Remittances from the overseas Vietnamese community are down somewhat this year, but have not fallen as far as was feared.

Middle-class families in Vietnam use up to 80 percent of their income to purchase homes, an overly high level that can easily cause debt crisis, according to research by Vietnam Report on Vietnam’s real estate sector in 2009-2010.

Real estate and construction material businesses are set to reward investors as business picks up in the second half of this year.

Vietnam’s real estate sector is in dire need of capital as the economic slump hits invest-ments and alternative funding sources are unavailable, experts said.

The Ace Vina Group from the Republic of Korea (RoK) on September 25 broke the ground on an infrastructure project to expand the Phu Bai industrial zone in the central province of Thua Thien-Hue.

Vietnam attracted a total of US$12.54 billion in foreign direct investment (FDI) in the first nine months of this year, down 78.6 percent from the same period last year.

Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung on September 25 inaugurated the Vinh Tuy concrete bridge over the Red River, making it the seventh of its kind leading into Hanoi.

The Pomina Steel Joint Stock Company, the Vietnam Industrial and Commerical Bank (VietinBank) and Concast the equipment supplier have signed an investment contract for the biggest forged and rolled steel project in Vietnam.

Province-based Ips expect to absorb 295,000 laborers by 2015, more than 250,000 of whom have the demand for housing with a total area of 2,507mln sq.m.

The property market has shown signs of snapping back after a long period of stagnation caused by the economic slowdown. Businesses are seeking ways to mobilise long-term capital sources for their projects.

The 2009 Vietnamwood and Furnitec Fair will be held at the Saigon Exhibition and Convention Centre (SECC) on September 24-27.