Developer pounces on stagnant real estate sector

Jul 24th at 13:32

24-07-2013 13:32:05+07:00

Vietnamese real estate developer Son Kim Land has received a US$37 million investment from EXS Capital, an independent investment firm based in Hong Kong, according to director Trinh Bao Quoc.

On top of that, EXS Capital may raise its investment up to $80 million in the future, Quoc told Viet Nam News yesterday.

The HCM City-based company is the real estate arm of the Son Kim Group and is currently operating six development projects, including two large complex areas with apartments, offices and a commercial centre in District 2 in the city.

"Money will be invested to develop the company's ongoing projects as well as buying other real estate projects," said Quoc.

According to the co-founder and CEO of EXS Capital, Eric Solberg, the Vietnamese company is selected because of its solid track record and attractive projects in the pipeline, especially the planned metro line and metro stations in District 2 in HCM City.

Although the real estate sector in Viet Nam is fairly stagnant at the moment, Solberg believes in the company's investment.

"Real estate development is a long-term game. Anything we start to build today will not reach the market for a couple of years. We have great faith in the Vietnamese economy over the long term, so as the market is relatively weak at the moment, it is a very logical time to buy in," he said.

"We believe Son Kim Land's projects will work quite well, even if the current market conditions continue. Any recovery is good news for both Son Kim Land and its shareholders, including our investors."

EXS Capital, founded in 2007, has offices in Hong Kong and Tokyo. The group has injected over $250 million in alternative investments in Asia, representing over $1 billion in enterprise value. This is EXS Capital's first sponsored investment in Viet Nam.

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