Nam Long builds social housing provider reputation

NLG has developed a reputation as a high-quality affordable housing developer thanks to its successful EHome project

Nam Long Investment’s (NLG) newly appointed general director Nguyen Vinh Tran said the name of the new foreign partner, who bought over 25 million shares, would be released in January, despite the agreement being reached in October.

Earlier, when NLG announced the sale of shares to raise capital two months ago, 13 organisational investors expressed an intention to register to purchase shares. This included eight foreign investors; prestigious names like the International Financial Corporation, VinaCapital Opportunities Fund, Dragon Capital, Fujiwara Advisory Singapore Pte Ltd (Bridging Capital) and Orix Capital.

In the context of the property market doldrums and listed property firms’ poor share liquidity, the eager participation of investors into NLG’s plan to gain capital through share issuance has come as a surprise.

Mekong Capital managing director Chris Freund once said bothering with financial indexes was the story of short-term investors, whereas to organisational investors, factors like professional management, a lucid development strategy and transparency were decisive when making investment decisions.

Market observers assumed that with a share value of over VND17,000 ($0.81) per unit, the company’s  shares were not the first choice to individual short-term investors, since scores of listed firms have seen their shares sink below the face value of VND10,000 ($0.47) per unit. In addition, within the context of a property market that has yet to rebound, receiving a good share price is no mean feat.

NLG has not only been calling for the engagement of foreign shareholders, the firm has also created co-operative investment opportunities for its projects. In November 2013, Indochina Land contributed a 35 per cent stake and joined with NLG to develop the mid-end EHome 3 West Saigon apartment project.

Indochina Land Holdings CEO Peter Ryder said NLG’s sound steps and strong commitment towards the brand were why they had teamed up with the company for the promotion of the EHome development.

EHome 3 properties have sold well in recent months and this is reflected by the fact that all the units in phase 1A of the development have been sold.  The developer has also been able to hand over apartments to customers a month earlier than scheduled.

“We saw NLG’s long term vision with its plan of building 14,000 mid-end quality EHome apartments in the next five years and on top of that, these products match the needs of most local residents,” said Ryder.

NLG’s general director Nguyen Vinh Tran, who has a wealth of experience working in an international environment said, unlike many other firms, NLG has made strides to improve sales and co-operate with other domestic and foreign partners to develop new housing projects, despite the difficult real estate market.

Five years after the launch of affordable housing projects, NLG has developed a reputation as an expert in affordable housing development with 1,300 housing units having been sold so far.

According to a company source, the company will roll out a further 10,000 EHome apartments in the next three years. Tran, however, said that this was only a drop in the ocean. Ho Chi Minh City alone would need around 70,000-80,000 housing units annually and this was a vast market for the company and its wealthy partners to tap, particularly once the market revives.