SBV Loosens Real Estate Credit Cap for Hotels and Resorts: VPL and CEO in Focus

Overview

The State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) issued Document 8509/NHNN-CSTT on 16 September 2026, allowing credit institutions to exclude additional lending to restaurants, hotels, and tourism, ecological and resort projects from the real estate credit growth cap for 2026. The change does not automatically raise any borrower’s limit, but it gives banks more headroom to fund hospitality projects. It lands as Vinpearl (HOSE: VPL) and CEO Group (HNX: CEO) carry large construction-in-progress balances in resort assets.

Key Facts

• Document 8509/NHNN-CSTT, dated 16 September 2026, excludes incremental loans for restaurants, hotels, tourism, ecological and resort projects from the 2026 real estate credit growth cap, measured against end-2025 outstanding balances.
• Outstanding credit to tourism, ecological and resort real estate reached about VND 84,281B at end-February 2026, with restaurant and hotel loans at roughly VND 77,442B, per Ministry of Construction data cited from the SBV.
• In Q2 2026, 47 tourism and resort real estate projects were under construction nationwide, covering more than 21,400 condotel units and nearly 3,900 resort villas.
• Vinpearl’s audited interim 2026 consolidated financial statements show construction-in-progress of more than VND 6,320B at end-June, up about VND 1,400B from the start of the year.
• The Hòn Tre island project accounts for the largest CIP balance at over VND 2,465B, followed by the 18-hole Cồn Ấu golf course at over VND 711B, Vinpearl Làng Vân at nearly VND 702B and the Vinpearl Phú Quý residential area at over VND 471B.
• CEO Group’s Q2 2026 consolidated statements show CIP of nearly VND 1,498B, up from about VND 1,333B at the start of the year, with Sonasea Vân Đồn Harbor City in Quảng Ninh at over VND 1,082B.
• Sun Group states it is deploying nearly VND 91,600B in additional investment in Phú Quốc for about 17,400 premium rooms, with several projects accelerated for APEC 2027.

What Happened

The SBV’s Document 8509/NHNN-CSTT addresses how banks account for lending to hospitality and resort assets when monitoring real estate credit growth in 2026. Under the guidance, credit institutions subject to the rule do not have to count the increase in outstanding loans to restaurants, hotels, tourism sites, ecological and resort projects, relative to end-2025, within their real estate credit exposure. The SBV framed this as a reporting and control adjustment rather than an across-the-board limit increase, so any additional lending still depends on each bank’s own appraisal and capital capacity.

The policy arrives while major developers are expanding. Sun Group says it is adding nearly VND 91,600B of investment in Phú Quốc for roughly 17,400 premium rooms, including about 5,500 hotel rooms at Hòn Thơm under a plan worth nearly VND 28,732B. Vinpearl’s reviewed interim statements put construction-in-progress at more than VND 6,320B at end-June 2026, with Hòn Tre the largest single item at over VND 2,465B. CEO Group’s CIP reached nearly VND 1,498B, concentrated in Sonasea Vân Đồn Harbor City and the Sonasea Premier Nha Trang tourism site in Khánh Hòa.

Market Context

VPL closed at 85,500 on 17 September 2026 on HOSE, while CEO closed at 11,800 on HNX. Both tickers sit in the tourism real estate segment that has been constrained by the SBV’s broader real estate credit controls since 2022, and both carry multi-year construction pipelines that require staged disbursement. The sector-level figures illustrate the scale of the exposure: roughly VND 84,281B of tourism, ecological and resort real estate loans and VND 77,442B of restaurant and hotel loans as of end-February 2026. The 47 projects under construction in Q2 2026, with more than 21,400 condotel units and nearly 3,900 resort villas, indicate that financing demand will persist well beyond 2026.

Strategic Significance

For long-term investors, the operative question is whether excluded hotel and resort loans translate into actual disbursement at the project level. Banks gain accounting headroom, but the SBV explicitly did not raise borrower limits, so credit access remains a function of collateral, cash flow and each bank’s sector appetite. Vinpearl’s VND 6,320B CIP balance, up about VND 1,400B in six months, shows the company is already funding construction at pace; incremental bank credit would reduce reliance on internal cash and parent support. CEO Group’s smaller but growing CIP base, with Sonasea Vân Đồn alone above VND 1,082B, makes it more sensitive to any easing in project finance terms. The policy also signals that the SBV distinguishes hospitality assets from speculative residential real estate, a distinction that could shape how lenders price resort exposure in 2027.

What to Watch

• Q3 2026 consolidated financial statements from VPL and CEO, expected in October 2026, for changes in construction-in-progress and interest-bearing debt.
• SBV credit growth statistics for Q3 and Q4 2026, to see whether hospitality lending accelerates relative to the overall real estate book.
• Bank disclosures on sector lending allocation, particularly whether lenders reclassify existing hotel and resort exposures under Document 8509.
• Progress updates on Sun Group’s Phú Quốc and Hòn Thơm projects tied to APEC 2027, which will indicate sector-wide construction momentum.
• Any follow-up SBV guidance clarifying whether the exclusion applies to refinancing of existing hospitality loans or only to new disbursements.