Vinaland Share Discussion Threads

[grippa] 18/9/2006 17:02

Things starting to look much brighter for VNL, nice to see the share price picking up...Seems the quick flip IPO investors are out, and the longterm investors holding firm.

[don muang] 03/8/2006 22:22

Don't suppose thier are any shareholder perks i.e. discounted room rates for VOF/VNL shareholders....

[grippa] 03/8/2006 11:31

Visits to Vietnam Rise 7%, Led by Koreans, Japanese, Americans
2006-08-03 06:16 (New York)


By Jason Folkmanis
Aug. 3 (Bloomberg) -- The number of foreign visitors to
Vietnam rose 7 percent in the first seven months of the year, as
more people from the U.S., South Korea and Japan traveled to the
Southeast Asian country, the Vietnamese government said.
About 2.15 million foreigners visited Vietnam through the
end of July, according to figures from the Vietnam National
Administration of Tourism. Tourist arrivals rose 4 percent to
1.22 million, while 325,000 foreigners came on business, up 25
percent from a year earlier.
The surge in business-related visitors reflects an economy
that expanded at an annual rate of 7.4 percent in the first
half. Arrivals from the U.S. -- the third-biggest source of
visitors to Vietnam and a market to which Vietnamese exports
have risen more than sixfold since 2001 -- jumped 18 percent.
``We've seen substantial growth in arrivals this year from
the U.S.,'' Joe Mannix, Vietnam country manager for UAL Corp.'s
United Airlines, said by telephone today from Ho Chi Minh City.
``There's continual growth in U.S.-Vietnamese relations and
increasing interest among Americans in Vietnam, as well as large
numbers of ethnic Vietnamese coming back to visit.''
Arrivals from South Korea, which is second on the list by
nation of sources of visits to Vietnam, surged 32 percent
through July. Arrivals from Japan, which is fourth on the list,
climbed 23 percent.
A recent shift in Vietnamese government policies has
enabled Japanese and South Koreans to travel to Vietnam without
visas, Mannix said.

Chinese Tourists

Visits from China, the biggest source of visitors to
Vietnam, tumbled 23 percent. Vietnam is limiting land arrivals
from its northern neighbor on concern that some Chinese visitors
to provinces in northeastern Vietnam are coming to gamble
illegally, said Nguyen Van Binh, head of administration at the
Vietnamese tourism authority.
Citing a growing economy and rising tourism, two funds
managed by Ho Chi Minh City-based Vinacapital Investment
Management Ltd. said last week they bought control of the Hilton
Hanoi Opera Hotel.
Vinaland Ltd. paid $32.2 million for 52.5 percent of the
269-room downtown hotel, while the Vietnam Opportunity Fund Ltd.
paid $10.7 million for a 17.5 percent stake, Vinacapital said in
a statement. Vinacapital manages both funds, which are listed on
London's Alternative Investment Market.

Growing Demand

Vinacapital said it ``expects the hotel segment, especially
in Hanoi, to be a strong performer due to rising demand from
tourists and business travelers and an extremely limited supply
of rooms.''
The Vietnam Opportunity Fund also owns 29 percent of the
century-old Sofitel Metropole Hotel in Hanoi, which is located
within walking distance of the Hilton Hanoi Opera Hotel.
``With these two hotels together, we have 20 percent of the
five-star luxury market in Hanoi,'' said Horst Geicke, chairman
of Vinacapital. ``There are no new high-quality hotels coming up
in Hanoi and there are no new sites to set up a hotel in the
inner city.''
The two funds bought the stake from a group of shareholders
including France's Vivendi SA, according to Vinacapital.

[don muang] 23/6/2006 17:10

New law expected to revive real estate market

Mr. Nguyen Duc Kien, head of the NA's Economic and Budgetary Committee
Vietnam's National Assembly (NA) ratified Wednesday the Law on Real Estate Trading, which is hoped to help boost the domestic realty market after a long period in the deep freeze.
Nguyen Duc Kien, head of the NA's Economic and Budgetary Committee, told legislators he hoped that the bill, due to come into effect on January 1, 2007, would help promote healthy deals on the real estate market.

The transparency of transactions would also help bring property prices back down to earth, Kien said.

The bill, which comprises six chapters with 81 articles, allows real estate traders to put houses or apartments under construction for sale.

Several NA deputies were against the article during discussions, but Kien said since most local realty traders lacked capital, the government encouraged investors to mobilize needed capital from the buyers to implement projects.

Although this type of transaction has already been established, the bill stipulates clear conditions for payment in advance or transferring money to protect the buyer rights.

For instance, investors are only allowed to receive capital in advance of completion if infrastructure work for residential areas or industrial parks is done, and then in full after completion.

The law also regulates that project owners are responsible for the quality of construction works.

According to the bill, real estate trading is a conditional business so entities or individuals that want to trade in this sector must establish enterprises or co-operatives.

A realty trading enterprise must have at least one employee who holds a certificate for real estate brokerage if wanting to offer brokering service, or two if trading in appraising property prices.

Such certificates will be granted by departments of construction or finance, which are authorized to hold courses on realty brokerage.

The bill is also said to pave the way for foreigners and overseas Vietnamese (Viet Kieu) to be involved in real estate transactions and related services in Vietnam.

Also the same day, the house failed to pass the Law on Social Insurance as only 37.73 percent of the deputies approved Article 95 of the bill.

That article regulates the spending on annual management fee of the social insurance sector accounts for 2.2 percent on the total revenue.

Most deputies said this rate was high and irrational.

Source: Thanh Nien, Tuoi Tre – Translated by Thu Thuy


Story from Thanh Nien News
Published: 22 June, 2006, 14:22:38 (GMT+7)
Copyright Thanh Nien News

[grippa] 25/4/2006 15:38

VinaLand Announced Significant Real Estate Investment in Ho Chi Minh City

Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam – April 27, 2006 – VinaCapital, fund manager of the London Stock Exchange AIM listed VinaLand (VNL), is pleased to announce that it has successfully acquired a controlling stake in a multi-purpose development project in District 2, Ho Chi Minh City.

The project which will consist of an office and commercial complex for lease, a residential development of apartments, houses and villas both for sale and for lease as well as entertainment tourism and cultural centres.

The entire development will be situated on a 55-hectare site located only 12 km away from the Central Business District and has a superb setting on the banks of the Saigon River. District 2 which was recently the subject of an International Master Plan competition is a green field area located adjacent to District 1 (Central Business District) and will be connected by a bridge and tunnel which are currently under construction and expected to be completed within eighteen months.

This strategic investment in the area often referred as Shanghai's "Pudong Area" of Ho Chi Minh City represents the fund's commitment to the development of the Second City and will provide upon completion facilities and amenities for over 50,000 people.

VinaCapital and the partners in this project are submitting the application to the government of Vietnam for approval of VinaLand's participation as a new investor. Initial equity committed by VinaLand and the partners to the project is US$28 million and the development cost for the whole project in the next 5 years is expected to exceed US$500 million.



About VinaLand

The VinaLand Fund (VNL) is a US$205 million closed-end fund listed on the London Stock Exchange (AIM) with a market capitalization of US$244 million. The Fund was launched in March 2006 aiming at real estate opportunities in Vietnam. Specifically, VinaLand intends to invest in five property segments: office, retail, residential, industrial and leisure with primary focus on Ho Chi Minh City, a secondary focus on Hanoi and key leisure areas, including Nha Trang, Hoi An, and Danang.

About VinaCapital

VinaCapital Group (www.vinacapital.com) is the largest investment banking and fund management company with unrivalled experience in the emerging Vietnam market. The firm leverages this experience and its strategic relationships to create and deliver investment products, strategic financing, and mergers and acquisitions services.

VinaCapital also acts as the South East Asia office for its sister company, Pacific Alliance Group (PAG), which manages over US$500 million in different pan-Asian funds. VinaCapital employs over 50 professionals and has offices in Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi.

[wiganer] 12/4/2006 10:29

Unfotunately ADVFN's basing of the charts doesn't help see the moves...

[grippa] 12/4/2006 10:27

Glad to see VNL has finally been added to advfn.

[krishall] 29/3/2006 22:45

I'll mark 29th March 2007 in my diary. Presently I've got bid prices of $1.21 for VNL and £1.065 for EEP.

I do think VNL will outperform EEP. As a general observation I've found that companies that are in a specific sub-sector/ smallish geographical area before the relevant sector / area becomes a hot tomato outperform the start-ups (or companies rediscovering themselves) that suddenly discover the new sector /area. So I'm optimistic with VNL (given it's VOF backgroud). However, I had first hand experience of the Thai Baht / stockmarket crash so things can sometimes unexpectedly go very wrong for a while in the region.

As regards EEP, then although they're a start-up, I'm fairly optimistic they'll outperform most other eastern European property funds. They managed to raise the requred funds to float (unlike Bluehouse Accession Property who pulled out of their float a couple of days ago due to insufficient investor interest). I think East European real estate will out perform western Europe equivalents over the coming years. Just as Vietnam real estate is likely to outperform most other south east Asian countries. But eastern European real estate might be more speculative so need to keep an eye open for exit point.

[grippa] 29/3/2006 19:53

Interesting comparison...VNL now trading at $1.20. Eastern europe has seen huge growth in the past 4-5 years and it would have been great to have invested then...I think Vietnam offers better oppurtunities at the moment, but it will be good to keep an eye on how they both get on. Lets see both share prices on 29 March 2007.

[krishall] 24/3/2006 17:30

well down to only a 17% premium on issue price now.
seems Far Eastern real estate is more in investors sites than Eastern European. Eastern European Props (EEP) floated at same time as VDL and is now up to a 5.5% premium over it's issue price. Should be interesting to see how both geographical 'hotspots' perform with the relevant funds.

[grippa] 24/3/2006 10:16

VinaLand Debuts on London Stock Exchange (AIM):
First Publicly Traded Fund Dedicated to Real Estate in Vietnam

Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam – March 22, 2005 – VinaLand (ticker VNL), a US$205 million fund dedicated to real estate opportunities in Vietnam, today made its debut on the London Stock Exchange (AIM). The fund issued 204,844,779 new ordinary shares at US$1.00 per share, becoming the first publicly traded fund dedicated to property development and investment in Vietnam.

"We are pleased to have listed on the AIM Vietnam's first publicly traded property fund. With the country making great strides in terms of growth and legal reform, we believe that now is the time to capture the real estate opportunities afforded by such progress," stated Horst Geicke, Chairman of VinaLand and Chairman and Co-founder of VinaCapital, the fund's investment management company.

The fund was over six times over-subscribed. "We are immensely pleased with the overwhelming response to our new property fund," said Don Lam, Managing Partner and Co-founder of VinaCapital. "We received subscriptions from both investors in our first fund, who have seen the demonstrated results of VinaCapital's disciplined investment approach, as well as new investors, who believe in the real estate potential of Vietnam's robustly growing economy."

VinaLand will invest in five property sectors: office, retail, residential, industrial and leisure. The fund's primary focus will be Ho Chi Minh City, with a secondary focus on Hanoi and key leisure areas, including Nha Trang, Hoi An, and Danang.

"There is enormous latent demand for property across all sectors. The country's economic growth has given rise to a burgeoning urban middle class with an increased amount of disposable income, putting pressure not only on middle-class residential housing but also limited retail space," said Peter Dinning, Managing Director of VinaCapital's real estate arm. "In addition, Vietnam's increased international exposure is resulting in an influx of tourists, multinational corporations, and manufacturing companies looking for an alternative manufacturing hub. The result is pressure on a limited supply of hotel rooms, office space, and industrial zone space."

"The timing is right for the launch of a fund dedicated to real estate opportunities in Vietnam. The economic, legal and demographic changes occurring now in Vietnam are similar to those that fueled the explosive growth of China's real estate market which began in the late 1990s. In the case of both China and Vietnam, we're looking at the same growth factors: increased disposable income, urbanization, availability of mortgages, and a series of financial, regulatory, and legal reforms spurred by impending WTO accession," continued Dinning.

The launch of VinaLand tops off a series of recent accomplishments for VinaCapital, which achieved high returns for its first fund, the Vietnam Opportunity Fund (+34% in NAV per share; +35% in share price for the year 2005) and organized Vietnam's first international investor conference in December of last year. VOF has achieved the highest liquidity of all funds in Vietnam and the highest and most consistent returns since inception.

About VinaCapital

VinaCapital Group (www.vinacapital.com) is the largest investment banking and fund management company with unrivalled experience in the emerging Vietnam market. The firm leverages this experience and its strategic relationships to create and deliver investment products, strategic financing, and mergers and acquisitions services.

VinaCapital manages the Vietnam Opportunity Fund, a closed-end fund listed on the London Stock Exchange (AIM) with a market capitalization of US$300 million. Since the Fund's inception in September 2003, VOF has achieved attractive risk-adjusted returns through investments in private equity, the listed and OTC markets, privatization of state owned enterprises, and select property developments throughout Vietnam. The VOF portfolio includes shareholdings in industry leaders such as the Kinh Do Corporation, the largest confectionary enterprise in Vietnam, and VinaMilk, the largest dairy products company in Vietnam. VinaCapital's overarching objective is to create and realize value for its investors and clients.



VOF Performance At a Glance

§ Highest returns since inception of all funds in Vietnam[1]: NAV/Share +71%; Share Price +141%

§ Most consistent returns of all funds in Vietnam

§ Highest Liquidity of all funds in Vietnam

§ 2004: Best performing fund in Vietnam, per Rothschild Research

§ 2005: NAV/Share +34% y/y; Share Price +35% y/y; Average Monthly Increase +2.5%; Standard Deviation Monthly Increase 2.1%; No Months Down

§ 2006 YTD: NAV/Share +11%; Share Price +37%

VinaCapital also acts as the South East Asia office for its sister company, Pacific Alliance Group (PAG), which manages over US$400 million in different pan-Asian funds. VinaCapital employs over 50 professionals and has offices in Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi.

[wiganer] 24/3/2006 10:05

VOF "spin-off"