Nam Long gets another foreign investor
By Quoc Hung - The Saigon Times Daily
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| Nam Long and Mekong Capital leaders at a press briefing on the deal on Thursday - Photo: Quoc Hung |
HCMC – Domestic property developer Nam Long Investment Corporation announced on Thursday to team up with another strategic foreign partner through a US$9.1 million private placement.
The foreign shareholder is Vietnam Azelea Fund (VAF), which is managed by Mekong Capital Corporation, a Vietnam-based private equity firm, as Nam Long’s third strategic international shareholder after Aseana Properties Limited (ASPL) and Nam Viet Limited.
The investment of VAF is part of a private placement exercise of new ordinary shares in Nam Long by institutional investors last June, at a value of US$9.1 million, some 6.7% of the company’s shares.
The fund acquired more than 2.7 million shares of Nam Long, whose charter capital was VND410.5 billion in June 2010.
The money will be used to invest in Nam Long’s subsidiaries, and to accelerate Nam Long’s property development projects in HCMC and neighboring provinces, according to the company.
VAF targets Vietnam’s unlisted future blue-chip companies, according to the fund.
“The joining of Mekong Capital in Nam Long as a strategic shareholder represents an added value to our company,” said Nguyen Xuan Quang, Nam Long’s board chairman and general director.
“Mekong Capital is an international investor that has substantial business experience in Vietnam. This move will consolidate our strengths in exploring further business capacity and developing real estate projects.”
He said this investment, together with the presence of ASPL, a fund owned by Ireka, a real estate developer, and Nam Viet, a subsidiary with 100% capital invested by Goldman Sachs, had showcased investors’ confidence in Nam Long.
On this occasion, Nam Long revealed a plan to list its shares in the Hochiminh Stock Exchange in 2011.
Thomas F. Lanyi, director of Mekong Capital, said he was confident in the long-term property market of Vietnam and Nam Long’s 18 years of local experience in property development.
Established 18 years ago, Nam Long is a major firm in the real estate market in HCMC. It has a diversified portfolio of products ranging from land, townhouses, villas, apartments, offices, serviced apartments and tourism property.
Nam Long’s projects are concentrated in southern Vietnam, with a focus on HCMC, the outlying Mekong Delta suburbs of Long An and Can Tho, and Ba Ria-Vung Tau. It has total assets of over VND2.500 billion in the first half of 2010.