Nam Long (NLG) Government Inspection: 5 Projects, Land Fees, Remediation

Overview

Vietnam’s Government Inspectorate issued Inspection Conclusion No. 3451 on 23 September, covering five residential and urban projects developed or invested in by Công ty cổ phần Đầu tư Nam Long (HOSE: NLG) across Hồ Chí Minh City, Đồng Nai and Tây Ninh. The conclusion identifies procedural and land-use fee shortcomings and directs local authorities and the company to remediate. Nam Long said it accepts the findings and has already settled several financial obligations.

Key Facts

• The inspection covered five NLG projects with a combined scale of 20,064 homes on more than 3.84 million sqm of land.
• Between 2020 and 2025, the company sold 11,967 of 13,780 units, or 86.8%.
• At the Nguyên Sơn housing project in Hồ Chí Minh City, authorities found land-use fees were under-calculated on 137.77 sqm when certificates were issued.
• At Đồng Nai Waterfront, a 2025 local adjustment to the 1/500 detailed plan added 10,387.94 sqm of residential land, with additional land-use fees not yet collected at the time of inspection.
• At Vàm Cỏ Đông Southgate (formerly Long An, now Tây Ninh), part of the project was transferred before the 1/500 detailed plan was approved, leaving additional land-use fees uncollected.
• On 30 June, Công ty CP Bất động sản Nguyên Sơn paid nearly VND 1.56bn in additional land-use fees; on 20 July, Nam Long paid over VND 357.1m in maintenance funding for the retained club house at Akari Hoàng Nam.
• The conclusion also cites sales contracts signed before public disclosure, the sale of Block D units at Akari Hoàng Nam without a bank guarantee, and handover of homes before the project health station was completed.

What Happened

The Government Inspectorate reviewed compliance with construction investment, housing and real estate business law at five Nam Long projects. Its findings centre on land-use fee collection, planning sequencing and disclosure timing. At Nguyên Sơn, the shortfall relates to 137.77 sqm of land. At Đồng Nai Waterfront, a 2025 adjustment to the detailed plan increased residential land by 10,387.94 sqm without corresponding additional land-use fees being collected. At Vàm Cỏ Đông Southgate, a partial project transfer occurred before the 1/500 detailed plan was approved, again leaving additional land-use fees outstanding.

The conclusion also flags commercial-practice issues: contracts signed before information disclosure, Block D units at Akari Hoàng Nam sold without a bank guarantee, and handovers before the project health station was finished. It notes delayed transfer of maintenance funding to the management board at Akari Hoàng Nam, unpaid maintenance fees on 280 sqm of retained club house space, and slow filing for ownership certificates for some buyers. The Inspectorate asked provincial and municipal people’s committees to review and handle the matters and told Nam Long to stop the violations and remediate promptly. Responding to Tuổi Trẻ, a Nam Long representative said the company accepts the full conclusion, including the administrative shortcomings, and has completed several financial obligations during the inspection process. The article does not state the total additional amount the company may ultimately owe.

Market Context

NLG closed at 21,750 on 30 September 2026 on HOSE. The stock sits in the real estate sector, which has been sensitive to inspection outcomes, land-use fee assessments and legal-completion timelines since the 2022-2023 credit tightening. Regulatory conclusions of this type typically affect sentiment through perceived cash obligations and delays to certificate issuance rather than through immediate earnings revisions.

Strategic Significance

The core issue for long-term holders is legal completion, not demand. Nam Long’s model depends on converting large land banks into sellable, title-ready units; unresolved land-use fee assessments and slow ownership-certificate filings directly delay revenue recognition and buyer mortgage access. The conclusion also touches on disclosure timing and bank guarantees, which are compliance-cost items rather than demand drivers. How quickly the remaining land-use fee determinations at Đồng Nai Waterfront and Vàm Cỏ Đông Southgate are finalised will shape the cash-flow profile of those projects.

What to Watch

• Final land-use fee determinations from Đồng Nai and Tây Ninh authorities for the adjusted areas.
• Progress on ownership certificate (sổ hồng) filings for buyers at the affected projects.
• Nam Long’s Q3 2026 earnings release and any disclosed provisions or additional payments.
• Any further Government Inspectorate or local authority directives naming additional projects.
• Disclosure on the Block D bank guarantee and maintenance-fund transfer at Akari Hoàng Nam.