$36 mln JBIC loan to fund Grade A office building near HCMC metro station

Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC) will loan $36 million to Phuong Nam 3A-1 Real Estate Business and Investment JSC to construct an office building near a Ho Chi Minh City metro station.

The loan, cofinanced with Japan-based MUFG Bank, Ltd., will take the total amount to $60 million, JBIC said in a Tuesday statement.

Leading Japanese urban developer Tokyu Corporation, which holds an indirect investment in Phuong Nam 3A-1, will work with local partner RC Real Estate Development and Finance Corporation (REFICO) and others to develop and operate the office building.

The building will be located close to Ba Son Station on Ho Chi Minh City Metro Line 1 (Ben Thanh-Suoi Tien), HCMC's first urban railway project, which is under construction.

As one of the few Grade A office buildings in HCMC, the project will contribute to the development of a new international commercial hub, JBIC said.

As a policy-based financial institution, JBIC will continue to provide financial support to Japanese companies in expanding their overseas businesses, it added.

The legal representative of Phuong Nam 3A-1 is Tran Quyet Thang, also chairman of REFICO. REFICO is well known as the developer of many residential, commercial and tourism projects in Hanoi and HCMC.

Thang is as a former board member of Vietnamese broker Vietcap Securities, a position he left in March 2024.