Stampede for VinaLand fund

The fund received over $320 million in subscriptions, far exceeding the originally targeted $50m, but the final figure will not be announced until March 13, according to the source.
“We are immensely pleased with the overwhelming response to our new property fund. But as with the previous rounds of funding, we will possibly have to turn down a significant number of new subscribers,” Don Lam, managing partner of VinaCapital, told Vietnam Investment Review last week.
“We received subscriptions from both investors in our first fund, who have seen the demonstrated results of VinaCapital’s disciplined investment approach, as well as new investors, who believe in the real estate potential of Vietnam’s robustly growing economy.”
VinaLand will list on the London Stock Exchange’s Alternative Investment Market (AIM) on March 22, becoming the first publicly traded fund dedicated to property investments in Vietnam.
VinaLand will invest in five property sectors: office, retail, residential, industrial and leisure. The fund’s primary focus will be Ho Chi Minh City, with a secondary focus on Hanoi and key leisure areas, including Nha Trang, Hoi An and Danang.
“There is enormous latent demand for property across all sectors. The country’s economic growth has given rise to a burgeoning urban middle class with an increased amount of disposable income, putting pressure not only on middle-class residential housing but also limited retail space,” said Peter Dinning, managing director of VinaCapital’s real estate arm.
“In addition, Vietnam’s increased international exposure is resulting in an influx of tourists, multinational corporations, and manufacturing companies looking for an alternative manufacturing hub. The result is pressure on a limited supply of hotel rooms, office space, and industrial zone space.”
Pham Uyen Nguyen, managing director of VinaCapital’s investment arm, added: “The timing is right for the launch of funds dedicated to real estate opportunities in Vietnam”
“The economic, legal and demographic changes occurring in Vietnam are similar to those that fueled the explosive growth of China’s real estate market which began in the late 1990s.
“In the case of both China and Vietnam, we’re looking at the same growth factors: increased disposable income, urbanisation, availability of mortgages, and a series of financial, regulatory, and legal reforms spurred by impending WTO accession.”
The launch of VinaLand tops off a series of recent accomplishments for VinaCapital, which achieved high returns for its first fund, VOF. Last year, the $171m fund reported an increase of 34 per cent in net asset value (NAV) per share and 35 per cent in share price.
Besides managing VOF and VinaLand, VinaCapital has also acted as the Southeast Asia office for its sister company, Pacific Alliance Group (PAG), which manages a $100m Pan-Asian Fund. This is the first time a Vietnam-based asset management company has assisted in managing an international fund.


No. 752/March 13-19, 2006