Keppel has joined the Vietnam International Financial Center as an inaugural member, setting up investment platforms to direct up to $1 billion into real estate assets nationwide.

This week, the Singaporean group received its founding membership certificate from Truong Minh Huy Vu, vice chairman of the Ho Chi Minh City People’s Committee and head of the executive body for the center, known as VIFC.

Alongside its own balance sheet, Keppel plans to source the bulk of the $1 billion from third-party institutional backers, deploying capital into commercial, residential and infrastructure property.

The vehicle operates under the charter of the Vietnam International Financial Center, known as VIFC, which Vietnam’s National Assembly authorized in 2025. VIFC runs across dual hubs in Ho Chi Minh City and Da Nang under standalone regulatory rules designed to attract overseas capital.

Those special rules permit direct foreign-currency settlements, offer tax incentives for registered projects and establish international dispute-resolution mechanisms outside the standard domestic court circuit. Truong Minh Huy Vu, vice chairman of the Ho Chi Minh City People’s Committee and head of the executive body for the VIFC, handed Keppel its founding membership certificate this week.

Deployments remain contingent on project approvals, market conditions and external partner commitments. Keppel’s Real Estate Division will manage the vehicles, targeting urban developments that mix commercial, residential and retail square footage.

For cross-border developers, the vehicle shows how global real estate firms are restructuring their presence in Vietnam. Direct balance-sheet acquisitions in Southeast Asian emerging markets tie up heavy capital during lengthy land-clearance and permitting phases.

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