HCMC – Le Viet Hai, chairman of the board of Hoa Binh Construction Group, refuted a rumor stating that Sovico Group will buy a 59% stake in Hoa Binh, at the group’s 2020 general meeting of shareholders on June 24.

Hai said some of the firm's customers, including real estate companies, have expressed their interest in becoming Hoa Binh’s strategic shareholders. “However, Hoa Binh cannot issue shares to raise capital at the moment for several reasons,” he noted. According to Hai, Hoa Binh does not intend to invite a real estate company to become its strategic shareholder because this will reduce collaborative opportunities and result in a conflict of interest. The construction group’s board chairman also rebutted a rumor stating that an investment fund will buy Hoa Binh's shares to take over the group. “Some Hoa Binh shareholders are the group’s customers. However, their stakes are not as high as the rumors indicate,” Hai stated. “Hoa Binh currently has more than 40 real estate companies as customers. We will not let any of them acquire and take over the group,” he added. Hoa Binh Construction Group, the biggest real estate group in Vietnam, posted over VND18.6 trillion in net revenue in 2019, up 1.7% year-on-year. However, its after-tax profit was estimated at just some VND417 billion, falling by 34% compared with 2018 and only meeting 58% of the entire year’s target. Hai said the construction sector has recently faced several challenges and Hoa Binh is no exception. The group initially expected to earn VND20 trillion in revenue and VND720 billion in profit this year. However, it has lowered its expectations to VND12.5 trillion in revenue and VND125 billion in profit due to the economic impact of the Covid-19 pandemic.