KBC's industrial park 'empire'

KinhBac City Development Holding Corporation (KBC), one of Vietnam's leading industrial real estate companies, is managing about 5,188 hectares of industrial park developments.

The figure is higher than other major developers' like Idico (3,378 ha) and Becamex (4,693 ha). Becamex is a partner in the Singapore-invested VSIP Industrial Park joint venture.

The total value of KBC's interest in the industrial park (IP) segment reached about VND11,891 billion ($508.4 million), as estimated by KB Securities Vietnam (KBSV), a member of South Korea's KB Securities.

Newly approved projects include Trang Due 3 (Hai Phong city), Quang Chau expansion (Bac Giang province), Nam Tan Tap (Long An province), and others in Long An and Hung Yen provinces. They are expected to be the first projects for KBC from 2023 when 90% of land at its operational IPs has been leased, according to KBSV.

In February 2022, Hung Yen's Department of Industry and Trade proposed the provincial People's Committee add three industrial cluster projects Tien Lu, An Vien-Trung Nghia and Pho Hien with a total area of 170 hectares to the northern province's planning.

The investor is Hung Yen Investment and Development Corporation, with KBC holding a 60% stake. The corporation, established in 2021 with chartered capital of about $77 million, has registered as an investor in a total of eight industrial cluster projects in Hung Yen, with a total area of about 550 hectares. Construction on the three clusters is scheduled to commence in Q2/2022 and completion in Q4/2025.

Although owning a project portfolio with many large IPs across the country, KBC is focusing more on developing in the north, which has received the higher proportion of the country's foreign direct investment in recent years.

Quang Chau IP in the northern province of Bac Giang is expected to be approved for an additional 90 hectares in September. Currently, 50 hectares of the IP is in the final negotiation stage for leasing to a company specializing in manufacturing Apple products, the KBC leadership said.

Nam Son Hap Linh IP in the adjacent Bac Ninh province in early July 2022 officially signed a contract to lease 22 hectares to Chinese electronics corporation Oppo.

At the company's general meeting of shareholders in 2022, KBS leaders disclosed that they had signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to lease 115 hectares in Trang Due Industrial Park phase 3 in Hai Phong to LG Display.

KBC is also looking for opportunities to expand its land bank in Quang Ninh province. It received policy approval for three new projects in Bac Ninh province, including Que Vo IP.

Since 2018, the IP leasing segment has accounted for the main proportion of KBC's revenue. IP leasing hit $86.28 million in 2018, accounting for 81% of the company's total revenue. For the following three consecutive years, revenue from this segment continued to hold the highest proportion with an average contribution of 71%.

In the first quarter of 2022, the company's IP leasing segment reached $13.55 million, accounting for 46% of total revenue.

KBC targets a consolidated revenue of $419 million and after-tax profit of $192.4 million this year. Profit growth in 2022 depends on the handover of Trang Cat Urban Area in Hai Phong city, expected to contribute up to 55% of total revenue.

Land leasing activities in Quang Chau IP, Nam Son Hap Linh IP, Tan Phu Trung IP and sales in Trang Cat Urban Area will be the driving force for profit growth at KBC, top broker SSI Research commented.

Chairman Dang Thanh Tam, born in 1964, was ranked the richest person in Vietnam in 2007 and third richest in Vietnam in 2008, 2009 and 2010.

In those years, he expanded the corporation's activities to many fields like finance and banking, telecommunications, energy, and minerals. However, after 2012, Tam's business situation began to decline, Tam and his businesses were engulfed in huge debt in 2013.

Currently, Tam and his associates have basically stabilized their business situation at key enterprises like KBC and Saigon Telecommunications Technology JSC (Saigontel). They are focusing on the duo.

KBC has 15 corporate members. On the Ho Chi Minh City Stock Exchange, the KBC share price hit VND38,500 ($1.65) at the closing session on August 5.