Real estate major Nam Cuong reports $50 mln profit in 2022

Nam Cuong Group, Vietnam's leading real estate company, reported after-tax profit of VND1.17 trillion ($49.82 million) in 2022 amid property market woes with many big names standing on the brink of bankruptcy or default.

It made after-tax profit of VND1.65 trillion ($70.26 million) in 2021, equivalent to a return on equity (RoE) of up to 24%.

As of December 31, 2022, Nam Cuong's liabilities had stood at VND3.31 trillion ($140.8 million), down 31% compared to the beginning of the year. Outstanding balance of bonds alone was VND338 billion ($14.39 million). Total assets were VND11 trillion ($468.4 million), down VND720 billion ($30.66 million).

Nam Cuong Group, formerly known as Xuan Thuy Agricultural & Construction Material Transport Service Complex, was established in 1984. It has nearly 40 years of development under the leadership of chairman Tran Van Cuong, now dead, and the current chairwoman Le Thi Thuy Nga (born in 1966, Cuong's wife).

Joining the real estate market early, Nam Cuong Group, not listed on the stock exchange, provides a variety of real estate products, from urban areas, offices and luxury apartments to hotels and resorts.

Typical projects of the group include the Duong Noi and Co Nhue new urban areas in Hanoi; the Hoa Vuong, Thong Nhat and My Trung new urban areas in Nam Dinh province; the Eastern and Western urban areas in Hai Duong province; and the Nam Cuong hotel system in localities like Hai Duong province, Hai Phong city, Nam Dinh province, Hanoi, and Kien Giang province.

The huge land fund that Nam Cuong Group owns is largely created through build-transfer or BT (land for infrastructure) projects that the group has actively participated in the past.

For example, in 2008, Nam Cuong Group built a route north of Ha Dong district, Hanoi with a length of 5.1 km, with a total investment of more than VND700 billion ($29.8 million). In return, it was assigned a land area of nearly 200 hectares by Hanoi authorities to implement the Duong Noi urban area.

In 2009, Nam Cuong Group entered into a partnership with the Hanoi Housing Development and Investment JSC (Handico) to build the extended Le Van Luong street in Hanoi worth VND676 billion ($28.79 million). Given its participation in this project, Nam Cuong Group was assigned 46.1 hectares in Trung Van ward, Nam Tu Liem district and Nhan Chinh ward, Thanh Xuan district, Hanoi to develop the Phung Khoang urban area.

In recent years, Nam Cuong Group has been seeking opportunities in property projects in the northern and central regions.

In July 2022, the company held the ground-breaking ceremony for the Dao Ngoc-Hai Duong eco-tourism and urban area project with a scale of 50.2 hectares in Hai Duong province. In earlier May, 2022, it broke the ground for a 47.7 ha resort project in Hai Son ward, Do Son district, Hai Phong city.

Nam Cuong Group also participates in BOT transport infrastructure projects with a 55% stake at No 188 Road BOT Company Limited, investor of the BOT project on Road 188's An Thai -Mao Khe (Hai Duong-Quang Ninh province) section, with total length of 14.74 km.

In parallel with owning many land plots in Hanoi, the group also expanded its network with a series of member units like Nam Cuong Phu Quoc Investment and Development Limited Company, Dong Nai Trading and Construction JSC, Evergreen Urban Infrastructure Development JSC, and Nam Cuong Tourist Service Corporation.

The strength of Nam Cuong Group is also reflected in the charter capital of VND16 trillion ($681.6 million) announced in 2008, a very large number at that time. It ranks among the top large-scale private enterprises in Vietnam at the present.

After the death of founder Tran Van Cuong, his wife Le Thi Thuy Nga became the chairperson and the largest shareholder holding 94% of the group's capital, while his daughter Tran Ngoc Quynh owned 3% as of 2016.

At the last change, the charter capital of Nam Cuong Group on November 2, 2021 was VND4.5 trillion ($191.6 million).

The company's general director and legal representative is Tran Van Nghia, born in 1970, the nineth younger brother of Tran Van Cuong.