Berjaya Land sells finance centre to Vinhomes

Berjaya Land will sell BVFC to Vinhomes and Can Gio Corporation

In a statement published on Bursa Malaysia, BLand, through its wholly-owned subsidiary Berjaya Leisure (Cayman) Limited (BLeisure Cayman), signed a capital transfer agreement to sell the entire 32.5 per cent capital contribution in BVFC to local firms Vinhomes and Can Gio.

According to the agreement, Vinhomes will pay VND871.32 billion ($38.16 million), while Can Gio will pay VND13.61 billion.

BVFC, which has not commenced operations, is developing a project comprised of an office building, a five-star hotel, serviced residences, and a shopping mall on a 6.64-hectare land plot in Ho Chi Minh City.

Initially, BLeisure Cayman’s capital contribution of VND967.31 billion ($42.37 million) represented 100 per cent of the charter capital of BVFC.

However, following the conditions imposed by the Vietnamese authorities, BVFC was required to increase its charter capital and Vinhomes had in March 2018 injected VND2.01 trillion ($88.05 million) of fresh capital to fulfill the above requirement which resulted in the dilution of BLeisure Cayman’s holding to 32.5 per cent.

On the other side, in December 2017, Vinhomes and its affiliates spent massive funds buying a 99.2 per cent stake in Berjaya Vietnam International University Town One Member Limited Liability Company (BVIUT) from BLeisure Cayman.

According to a source of Dealstreetasia, BLeisure Cayman planned to dispose of the remaining 0.8 per cent stake in BVIUT in the near future.

“Together with the proposed BVIUT disposal, the BLand group is also in negotiations on the potential sale of another of its Vietnamese subsidiaries,” BLand told Dealstreetasia, but did not elaborate on the details.

BLand, an investment holding company, primarily operates in the Malaysian and international gaming and lottery management business. It operates Toto betting and related activities; motor vehicle dealership; property development and investment; hotels and resorts; as well as club, recreation, and others service segments.

Can Gio was established in September 2004 with a 99.05 per cent stake holding by Vinhomes. The principal activities of Can Gio include real estate trading, real estate brokerage, and real estate services.