Kita Group abandons land in Hanoi’s Ciputra urban area

Projects in Hanoi’s Ciputra urban area were intended to serve as an important step in property developer Kita Group's strategy to expand into northern Vietnam, but most of them remain abandoned.

Established in 2018 by Nguyen Duy Kien, Kita Group caught the attention of investors with famous M&A deals. Notably, Kita and related legal entities acquired a series of projects in Ciputra 3 from Vimedimex Group.

In early 2024, Vimedimex Group issued a press release stating that a former leader took advantage of his assigned positions and power to arbitrarily decide the selling prices of land plots TM01, CT05, CT06, BT02, BT05, BT06, BT03, BT04 and BT07 at Ciputra 3 for Kita Invest JSC, a number of related legal entities, and an individual without consulting former chairwoman Nguyen Thi Loan, shareholders, or the board of directors, appropriating more than VND8.34 trillion ($327.62 million).

In particular, TM01 was said to be the first stepping stone project for Kita Group's ambition to advance to the northern region. In December 2021, Binh Tan Trading and Investment JSC - a legal entity related to Kita Group - and Vimedimex Group signed a deposit contract for the purchase/transfer of the commercial center project on Lot TM01 (also known as The Lotus Center), located at the foot of Nhat Tan Bridge, Hanoi.

The deal took place just one month after former Vimedimex chairwoman Nguyen Thi Loan was detained for violating land auction regulations relating to building technical infrastructure in the southeast of Co Duong village, Tien Duong commune, Dong Anh district, Hanoi.

TM01 holds a prime location as it faces Vo Chi Cong street, near Nhat Tan Bridge. At present, the project is surrounded by corrugated iron fences, without any project information signs. The land has been left abandoned, and a number of households are still living here.

Land plots at Ciputra mortgaged by Kita Group

Legal entities linked to Kita Group have mortgaged multiple projects located in Ciputra 3.

In March 2022, Kita Invest mortgaged a deposit contract to transfer property rights in Ciputra.

At the same time, Binh Tan mortgaged a contract to transfer a deposit contract dated December 28, 2021 to Vimedimex for a commercial center on Lot TM01.

In early 2022, Mekong Construction Services Co., Ltd. also mortgaged a deposit contract to transfer a house purchase contract for a low-rise housing area on Lot BT02.

Another related legal entity, Long Truong Development Investment Joint Stock Company, in May 2024 mortgaged a deposit agreement signed on August 28, 2023 between Kita Invest and Long Truong regarding the transfer of high-rise housing projects on lots CT05 and CT06.

Notably, the mortgagee for Kita Group is a leading bank with abundant potential after selling shares to a Japanese partner.