The rapid urbanisation of Viet Nam, together with a boom in the number of high-rise buildings, is pushing local building management firms to be more professional in order to compete with foreign rivals.

According to Nguyen Thanh Hung, Deputy President of Viet Nam Building Management and Maintenance Association, local building management firms were facing a lot of difficulties, including an incomplete legal framework and a shortage of recognised brand names and talent.

Vietnamese firms were less experienced in building management compared to global names such as CapitaLand, Somerset, Savills, CBRE, Hilton and Sheraton, Hung said, adding there was a shortage of human resources in property management. Until now, there have been no schools or universities providing courses in building management.

Meanwhile, building management comprises a variety of sectors, including financial management, asset management and public services. “It is critical to improve the quality of building management in Viet Nam,” he said.

In addition, caps on profits, at between 5-10 per cent, were also hindering the development of local building management firm. The rates were too modest for reinvestment, Hung said.

Hung said that it was necessary to have a foundation in charge of providing training and granting licences for building management together with an improved legal framework.

Building management must also be evaluated regularly to prevent violations and ensure services quality.

“Building management will be hot in the future, given the rapid urbanisation in Viet Nam,” Hung said, citing statistics from the World Bank showing that the number of citizens living in urban areas would rise 50 per cent by 2040.

According to Vu Kieu Hanh, head of property management at Savills Ha Noi, the Vietnamese property market is undergoing rapid development with the number of apartment buildings and office buildings increasing constantly.

However, the lack of professionalism in building management was one of the causes behind mounting disputes between citizens and operators.

Hanh said that the definitions and regulations regarding property management remained too general, and managing a property was never an easy job.

Hanh said that training was needed to improve the quality of building management in Viet Nam. — VNS