Vietnam realty developer An Gia sees leadership overhaul 4 years after going public

No one except founder chairman Nguyen Ba Sang has survived leadership positions at An Gia Real Estate Investment and Development Corporation since it went public four years ago.

The latest instance of leadership turnover happened last Monday with the resignation of Nguyen Thanh Son as general director after just five months in the position.

Son was appointed to the position at the beginning of the year to replace Huynh Thi Kim Anh, who currently serves as director of the company’s finance and investment division.

Before joining An Gia, Son was CEO of Vincom 2 and Vincom 5 Construction Management LLC, both under private conglomerate Vingroup; and of MIK Group.

With many years of expertise, experience and enthusiasm in the real estate market, Son was expected to lead implementation of a new growth cycle at An Gia.

No reason has been given for his resignation after just five months and a replacement has not been announced.

Other leadership changes were seen at this year's AGM on May 14, when all board members except chairman Sang resigned. Today, the company's board of directors for the 2024-2029 term has just three members, with two new faces: Louis Nguyen and Le Duy Binh.

The newcomers have not held any previous positions at An Gia. Louis Nguyen, an American citizen, is CEO of Saigon Asset Management, while Binh is director of Love Trading and Services Company Limited.

Sole survivor

The high leadership turnover means that compared to the time of its listing in 2020 on the Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange (HoSE) as AGG, An Gia’s board of directors has just founder Nguyen Ba Sang left.

Nguyen Trung Tin left the company on November 11, 2021; while Masakazu Yamaguchi, Do Le Hung and Vu Quang Thinh resigned when the board of directors for the new term 2024-2029 was elected.

Tin is currently chairman of TT Capital Investment JSC, which launched a strategic cooperation joint venture at the end of last year with Japan-based Koterasu Partners Pte., Ltd, represented by Masakazu Yamaguchi, and Cosmos Initia – a member of Daiwa House Group.

In September 2023, An Gia signed a memorandum of understanding with Japan-based Koterasu Partners Pte., Ltd. Under the deal, Koterasu would acquire the company’s AGG secondary shares for VND235 billion ($9.24 million) via put-through or order matching on the stock market.

However, Sang revealed at this year's AGM that the Japanese partner has not yet given the money, adding that the possibility of cooperation has been left open.

An Gia's executive board now consists of one general director, one deputy general director and division directors. Sang served as general director for about a year after the company’s listing.

According to rules, the chairman cannot concurrently hold the position of general director. The position remained vacant from 2021 to May 2023, when Huynh Thi Kim Anh was appointed. However, Anh was in the hot seat for just seven months.

After Tin withdrew from the An Gia board of directors in 2021, he also resigned as deputy general director. He was replaced by Nguyen Mai Giang, Sang's elder sister.

Sang’s other relatives who hold other important positions in An Gia are chief accountant Nguyen Thanh Chau (brother-in-law, Giang’s husband); trade director Nguyen Quynh Giang (elder sister); and customer service director Nguyen Huong Giang (another elder sister).

At the end of last year, Sang's family spent more than VND400 billion ($15.74 million) on buying An Gia apartments. Sang alone purchased nine apartments for VND149 billion.

Sang acquired An Gia in 2008 when he was just 27 years old. At the time of listing (2020), his company - Truong Giang Investment and Management JSC, held 36% of An Gia's charter capital, while he himself owned an insignificant stake.

After An Gia listed on the HoSE, foreign funds withdrew their capital and Sang’s group continuously collected shares to increase their ownership ratio to 47.9%.

Recently, Truong Giang completed the sale of 21 million shares via put-through to reduce its stake to 24.25%. As a result, the ownership ratio of the chairman’s group also decreased to 31%. Thus, nearly 17% of An Gia's capital has changed hands. However, the identity of the buyer has not yet been revealed.

Sang has said that the buyer was a strategic investor, not a financial investor. An Gia’s election of only three board members at this year's AGM is aimed at setting aside a seat for the new partner, he has said.

AGG closed Friday at VND27,150 ($1.07) per share.