Major realty developer An Gia longs for big shareholders after several partnership breakups

An Gia Real Estate Investment and Development Corporation is open to strategic partnerships for project development and would welcome big shareholders or institutions, said its chairman Nguyen Ba Sang.

Sang made the statement after several breakups between the firm, one of Vietnam’s major real estate developers, and its strategic partners since it listed four years ago.

In September 2023, the company, listed on the Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange as AGG, sealed a memorandum of understanding with Japan-based Koterasu Partners Pte., Ltd. Under the deal, Koterasu would acquire AGG secondary shares with a total value of VND235 billion ($9.24 million) via put-through or order matching on the stock market.

With the investment, Koterasu Partners would become a strategic shareholder in AGG and be granted the option to directly invest in the An Gia-built The Gio project, located in the southern province of Binh Duong.

However, the Japanese side has not invested any money since the deal was signed, Sang said at the 2024 AGM on May 14.

The reason, he explained, is that Koterasu Partners found the Vietnamese real estate market risky. “At the time of the agreement, the market was bullish. Now it is dull with sluggish legal procedures, so Koterasu wants to delay the disbursement. We have not ended our partnership but will proceed with it more slowly than originally planned,” Sang elaborated.

However, in late 2023, Koterasu Partners, along with Vietnam’s TT Capital Investment Corporation and Cosmos Initia Co. Ltd. – a member of Japan’s Daiwa House Group, launched a joint venture to develop affordable realty projects in Ho Chi Minh City and neighboring provinces.

The joint venture is expected to invest about $150 million over five years, aiming to put 1,000 affordable apartments on the market yearly. It completed the capital contribution for the first project in Binh Duong in November 2023, which will include 2,000 apartments.

Before listing in January 2020, An Gia had many foreign strategic partners, including Creed Investments VN-1 Ltd and Hoosiers VN-1 Ltd, both from Japan, and the Korea Investment Management (KIM) fund.

In 2018, Creed Investments became a shareholder in the Vietnamese firm via a debt-to-equity swap, acquiring 2.63 million shares, or 20% of AGG's capital. However, just a few months after AGG listed shares, Creed Investments divested from AGG in August-September 2020, citing AGG share surges as an opportune moment to take profits. By early 2021, Creed Investments had divested completely from An Gia.

In 2019, An Gia issued five million shares via private offerings to two investment funds, KIM Vietnam IPO Balanced Fund and KIM KOIC Vietnam IPO Private Fund, which together held a 6.67% AGG stake. A year later, the duo sold their AGG shares, ceasing their role as a major shareholder.

The strategic shareholders withdrew their capital after AGG was listed in early 2020, benefiting from significant hikes in the price of AGG shares from VND16,000 ($0.63) to around VND30,000 ($1.18), based on the adjusted price.

Changes in An Gia’s leadership

At An Gia’s 2024 AGM, a major change in its leadership was announced for the 2024-2029 board of directors, which now includes Nguyen Ba Sang, Louis Nguyen, and Le Duy Binh – an independent member. All of them were nominated by AGG’s major shareholder, Truong Giang Management and Investment JSC, which holds 41%.

Nguyen Ba Sang is the chairman and general director of Truong Giang. Louis Nguyen, an American citizen, is CEO of the Saigon Asset Management fund, and Le Duy Binh is director of Loove Services Company Limited.

Looking back at the AGG board members at the time of listing in 2020, its founder, Nguyen Ba Sang, remains a board member. Nguyen Trung Tin left An Gia on November 11, 2021, while Masakazu Yamaguchi, Do Le Hung, and Vu Quang Thinh departed from the firm during the re-election of its 2024-2029 board of directors. Tin currently serves as the chairman of TT Capital Investment Corporation.

At present, AGG has no major shareholders other than Truong Giang Company and related institutions, which collectively own a nearly 48% stake. However, Truong Giang has recently registered to sell 21.2 million AGG shares via put-through. If the transaction is made, Sang’s group will see its AGG stake fall to 31%.

The AGG chairman revealed that the price had been set for sale to a strategic partner but could not be disclosed due to confidentiality reasons. The two vacant seats on the board are awaiting upcoming strategic partners.