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The company’s targets were announced at its annual general meeting (AGM) on Monday, the first since the company listed in May last year.

The AGM was chaired by Nguyen Dieu Linh, who was appointed chairwoman to replace Pham Nhat Vuong, founder and chairman of parent company Vingroup in February.

Vinhomes announced it plans to generate VND73.2 trillion ($3.13 billion) in revenue from its real estate business, a 90 percent increase from VND35.8 trillion ($1.53 billion) in 2018.

With an additional VND3.9 trillion ($167 million) of revenue the company plans to receive from joint ventures with Vingroup, its parent company, and Vingroup’s subsdiaries, Vinhomes hopes to raise its overall profit after tax figure by 40 percent in 2019 to VND20.6 trillion ($880 million).

Responding to doubts from shareholders that the targets set were too “ambitious” given the recent slowdown of liquidity in Hanoi and HCMC markets, chairwoman Nguyen Dieu Linh said that Vinhomes will look to expand to cities outside Hanoi and HCMC, but did not specify names.

According to the Vietnam Association of Realtors (VARs), the respective total value of real estate transactions in Hanoi and HCMC in the first quarter of 2019 was only 61.7 percent and 28.04 percent of the same period in 2018.

Recent regulations tightening control over banks’ short-term capital for medium and long-term loans, causing banks to raise interest rates, are to blame, they said. Buyers are unwilling to take home loans at high interest rates, the association said.

“[Slowdowns in Hanoi and HCMC] are only a short-term problem. There is a housing shortage in Ho Chi Minh City, and one of Vingroup’s real-estate projects in District 9 will soon complete formalities for selling,” Linh said, also affirming that the Hanoi housing market was still stable with good consumption.

“Vinhomes will combine selling flats individually as well as in bulk to strategic investors. These strategic investors will also allow faster completion of housing projects, which usually takes 5-7 years if undertaken by Vinhomes alone,” she said.

Vinhomes will also expand its serviced apartment leasing arm, Vinhomes Serviced Residences, and begin leasing office space in its urban complexes, she said.

Vinhomes operates 17 urban areas in Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, Quang Ninh, Hai Phong, Thanh Hoa, Ha Tinh and Bac Ninh.

In the first quarter, Vinhomes recorded consolidated net revenues of VND5.85 trillion ($250 million) and net profits of VND2.69 trillion ($115 million). Its VHM stock has the second highest market capitalization on the HOSE, Vietnam’s main stock exchange.

(source: vnexpress.net)

His reassurance came after lawmakers at the ongoing National Assembly session expressed concern over Vietnamese acquiring property in their name for foreigners, who can buy apartments but are prohibited from buying land or individual houses.

Le Hoang Chau, chairman of the Ho Chi Minh City Real Estate Association, had said earlier there was increasing demand for Ho Chi Minh City real estate among Chinese investors.

The biggest concern was that they asked Vietnamese to buy for them, even properties of very large value, Chau said.

National Assembly delegates representing the central city of Da Nang said last November there was increasing buying of land by Chinese along the coast.

Lawmakers demanded a stop to this trend. “Vietnamese should be prohibited from being proxies for foreigners for acquiring land,” a house proposal to the government demanded.

Dinh Duy Vuot, a delegate from the Central Highlands province of Gia Lai, even wanted land acquired this way to be appropriated.

In 2015 the government widened foreigners’ rights to buy housing in Vietnam under the amended Housing Law. But red tape remains a bottleneck to their exercising the right.

(source vnexpress.net)