Developer Keangnam Vina refuses to show up in court for disputes with buyers
Developer Keangnam Vina refuses to show up in court for disputes with buyers
Keangnam Vina, the developer of Keangnam Landmark Tower in Hanoi, refused to show up in court for all three cases of dispute with apartment buyers that were brought before the law on January 7, 11, and 14.
The disputes arose over the area of the apartments sold. Specifically, the buyers claimed that the company added reinforced concrete pillars and electrical boxes into the units, but did not account for this in their calculations of floor space.
The trials will be held again 30 days after the first date. If representatives of Keangnam continues to not show up, the trials will go on without their presence.
Keangnam Hanoi Landmark Tower, developed by Keangnam Vina, the Vietnamese subsidiary of South Korean Keangnam Enterprises, is located on 4.6 hectares on Pham Hung street in west Hanoi, and is currently Vietnam’s highest building.
With a total investment capital of more than $1 billion, the 72-storey tower features a 5-star hotel, offices and apartments for lease, and two 48-storey apartment towers with a total of 922 apartments. All of the apartments were sold at an average price of $3,000 per square metre.
Since 2011, seven buyers of 10 apartments in Keangnam Landmark Tower have sued Keangnam Vina, claiming that the company violated several contract terms.
In July last year, Keangnam Vina was ordered by court to pay VND400 million ($19,000) in one case to buyers claiming the company company miscalculated the USD/VND exchange rate in the sales contract, on top of miscalculating the area of the apartments.
In November 2015, a similar case was brought to trial and it was decided that Keangnam was to keep the apartment and pay the buyer VND781 million ($36,000).
Earlier this month, AON was reported to be the new owner of Keangnam Hanoi Landmark Tower, Vietnam's tallest building, after buying it from Keangnam Enterprises.
