Affordable housing developer Nam Long gets six more investors

March 04, 2014 | 13:57

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Vietnamese property developer Nam Long, which leads in affordable housing development, has just announced six new corporate investors including the World Bank’s private sector lending arm IFC.

The new investors are both local and foreign. Among them are Bridger Capital and Probus Asia from overseas, and Vietnam’s Ho Chi Minh City Securities Corp., a leading broker and investment firm. The two other local companies are Huong Viet and Tan Hiep, both based in the city.

Nam Long CEO Nguyen Vinh Tran announced that IFC will finance his Ho Chi Minh City-based firm to build 8,000 apartments for mid-income homebuyers in the city by 2017. The $7.5 million equity investment will support Nam Long’s plan to build more housing units under its EHome brand. IFC will also aid the company in improving its environmental and social practices

Nam Long had separately issued 25.5 million shares to the six investors for VND18,000 (85 cents) each, adding VND255 billion (12.14 million) to its VND955 billion ($45.47 million) chartered capital, bringing the new capital to VND1,210 billion ($57.61 million). The actual proceeds of VND459 billion ($21.85 million) will go to the company’s forthcoming EHome projects.

The company Nam Long has so far sold more than 3,000 affordable housing units, costing between $25,000 and $50,000 each. Meanwhile, Ho Chi Minh City’s demand in the segment is estimated at about 70,000 units a year. The company plans to provide 2,000 EHome units this year, doubling last year’s number of units sold.

Nam Long’s other strategic investors include Nam Viet, which is fully owned by Goldman Sachs, Malaysian investment fund ASPL, Mekong Capital-managed VAF Fund, and Indochina Land. The foreign investors in Nam Long hold almost 44 per cent of its capital.

By By Tuong Thuy

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