, as the country awaits the impact of the landmark Law on Residential Housing that took effect last July, all eyes were on the residential categories, where PhoDong Village by Saigon Construction Corp emerged as the ultimate winner, taking the award for Best Housing Development (Vietnam).

All the top winners at the Vietnam Property Awards can now look forward to competing with regional peers in the grand finale of the Asia Property Awards series, at the fifth annual South East Asia Property Awards 2015, which will be held at The Shangri-La Hotel in Singapore on Wednesday, 21 October, and preceded by the inaugural Property Report Congress on the same day and venue.

Another highlight of the evening was the awarding of the Vietnam Real Estate Personality of the Year trophy to Nguyen Hoang Tuan, chairman and founder of SonKim Holdings Investment, who was selected by the editors of Property Report as the first-ever recipient of this prestigious honour in Vietnam. The 20-year veteran is leading the way to create a new standard of living in the country via world-class luxury developments such as the Gateway Thao Dien, his group’s collaboration with Hamon Development.

“The Real Estate Personality of the Year award is an honour not only to me but also for Sonkim Land,” he said. “This award is a milestone that remarks our development direction over the past year, especially with the Gateway Thao Dien project…. Vietnam’s property market is ready for luxury products; buyers deserve high quality products with international standards.”

Supervised by BDO, the fifth largest accountancy network in the world, the Awards’ highly respected judges panel was headed by chairman Rudolf Hever, co-founder and executive director of Alternaty Real Estate (Vietnam). Formerly the head of the Vietnam regional panel at the South East Asia Property Awards in Singapore, Hever has had a vast experience in real estate advisory and property consultancy services across Asia Pacific over the years.

On the quality of entrants for the inaugural Vietnam Property Awards, Hever commented: “The judges were very impressed by the calibre of entries received particularly in the popular categories. It is encouraging to see that developers are continually striving to improve the quality of their projects in order to compete on the regional stage.

“The introduction of the Vietnam Property Awards this year certainly encourages this spirit of innovation, giving well-deserved recognition to the efforts of the local developers by showcasing their projects. The first-ever Vietnam Property Awards is yet another positive step in the development of the Vietnam real estate industry. We definitely look forward to next year’s awards, which should be a lot more competitive.”

Hever’s highly qualified and distinguished co-members of the central judges panel in Vietnam were: Marc Townsend, managing director of CBRE (Vietnam) Co. Ltd.; Felice Iacobellis, managing director, Halo Design; Chau Ta, legal counsel, Transactions, SC Capital Partners Pte. Ltd.; Ninh Van Hien, partner, Tax & Corporate Services, KPMG Limited; Chris Elkin, managing director, red brand builders/Edge Asia Vietnam; Thien Duong, managing director, Transform Architecture; and Ngyuen Hoang Manh, CEO and founder of MIA Design Studio.

The Vietnam Property Awards was presented by Property Report and heavily promoted throughout the country and across South East Asia through various advertising campaigns in multiple formats, as well as through top media partners such as Oriental Media Vietnam, FBNC, Deluxe Magazine, Resort & Spa Vietnam Magazine, AsiaLIFE Magazine, Ringier, Robb Report, Citizen K Vietnam, Viet Nam News, and Mua Ban Nha Dat, the Official Property Portal.

Supported by the Canadian Chamber of Commerce Vietnam, gold sponsor Hansgrohe and silver sponsor TEKA, the glittering gala night and awards presentation ceremony was preceded by a cocktail networking reception and included a lavish four-course dinner graced by Sanpellegrino, Official Supplier of the Asia Property Awards 2015.

“What a monumental year to launch Vietnam’s biggest real estate awards,” said Terry Blackburn, CEO of Ensign Media, awards organiser and publisher of Asia’s industry-leading Property Report magazine. “While the market struggled in the last few years, it is now back on track, with local industry players raising the bar to global standards. The Vietnam Property Awards is the most credible platform that recognises such growth.

“We thank all the developers who joined our launch event for their overwhelming response, our sponsors and media partners for their essential support, and we congratulate all the Winners and Highly Commended awardees for their deserving honour. As we guarantee site inspections for all shortlisted properties, everyone can be confident that our independent panel of judges have made a huge effort to ensure only the country’s best developments were rewarded this evening. The Property Awards are successful because of their credibility and long may they continue in Vietnam,” he said.

For more information about the Vietnam Property Awards, visit AsiaPropertyAwards.com or email [email protected].

COMPLETE WINNERS & HIGHLY COMMENDED LIST

PropertyGuru Asia Property Awards (Vietnam) 2015:

DEVELOPER AWARDS

Best Developer

• Winner: Novaland
• Highly Commended:
  • CapitaLand
  • M.I.K. Corporation
  • Vingroup

BEST OF THE BEST AWARDS

Special Recognition in CSR

• Winner: CapitaLand

Best Commercial Development (Vietnam)

• Winner: Saigon Centre Phase II by Keppel Land Watco II

Best Condo Development (Vietnam)

• Winner: Gateway Thao Dien by SonKim Land & Hamon Development

Best Housing Development (Vietnam)

• Winner: PhoDong Village by Saigon Construction Corp.

DEVELOPMENT AWARDS

Best Hotel Development

• Winner: Hôtel des Arts Saigon – MGallery Collection by International Diplomat Corporation
• Highly Commended:
  • À La Carte Samson Hotel by FLC Group
  • Fusion Resort Nha Trang by Serenity Holding
  • Hotel Royal Hoi An by Hoang Gia Group
  • The Shells Resort and Spa Phu Quoc by Tran Thai Group

Best Office Development

• Winner: Deutsches Haus Ho Chi Minh Stadt by Deutsches Haus Ho Chi Minh Stadt Limited
• Highly Commended: Saigon Centre Phase II by Keppel Land Watco II

Best Retail Development

• Winner: Saigon Centre Phase II by Keppel Land Watco II
• Highly Commended: SC VivoCity by Vietsin Commercial Complex Development Joint Stock Company

Best Affordable Condo Development (HCMC)

• Winner: Citi Home Condo by Kien A Corporation
• Highly Commended: Ehome 5 – The Bridgeview by Nam Long Investment Corporation

Best Mid-Range Condo Development (HCMC)

• Winner: Riviera Point by Riviera Point Limited Liability Company
• Highly Commended:
  • Icon 56 by Novaland Group
  • Sila Urban Living by Hieu Duc Joint Stock Company
  • Sunrise City by Novaland Group

Best Luxury Condo Development (HCMC)

• Winner: Gateway Thao Dien by SonKim Land & Hamon Development
• Highly Commended: Estella Heights by Estella Joint Venture Company Ltd.

Best Housing Development (HCMC)

• Winner: PhoDong Village by Saigon Construction Corp.
• Highly Commended: Villa Park by M.I.K. Corporation

Best Residential Development (Hanoi)

• Winner: Gamuda Gardens by Gamuda Land Vietnam
• Highly Commended:
  • FLC Complex – 36 Pham Hung by FLC Group
  • ParkCity Hanoi Township, Phase 1 Residential Development – Nadyne Gardens by Vietnam International Township Development Joint Stock Company

Best Villa Development (Resort)

• Winner: Caye Sereno by Jen Tuan Chau Co., Ltd
• Highly Commended:
  • Cam Ranh Flowers Resort by Bai Dai Resort Company Limited
  • The Point, Danang Beach Resort by VinaCapital

Best Condo Development (Resort)

• Winner: The Ocean Apartments, Danang Beach Resort by VinaCapital
• Highly Commended: Halong Marina Urban Area by Syrena Vietnam Investment and Development JSC – BIM Group

DESIGN AWARDS

Best Hotel Architectural Design

• Winner: The Shells Resort and Spa Phu Quoc by Tran Thai Group
• Highly Commended:
  • À La Carte Samson Hotel by FLC Group
  • Fusion Resort Nha Trang by Serenity Holding
  • Hotel Royal Hoi An by Hoang Gia Group
  • Naman Pure Spa by Thanh Do Investment and Construction Corporation

Best Hotel Interior Design

• Winner: Liberty Central Saigon Citypoint Hotel by Liberty Corporation
• Highly Commended:
  • À La Carte Samson Hotel by FLC Group
  • Fusion Resort Nha Trang by Serenity Holding
  • Hotel Royal Hoi An by Hoang Gia Group
  • Naman Pure Spa by Thanh Do Invetment and Construction Corperation
  • The Shells Resort and Spa Phu Quoc by Tran Thai Group

Best Landscape Architectural Design

• Winner: Vista Verde by CapitaLand – Thien Duc Company Limited
• Highly Commended:
  • ParkCity Hanoi Township, Phase 1 Residential Development – Nadyne Gardens by Vietnam International Township Development Joint Stock Company
  • Villa Park by M.I.K. Corporation

Best Residential Architectural Design

• Winner: Sila Urban Living by Hieu Duc Joint Stock Company
• Highly Commended:
  • Caye Sereno by Jen Tuan Chau Co., Ltd
  • Naman Residences by Thanh Do Investment and Construction Corporation
  • Riviera Point by Riviera Point Limited Liability Company
  • Vista Verde by CapitaLand – Thien Duc Company Limited

Best Residential Interior Design

• Winner: Naman Residences by Thanh Do Investment and Construction Corporation
• Highly Commended:
  • Lucasta by Khang Dien House Trading & Investment Joint Stock Company
  • D’. Palais de Louis by Tan Hoang Minh Group
  • The Residences – Mia Resort Nha Trang – Vietnam by Cam Ranh Tourism Development Corp
  • Vista Verde by CapitaLand – Thien Duc Company Limited

Best Retail Architectural Design

• Winner: SC VivoCity by Vietsin Commercial Complex Development Joint Stock Company
• Highly Commended: Saigon Centre Phase II by Keppel Land Watco II

PUBLISHER’S CHOICE

Real Estate Personality of the Year

• Winner: Nguyen Hoang Tuan, Chairman and founder, SonKim Holdings Investment