Keppel Land divested from The Metropole Thu Thiem project

Singapore's real estate group Keppel Land announced that it has sold a 30 per cent stake in Quoc Loc Phat company, the investor of the functional area No.1 of Thu Thiem New Urban Area which is a 7.6 hectare-project with total investment of $318 million.

According to Keppel Land, the buyer is Pham Quang Hung, another major shareholder of this company. In early last month, Hung sold most shares and only owned 14.09 per cent. With the acquisition of Keppel Land's shares, Pham Quang Hung will increase his ownership to 44.09 per cent.

This deal helps Keppel Land get approximately $31 million. The Singapore's group still holds a 15 per cent stake in Quoc Loc Phat through investment firm Orbista. In September 2016, Keppel Land spent roughly $31 million in Quoc Loc Phat through two share buy-backs with total of 45 per cent from this company's former shareholders.

After a partial divestment, Keppel Land has recouped nearly full amount of capital and the remaining shares which account for 15 per cent of stakes with the value at roughly $15 million are its interest.

As one of the largest real estate companies in Singapore, Keppel Land is investing heavily in Vietnam with a lot of large scale projects such as Saigon Center, Saigon Sports City, Palm City, Riviera Point and Dong Nai Waterfront City. The company recently spent more money on buying two more project with a total investment of nearly $300 million.

Especially in Thu Thiem New Urban Area, Keppel Land owns a 40 per cent stake in the Empire City project, the largest one valued at $1.2 billion with the highlight of 86-storey complex tower.

In early June 2018, Quoc Loc Phat together with SonKim Land and Vietcombank have successfully signed a strategic cooperation agreement to officially kick off the Metropole Thu Thiem project in Thu Thiem New Urban Area, District 2, Ho Chi Minh City.

This project, formerly known as Song Viet complex project, would be developed on four plots of land with a total area of 7.6 hectares and a total investment of over $320 million, focusing on the high-end customer segment, in line with the objectives of the Thu Thiem New Urban Planning Project.

The design of The Metropole Thu Thiem is inspired by the quintessential construction of the areas in Sydney, Australia such as Barangaroo, East Circular Quay and will be localized to best fit the Vietnamese context and culture.