Work on $1bn Trump Tower in Vietnam could start next year: source

Investment in a planned Trump Tower in Vietnam is estimated at $1bn (R17.84bn) and construction of the at least 60-storey skyscraper could start next year, a person familiar with the discussions told Reuters.

The building, for which plans are still preliminary, would be the second major project the Trump Organisation, US President Donald Trump's family business, is reviewing in Vietnam. The Southeast Asian country is in trade talks with Washington to avoid crippling 46% tariffs.

Eric Trump, senior vice-president of the Trump Organisation, visited Vietnam last week to survey the site for the tower in the country's southern business hub of Ho Chi Minh City and to attend the groundbreaking for a golf resort in northern Vietnam.

The approval for the golf club, according to Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh, had been expedited by the authorities.

The Trump Organisation would operate the golf club, while its Vietnamese partner, real estate firm Kinhbac City, would focus on developing it with an estimated investment of $1.5bn (R26.77bn), the source said. The division of work had not been previously reported.

A similar arrangement is likely to be agreed for the Trump Tower, with the investment expected to come mostly from local partners, the source said, declining to be named because the information is not public.

The Trump Organisation did not reply to a request for comment.

Kinhbac City, a leading industrial real estate developer in Vietnam, did not respond to a request for comment.

When it announced its collaboration with the Trump Organisation in October, the company said the venture “will focus on developing 5-star hotels, championship-style golf courses and luxurious residential estates and unparalleled amenities in Vietnam”.

During his visit last week, Eric Trump toured the site where the skyscraper would be built and met local officials, the source said. That was in line with the schedule of his engagements with the city's authorities, according to a Vietnamese document seen by Reuters.

The tower would be built in Thu Thiem, an area under development in central Ho Chi Minh City where a new financial centre is planned to be built, the document from the city's authorities showed.

At the groundbreaking for the golf resort, Eric Trump said the projects to be developed in Vietnam would be “the envy of Asia and of the world”, adding he would visit the country frequently to further the company's plans.

Approvals for the tower project are still being sought and no final decision had been made about when construction will start, the source said, adding the aim was to have the groundbreaking next year.

The investment could be larger than $1bn if permits are obtained for a building with more than 60 floors, the person said.

The Trump Organisation operates several towers in the US and around the world, but does not own all of them.

The flagship Trump Tower in Manhattan, New York City, was built in the 1980s. Others have since been built in Chicago, Florida and abroad, including in Turkey and the Philippines.

Reuters