A B S T R A C TThis article addresses a relative gap in the literature on real estate development and property rights in transitional economies, particularly on the "shadow" role of private developers in urban management at the local level. The paper argues that the development of high-rise buildings in Vietnam resulted from the national privatization policy shift known as Doi Moi that gave landowners greater rights. These changes in land rights policy are important constitutive elements for institutional functionality of value capture via privatization of land, to become viable and effective. Further, the paper describes how private developers (foreign and domestic) take advantage of vague and indistinct city governance regarding privatization of land, while the property rights of the original users of the land are insufficiently protected. These issues are illuminated and analyzed through the use of three case studies of commercial projects in Ho Chi Minh City. We suggest a further institutionalization of privatization of land and value capture in Vietnam.
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