VinaCapital is one of the longest-standing and most influential investment funds in Vietnam in the field of investment and asset management.
In the real estate sector alone, VinaCapital has made its mark with numerous multimillion-dollar acquisitions of businesses and real estate projects.
Vina Square project
Firstly, the “golden land” project at 152 Tran Phu (District 5, Ho Chi Minh City) should be mentioned.
This land area used to be the Saigon Tobacco Factory owned by Saigon Tobacco Company (100% capital owned by Vinataba).
In 2008, Vina Alliance Co., Ltd. was officially established when Vinataba and some member units decided to contribute capital to implement the Vina Square commercial project on the land area of 152 Tran Phu, along with other partners.
The founding members of Vina Alliance include Vinataba, Vinataba Saigon, Vi Na Ta Ba Trading and Investment Joint Stock Company, Do Thanh Viet Co., Ltd., Can Nha Mo Uoc Trading Construction Joint Stock Company, and Pacific Alliance Land Limited Company (a subsidiary of VinaCapital’s Vinaland Ltd investment fund).
Rendering of Vina Square project at 152 Tran Phu.
According to the business registration as of the end of June 2016, Vina Alliance has a charter capital of VND 880 billion (or USD 55 million). However, the list of shareholders at that time included only 4 legal entities: Pacific Alliance Land Limited (62%), Son Dong Co., Ltd. (10.5%), Vinataba (20%), Saigon Tobacco Company (7.5%).
With a 62% ownership stake, VinaCapital became the major stakeholder in the VinaSquare project, while Vinataba was the legal entity that initiated the project.
However, in January 2017, a VinaCapital member sold its 62% stake in Vina Alliance to Trí Đức Real Estate Joint Stock Company. The ownership percentages of the remaining 3 shareholders remained unchanged.
According to a press release from the London Stock Exchange (www.londonstockexchange.com) on September 7, 2017, the transfer deal between Trí Đức and Vinaland Ltd had a value of USD 41.2 million. After repaying the shareholder’s loans, Vina Capital’s member fund netted USD 41 million from this transaction.
Partial acquisition of shares in An Duong Thao Dien
In 2017, after divesting from the Vina Square project, VinCapital surprised investors by acquiring an 11% stake in An Duong Thao Dien Real Estate Trading Investment Joint Stock Company (stock code: HAR, listed on HoSE) – a lesser-known company in the Vietnamese real estate market at that time.
Speaking about this investment decision with the press, Mr. Tran Van Man – Equity Investment Director of VinaCapital Asset Management JSC, said that since the 2017 shareholders meeting, comprehensive restructuring had helped HAR operate more smoothly, and the company’s development direction had significantly improved.
The owner of “Cô Ba Soap” brand gradually shifted to a model of carrying out mergers and acquisitions (M&A) of good businesses, projects, and valuable land plots to serve the core business activities of the company.
Investing USD 11 million in Tasco
Also in 2017, as a notable acquisition in the business and real estate project sector, VinaCapital member funds invested USD 11 million into Tasco Joint Stock Company (stock code: HUT) – one of the leading BOT companies in Vietnam.
Tasco generated USD 23 million from a private share placement of 21% of the shares to several investors. Among them, the Vietnam Opportunity Fund (managed by VinaCapital) purchased the largest stake with an investment value of USD 11 million.
Hoa Sen Dai Phuoc Project
2017 can be considered a buzzing year for VinaCapital as, in addition to the aforementioned acquisitions, the investment fund also undertook the transfer of its capital contribution in the Hoa Sen Dai Phuoc project (now SwanBay Dai Phuoc) located in the ecological tourism urban area of Dai Phuoc in Nhon Trach District, Dong Nai Province.
In particular, in 2017, VinaCapital transferred a 70% stake in Vina Dai Phuoc JSC to China Fortune Land Development – an industrial real estate developer in China.
The announced value of the transaction was over USD 65 million, equivalent to VND 1,480 billion at that time.
Vina Dai Phuoc is known as the developer of the Hoa Sen Dai Phuoc project. It was established in 2007 with a capital contribution from the Investment Development Construction Corporation (DIC Corp, stock code: DIG, at that time, it was a state-owned enterprise) and VinaCapital (through two member funds).
Established in 2007, the Investment Development Construction Corporation (DIC Corp, stock code: DIG, at that time, it was a state-owned enterprise) and VinaCapital (through two member funds) jointly contributed capital to establish Vina Dai Phuoc for the development of the Dai Phuoc Lotus project.
Times Square Hanoi project
Times Square owns prime “golden land” in Nam Tu Liem District.
The Times Square project was initially developed by Thang Long Property Co., Ltd. – a joint venture between VinaCapital and Thang Long GTC Company (a member unit of Hanoi Tourism Corporation).
In this joint venture, Thang Long GTC held a 35% stake (as of September 30, 2014) in exchange for the right to use 4 hectares of land for 17 years from the investment certificate issuance date (equivalent to USD 1.6 million), while VinaCapital held a 65% stake through cash contributions.
The project consists of a land area of 40,000 square meters, adjacent to the Big C Thang Long Shopping Center and opposite the National Convention Center.
However, in the middle of 2017, VinaLand, a subsidiary of VinaCapital, announced its divestment from the rare “golden land” project in Nam Tu Liem District (Hanoi) by fully transferring its stake in Thang Long Property Co., Ltd. to Elite Capital Resources Limited.
According to information from VinaLand, this divestment deal generated net revenue of USD 41 million (equivalent to VND 930 billion), corresponding to a profit margin of 5.3%.
