Ha Do Group (HDG): Founder Nguyen Trong Thong Exits Chairman Role After 34 Years

Overview

Nguyen Trong Thong, founder of CTCP Tập đoàn Hà Đô (HOSE: HDG), stepped down as Chairman of the Board at an extraordinary general shareholders’ meeting in October 2024, ending 34 years at the company he established. The change matters for HDG shareholders because it removes the founding figure who shaped both the group’s real estate development model and its mid-2000s expansion into hydropower.

Key Facts

• Nguyen Trong Thong was born on 12 December 1953 in Hà Tĩnh province and graduated in civil and industrial construction from Đại học Xây dựng Hà Nội in the 1971-1975 period.
• He worked at the logistics office of the Viện Kỹ thuật Quân sự under the Ministry of Defence from April 1978 to August 1990, rising to the rank of colonel (đại tá).
• In 1990 he proposed and led Xí nghiệp Xây dựng Hà Đô, the construction unit that became the foundation of Ha Do Group.
• The company became a joint-stock company in 2004, when Thong moved from general director to Chairman and General Director.
• HDG’s Hanoi projects include the Dịch Vọng new urban area and Hado Charm Villas in Hoài Đức, the latter at 30.2 ha.
• In Ho Chi Minh City the group developed Hado Centrosa Garden, roughly 6.85 ha in the former District 10 area.
• The article states his shareholding is worth close to VND 2,000 billion; it does not specify the exact share count or stake percentage.

What Happened

The profile, drawing on HDG’s 2016 annual report and company records, traces Thong’s path from a military construction officer to the founder of one of Vietnam’s established listed developers. After the 1990 establishment of Xí nghiệp Xây dựng Hà Đô under the Viện Kỹ thuật Quân sự, the entity became Công ty Xây dựng Hà Đô in 1992 and signed its first real estate investment and trading contract two years later. A 1996 merger with Công ty Thiết bị cơ điện produced Công ty Hà Đô, and equitisation in 2004 created CTCP Hà Đô.

The October 2024 extraordinary general meeting formalised his departure from the chairmanship. The article does not name his successor, disclose the board composition after the vote, or state whether Thong retains a board seat or advisory role. It also does not disclose the transaction value of any share transfer connected to the change.

Market Context

HDG trades on HOSE and closed at VND 15,400 on 5 November 2026. The stock sits in the real estate sector, where Vietnamese developers have faced a prolonged period of tight credit, slow project approvals and weak residential absorption, alongside an energy portfolio that adds hydropower cash flow but also hydrological and regulatory risk. Founder-led transitions are a recurring theme across HOSE-listed property names as first-generation chairmen, many with state or military backgrounds, hand over to professional managers.

Strategic Significance

The investment question is whether HDG’s strategy survives the founder. Under Thong the group followed a dual model: urban residential projects in Hà Nội and Hồ Chí Minh City cross-subsidised by hydropower generation, which provided steadier cash flow through property downturns. A new chairman inherits that structure but also decisions on project pipeline timing, land bank monetisation and capital allocation between the two segments. Governance continuity, rather than any single asset, is the variable long-term holders should price.

What to Watch

• Disclosure of the new Chairman and full board composition following the October 2024 meeting.
• Any change in Thong’s registered shareholding, reported through HOSE ownership filings.
• Annual general meeting materials setting 2026-2030 strategy for the real estate and energy segments.
• Hydropower output and water-flow data through the 2026 wet season.
• Pre-sales progress at Hado Charm Villas and remaining inventory at Hado Centrosa Garden.