Illustrative photo (VNA)

At a recent conference to collect comments on the draft revised Land Law in Ho Chi Minh City, Dang Thanh Binh, Deputy Director of the Liaison Department for Overseas Vietnamese of District 1, HCM City, said that among the 5.5 million Vietnamese living abroad, many, particularly those over 60 who account for 20% of the expatriates, want to return to their homeland to live.

The revision of the Land Law is drawing special attention from overseas Vietnamese. Binh said the draft revised Land Law has many changes to regulations concerning the management and use of land. In particular, overseas Vietnamese will no longer be restricted to owning only one house or apartment in Vietnam.

The State is taking a big step toward giving overseas Vietnamese the same rights as domestic investors and greater opportunity to settle in Vietnam and become more attached to their homeland. Expatriates who own real estate also contribute to tax revenues and the growth of related service industries.

Nguyen Dinh Phu, Chairman of the Association of Vietnamese Entrepreneurs in the United States, said collecting the opinions of overseas Vietnamese on the draft revised Land Law shows Vietnam’s respect for their contributions to major national issues. More and more expatriates are returning home to do business and contribute significantly to national development. Phu said the new lawn law will allow overseas Vietnamese to own more houses and will help Vietnam attract more investment.

Dr. Nguyen Vinh Huy, Vice Chairman of the Ho Chi Minh City Business Association, said overseas Vietnamese represent a huge potential resource for Vietnam's real estate market. Every year, remittances to Vietnam total nearly 20 billion USD. Huy suggested coordinating the Land Law, the Law on Real Estate Business and the Law on Housing to allow overseas Vietnamese to engage in real estate transactions like domestic real estate businesses do.

Last week the State Committee for Overseas Vietnamese and the Vietnam Fatherland Front jointly organized an online conference to collect overseas Vietnamese opinions on the draft revised Land law. Deputy Foreign Minister and Chairman of the State Committee on Overseas Vietnamese Pham Quang Hieu, said the move follows the Party's guidelines on promoting overseas resources for national development.