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Trump Organization to break ground on golf club in Vietnam amid trade talks

Published: 21 May. 2025, 15:07

U.S. President Donald Trump sits inside the Oval Office of the White House, in Washington on May 9. [REUTERS/YONHAP]

The Trump Organization and its local partner will hold a groundbreaking ceremony on Wednesday for a luxury golf resort close to Vietnam's capital Hanoi, according to invitations to the event seen by Reuters.

Vietnam's government approved the plan last week and the ceremony will be attended by U.S. President Donald Trump's son Eric Trump, organizers said. The event comes as the Southeast Asian country negotiates with Washington to avoid punitive tariffs.

Its developers have said the $1.5 billion project will include when completed in 2027 three 18-hole golf courses and a residential complex, and could be followed by additional multi-billion-dollar investments.

Local authorities of the Hung Yen province, where the golf club will be built, have also invited Vietnam's leaders to the event, including the head of the ruling Communist Party To Lam, who was born in the province, according to the invitation.

It is unclear whether he will join the event. Vietnam's state news agency said Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh will participate in a groundbreaking event on Wednesday in Hung Yen, without specifying for which project.

Apart from the ceremony, Eric Trump is also set to meet Ho Chi Minh City officials on Thursday to explore plans for a possible skyscraper in Vietnam's southern business hub, according to an internal schedule seen by Reuters.

“Vietnam has tremendous potential for luxurious hospitality and entertainment,” Eric Trump, who is a senior vice president of the Trump Organization, said in October when the president's family business announced a partnership with Vietnamese real estate firm Kinhbac City Development Holding Corporation.

“We are incredibly excited to enter this dynamic market.”

U.S. President Donald Trump walks down the colonnade to the Oval Office after arriving on Marine One at the White House in Washington on April 27. [REUTERS/YONHAP]

The strategic collaboration, whose terms are not public, “will focus on developing 5-star hotels, championship-style golf courses, and luxurious residential estates and unparalleled amenities in Vietnam,” the consortium said in a statement in October.

It is unclear how the two partners share costs and revenues, and what conditions have been set for use of the Trump franchise.

TRADE PLEDGES

Vietnam has made multiple pledges to the White House to avoid 46 percent “reciprocal” tariffs that would kick off in July after a global pause if no bilateral deal is reached.

They include lower tariffs and nontariff barriers, an intensified fight against trade frauds and counterfeiting, and favorable conditions to Starlink, owned by Trump's close ally Elon Musk, to roll out satellite internet services in the country.

Organizers said the project in Hung Yen, a few kilometers south of Hanoi along the Red River, rapidly obtained approvals from local authorities, noting that it was the result of earlier work by Kinhbac City Development on the plan which preceded the announcement of the partnership with the Trump Organization.

Trump handed over the leadership of the organization to his children after he won his first term as U.S. president.

The Trump Organization has luxury golf projects, existing or under development, in countries from Indonesia to the Middle East.

Reuters