Hyundai car manufacturer ventures into real estate

Thanh Cong Group, which is producing and distributing cars in Vietnam under the licence of South Korea's Hyundai Motor, is expanding into real estate. 

One of the larger project the group is developing is Shilla Resort, a luxury complex located on Dien Ngoc beach, Dien Ban town, Quang Nam province. The project consists of a 9-storey hotel and 34 luxury villas.

The group has built a number of real estate projects in recent years, including Apartment Building No. 345 Doi Can, Thanh Cong Residence 1&2, Cau Doi Ecological Urban Area in the north and an apartment complex at No. 245 Hoang Van Thu, Ho Chi Minh City.

The group established construction company Thanh Cong E&C, which built its automobile assembly plant in Ninh Binh province and the group’s headquarter building in Hanoi.

Thanh Cong E&C recently signed a strategic cooperation agreement with Hyundai E&C. Accordingly, the two companies will set up a construction joint venture to build infrastructure, industrial factories and transport projects.

Thanh Cong Group started business two decades ago, distributing industrial vehicles such as trucks and tractors. It partnered with Chinese truck companies such as Dong Feng and Dong Yang to import vehicles to distribute in Vietnam.

In 2007, Thanh Cong became the official partner of Hyundai Motor in Vietnam and it 2011 it opened a $40-million automobile assembly and manufacturing factory in Ninh Binh province, producing sedan cars and SUVs under the licence of the South Korean group.

Its sales of Hyundai cars have rocketed over the years. In 2018 alone, there were 63,526 Hyundai-brand cars sold in the domestic market, doubling that of 2017, and accounting for about 18 per cent of all vehicles sold in the domestic market.

The change from distributing industrial vehicles to producing passenger cars has helped Thanh Cong Group grow into one of the leading automobile enterprises in Vietnam with a turnover of about $1 billion last year.