The signing ceremony between PropertyGuru and batdongsan.com.vn yesterday in Hà Nội. — Photo batdongsan.com.vn

HA NOI (Biz Hub) — Asia's leading online property group PropertyGuru has become a major stakeholder of Viet Nam's No 1 real estate portal batdongsan.com.vn.

The company is eyeing expansion in the rapidly growing Southeast Asian market where it can promote Viet Nam's property products to regional investors.

The financial terms of Singapore-based PropertyGuru's strategic investment in batdongsan.com.vn were not disclosed at yesterday's press conference, held in Ha Noi.

With support from PropertyGuru, batdongsan.com.vn expected to improve access to a wide range of property information for home-seekers and investors in both local and overseas markets as well as contribute to the development of Việt Nam's realty market, Le Xuan Truong, executive director of batdongsan.com.vn said.

Steve Melhuish, co-founder and CEO of PropertyGuru, which acts as a platform for some US$15 billion in transactions annually with footholds in nine markets, said that Viet Nam's rapid economic growth, fast growing population and urbanisation, together with its policy of opening up the market to foreigners had made real estate an exciting and attractive market.

Under its strategic partnership with batdongsan.com.vn, PropertyGuru expects to promote property products in Viet Nam to regional investors, Melhuish said, adding that he saw increasing interest among foreign investors in Viet Nam's realty market. In addition, PropertyGuru enables Vietnamese investors to gain access to property information in other Southeast Asian countries.

Batdongsan.com.vn, officially launched in 2008, has developed into the country's leading real estate portal, drawing huge traffic of nearly 50 page views per month and more than 2 million regular users. — VNS