Gaw
Capital Partners has acquired an existing portfolio of real estate projects in
Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City and Danang
June 1, 2015 – Gaw Capital Partners,
the Hong Kong–based real estate private equity firm, announced that a
new fund it manages has bought an existing portfolio of real estate projects in
Vietnam from Indochina Land Holdings 2 Ltd.
The
portfolio was purchased for US$106 million and is comprised of four of the
remaining projects originally held under Indochina Land Holdings 2 Ltd. The
properties are located across the country including Indochina Plaza in Hanoi,
Hyatt Regency Danang and two additional land development projects in Danang and
Ho Chi Minh City.
The transaction was completed via a specially created
fund (GAW NP CAPITAL VIETNAM FUND 1, L.P.) for which Gaw Capital Partners
successfully raised to complete the purchase and to deploy additional equity for development projects. NP Capital,
based in Ho Chi Minh City, is the local joint venture partner in the fund. The
founder of NP Capital is the senior vice president of Tien Phuoc Group. Tien
Phuoc is highly regarded as a reputable real estate developer and investor in
Vietnam, and has successfully established strategic partnerships with Keppel Land
and Ascendas previously. Indochina Land, an affiliate of the seller, will be
retained by the fund for a transition period in order to facilitate some
project development and operation work.
This purchase marks a significant move by Gaw Capital
Partners to increase its presence in Vietnam. Gaw Capital Partners has invested
in a mixed-used development project, Empire City, in Ho Chi Minh through Gateway
Real Estate Fund III. However, this new transaction represents the debut of Gaw
Capital Partners’ fund management services in the Vietnam market.
“We are
delighted to have completed the acquisition of a portfolio of high quality
assets, and look forward to working with the capable and professional team at
Indochina during the transition period.” said Kenny Gaw, Managing Principal and
President at Gaw Capital Partners. “Not only do the properties within the
portfolio provide an attractive initial yield but it also shows our confidence
in the fast growing Vietnamese market. In
joining hands with an experienced local partner like NP Capital we are able to
bring their expertise and resources along with our creativity and vision to the
projects.’’
Christina Gaw, Managing Principal and Head of Capital
Markets at Gaw Capital Partners expresses her appreciation for all the support
from the limited partners in this new fund in order to complete the transaction
and their confidence in the firm’s ability to manage the fund.
Felix Lai, Investment Director of Gaw Capital
Partners, said, “This is a ground-breaking transaction that involves multiple
asset classes in different cities and an innovative capital structure – the
first time for the Vietnam market. We are grateful to have the close
cooperation and support of our investors, our local partner and the seller to
complete it successfully.”
Vo Sy
Nhan, Founder and CEO of NP Capital, said, “We are happy to partner with Gaw Capital
Partners and
together form Gaw NP
Capital. We are confident that it will set a new benchmark of developing and
managing property projects successfully in Vietnam and showcase our strong
synergy between global expertise with extensive local knowledge and market
know-how. Ultimately, this partnership will tap into tremendous real estate
opportunities through the vast network of NP Capital in Vietnam and leverage on
Gaw Capital’s experience and reputation in the private equity market. ”
The Vietnam market has been recovering rapidly
and riding on the wave of increased foreign direct investment and
industrialization, Vietnam has become the
largest exporter to the U.S. among ASEAN countries. With its
strategic location, young population and lower costs than China, Vietnam has attracted
many factories originally based in China to relocate.
As the world’s 13th largest country by
population, Vietnam has been identified by UBS in 2015 as “potentially one of
the most exciting markets in Asia”, due to its potential to become the largest
beneficiary of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) and the Regional
Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP). Goldman Sachs has also
identified Vietnam as one of the “N-11economies”, the next 11 economies to grow
the fastest after the BRICs. Vietnam’s economy is set to be of a size
comparable to that of Singapore, Ireland and Norway in 2050. Recently,
Bloomberg also stated that Ho Chi Minh City is ranked 4th among the fastest
growing Cities in Asia during 2015-2019 according to Oxford Economics Report.