Do Gia Capital Company Limited hit the headlines recently for a controversial project that encoached on the sea, but it is also famous for acquiring large projects with prime locations in the northern province of Quang Ninh over the past few years.
Covering 31.8 hectares, including 3.88 hectares in the buffer zone of Ha Long Bay - a UNESCO heritage site, the urban area in Block 10B, Quang Hanh ward is considered one of the largest of its kind in Cam Pha town.
The fact that the Quang Ninh province-based business overcame a series of formidable opponents to win the land use rights for this project for nearly VND1.2 trillion ($49.3 million) has attracted special public and investor circle attention, not only locally but nationwide, especially after its noisy sea encroachment project not long ago.
However, the real owner of Do Gia Capital remains a big mystery to most of the public.
Do Gia Capital ecosystem
Do Gia Capital belongs to one of the largest business ecosystems in Quang Ninh, and as the name suggests, it revolves around a group of businesspeople from the Do family, including many important members such as Dong Gia JSC, Do Gia Quang Ninh Development Investment Company Limited, Minh Duc JSC, and the core legal entity T. Thanh Company.
Dong Gia JSC, formerly known as Sudico Quang Ninh JSC, is a subsidiary established by Song Da Urban & Industrial Zone Investment & Development JSC (Sudico) in 2015 to implement the Song Da-Ha Long Hotel project covering nearly 1.7 hectares on Yen Ngua hill, Bai Chay tourist area, Ha Long town.
In mid-2018, the above shareholders divested all of their stakes. The company appointed a new CEO and legal representative, which was 33-year-old Nguyen Tien Luan. At the same time, Sudico Quang Ninh changed its name to Dong Gia JSC, which boasted a charter capital of VND768 billion ($31.56 million) as of October 2023.
Do Gia Quang Ninh Development Investment Company Limited was established in 2014, formerly known as Nguyen Kim Quang Ninh Development Investment Company Limited, whose owner is retail giant Nguyen Kim Group. This is the owner of the Ha Long III market-shopping center-hotel-apartment complex in Hong Hai ward, Ha Long town - a "golden land" project covering nearly 10,000 square meters.
In February 2023, Do Gia Quang Ninh's charter capital reached VND129 billion ($5.3 million), with 29-year-old Do Thi Hoang Tho as the new owner replacing Nguyen Kim. Similar to Nguyen Tien Luan, Tho is also a "link" in the Do Gia Capital ecosystem.
In addition, Tho holds her name at Minh Duc JSC - owner of four-star Ha Long 3 Hotel in Bai Chay ward, Ha Long town, with 50 rooms, a restaurant, and service areas.
In May 2019, Minh Duc proposed the People's Committee of Quang Ninh province demolish its old facility and invest in a new hotel meeting 5-star standards. Accordingly, the new hotel will cover about 1,219 hectares with 450-500 rooms. It will feature 34 floors, including 32 above-ground floors and two basements.
Most worth mentioning is the core legal entity of the ecosystem - T. Thanh Company. This business was set up in 2006, and is headquartered in Cam Pha town. Its charter capital is currently at VND286 billion ($11.75 million) with two individual shareholders, namely Bui The Dan (55.157%) and Nguyen Tien Luan (44.843%).
For many years, T. Thanh has been winning contracts from a company under Dong Bac Corporation, covering a range of fields including loading, transportation, cement mixing and land leveling to rental of cable car systems.
Not only closely associated with Dong Bac Corporation's members, T. Thanh has also directly invested in many large projects in the locality. They include a 1.4-hectare residential area in Cam Binh ward, Cam Pha town; and a 7-hectare general port in Vu Oai commune, Ha Long town. Currently, the enterprise has a great opportunity to own a port project in the Mong Duong-Khe Day port cluster in Cam Pha town.
The "links" of the Do family
Do Gia Capital's charter capital by September 2023 was VND1.2 trillion ($49.3 million), with Le Minh Chien holding 55%, Tran Hoai Thanh 0.05%, Hoang Thi Tam 15%, Hoang Trung Nam 9.995%, and Vi Tien Minh 20%. Most of the above individuals are related to T. Thanh Company.
Specifically, Hoang Trung Nam used to be board chairman, director, and legal representative who owned a 99.972% stake at T. Thanh Company. He is now deputy finance director of Do Gia Quang Ninh Development Investment Company Limited.
An interesting case is Le Minh Chien. The businessman owns more than half of Do Gia Capital shares with a total face value of up to VND660 billion ($27.11 million). He used to be a senior excavator operator at T. Thanh Company.
Despite many shareholder structural changes, T. Thanh Company bears the image of a businessperson from the Do family born in 1968. This person is the founder and directly owned 82.93% of the company’s charter capital. More noteworthy, the businessperson is also the chairperson and director of a member company of Dong Bac Corporation.
A series of businesspeople with the same surname have played important roles in the Do Gia Capital system, including Do Dem, board member of Dong Gia JSC (updated by August 2019) and Do Thi Hoang Tho, CEO at Minh Duc, and Do Gia Quang Ninh.