Novaland (NVL) Holds 49% of Vung Tau Investment via VND 1,401B Stake

Overview

Novaland (HOSE: NVL) holds a 49% voting interest in Vung Tau Investment, the entity linked to the Binh Chau hot springs tourism site in Ba Ria - Vung Tau province, after subsidiary Phat Trien Dat Viet contributed approximately VND 1,401 billion. The entire investment is pledged as collateral for a bank loan, a detail disclosed in the group’s semi-annual financial statements. The transaction revives a deal Novaland abandoned in mid-2023 and adds a resort asset to a real estate portfolio still working through balance-sheet restructuring.

Key Facts

• Novaland, through CTCP Phat Trien Dat Viet, contributed about VND 1,401 billion for 49% of Vung Tau Investment’s charter capital, equivalent to roughly USD 56 million.
• At 30 June 2026, Novaland recorded an interest of 48.84% and voting rights of 49% in Vung Tau Investment, with a carrying value of more than VND 1,432 billion.
• The entire investment in Vung Tau Investment is pledged as collateral for a bank loan, per the semi-annual 2026 financial statements.
• Vung Tau Investment is linked to CTCP Du lịch Sài Gòn - Bình Châu, the operator of the Binh Chau hot springs site, through Vung Tau Beach City.
• The Binh Chau hot springs area contains more than 70 open-air hot water points, with temperatures at some locations exceeding 80°C; the mineral well is cited at about 82°C.
• The existing Binh Chau hot springs tourism site covers roughly 33.27 hectares; the wider Binh Chau Onsen project is described at over 300 hectares, including about 280 hectares of forest amenity land.
• In 2020 the project’s total investment capital was adjusted to VND 1,512 billion.
• Novaland planned to acquire nearly all of Vung Tau Investment’s capital in 2022 but terminated the deal in mid-2023 before returning in 2025.

What Happened

According to the group’s semi-annual 2026 financial statements and project documentation, Novaland re-entered the Binh Chau asset in 2025 through CTCP Phat Trien Dat Viet, injecting about VND 1,401 billion for a 49% charter-capital position in Vung Tau Investment. Following the transaction, Vung Tau Investment became an associate of Novaland rather than a consolidated subsidiary. The legal representative and general director of CTCP Du lịch Sài Gòn - Bình Châu, the site operator, is Nguyen Toan, born in 1985, with the ownership chain running back to Novaland through intermediate entities.

The disclosure also states that the full value of the Vung Tau Investment stake is being used as security for a bank loan. The filing does not disclose the lender, the loan principal, or the margin ratio applied to the pledged stake. The article notes that Novaland had previously moved to acquire almost all of Vung Tau Investment’s capital in 2022, then cancelled the transaction in mid-2023, before returning to the asset two years later.

Market Context

NVL trades on the Ho Chi Minh City Stock Exchange (HOSE) and closed at 11,850 on 27 September 2026. The stock has spent an extended period in a low-price band as the company works through restructuring of its bond and bank obligations, so asset-level disclosures of this kind are read primarily through a leverage and collateral lens rather than as growth news. Vietnamese real estate developers broadly remain sensitive to credit conditions, and the sector’s recovery has been uneven, with resort and second-home segments lagging urban residential. The Binh Chau corridor has drawn incremental interest since the Bien Hoa - Vung Tau expressway entered operation, shortening travel time from Ho Chi Minh City toward Ho Tram and Binh Chau.

Strategic Significance

The strategic question for NVL holders is not the hot springs asset itself but what the pledge implies about group liquidity. A 49% associate stake carried at VND 1,432 billion and fully encumbered means Novaland has monetised the position for financing rather than holding it as a free reserve; any recovery in Binh Chau’s value accrues first to the lender’s security. The 2022-to-2025 round trip also signals that management views the asset as optionality to be revisited when funding allows, not as a core development pipeline. For long-term investors, the relevant test is whether Novaland can service the associated debt and eventually release the pledge, which would mark genuine balance-sheet relief.

What to Watch

• Novaland’s next financial statements for any change in the carrying value, ownership ratio, or pledge status of the Vung Tau Investment stake.
• Disclosure of the lender, loan principal, and terms behind the pledged stake, which the current filing omits.
• Progress on the Binh Chau Onsen project, including permits, capital deployment, and any restart of construction or sales activity.
• NVL bond and bank repayment schedules, given the collateral linkage between this asset and group borrowings.
• Any further stake changes at Vung Tau Investment or CTCP Du lịch Sài Gòn - Bình Châu that would alter Novaland’s effective control.