SonKim Land Announces Us$100 Million Follow-Up Fundraising In Partnership With Exs Capital And Aca Investment

SonKim Land Corporation, a leading Vietnamese real estate developer, and EXS Capital Limited, an independent alternative investment group dedicated to Asia, are pleased to announce the successful closing of the first round of US$46 million, out of an expected US$100 million follow-up fundraising for SonKim Land. This is the second investment led by EXS Capital into SonKim Land through the Lemongrass Master Fund, after a successful initial investment of approximately US$37 million in 2013.

For the follow-up investment, SonKim Land and EXS Capital are also happy to be partnering with ACA Investments Pte Ltd, a leading Japanese fund manager based in Singapore with a strong track record of investments across the Asia-Pacific region. ACA has significant experience in the Vietnam market through investments in Vietnamese companies such as Bibo Mart and Cung Mua.

Hiroyuki Ono, Partner at ACA Investments, commented, “ACA Group is excited to cooperate with Mr. Tuan and SonKim Land team to contribute to the development of Vietnamese property market together. This is our fifth investment in Vietnam; we have explored more than 100 opportunities in this country and found SonKim Land one of the few companies with the disciplined and visionary team among the universe.  Through our investment, we hope to realize potential demand between Japanese corporate hoping to expand into Vietnam and SonKim Land partnering with them.”

EXS Capital’s initial investment in 2013 began a multi-stage partnership with SonKim Land aimed at building a major real estate firm in Vietnam.  EXS Capital brought valuable capital to fund SonKim Land’s growth at a challenging time in the Vietnam real estate market, in a structure that provided superior returns to investors. The success of EXS Capital’s partnership with SonKim Land represents a strong validation of both SonKim Land’s performance as well as EXS Capital’s differentiated investment approach.

Eric Solberg, CEO of EXS Capital, commented, “We are pleased to be partnering again with Chairman Tuan and the SonKim Land team, helping to build the company into a leading listed real estate company in Vietnam.  We are proud of SonKim Land’s strong reputation of being at the forefront of design, quality and lifestyle in the Vietnamese market, and we look forward to continuing to work together for SonKim Land’s ongoing success.”

Since 2013, SonKim Land has grown rapidly, launching several award-winning luxury properties in Ho Chi Minh City including Gateway Thao Dien and The Nassim. These properties are both successful joint ventures with Hamon Developments and Hongkong Land respectively, and have won several consecutive awards at the Vietnam Property Awards, including Best Condo Development in Vietnam for 2015 and 2016, and Best Luxury Condo in Ho Chi Minh City for 2015 and 2016. SonKim Land’s goal is to become the preferred local partner for regional and international firms.

Given the success of the first fundraising, SonKim Land and EXS Capital are excited to be partnering again for a second round of fundraising. The first round of this follow-up investment, a total of US$46 million, is subscribed as Redeemable Convertible Loans into SonKim Land. Participants in the first round include many of the original investors from 2013, who are electing to increase their investment in SonKim Land and thereby signalling their confidence in the company’s track record and performance to date.

With this additional fundraising, SonKim Land aims to continue to develop its pipeline of attractive developments across Vietnam, including luxury residential and commercial developments in Ho Chi Minh City.

Nguyen Hoang Tuan, Chairman of SonKim Land, commented, “EXS Capital’s follow-up and ACA’s initial investment into SonKim Land is strong evidence of our success in the Vietnamese property market. We have positioned ourselves as a pioneer property developer creating unique living quality for customers. As a premier lifestyle brand, SonKim Land’s strategy is to focus on customers’ desires, cooperate with reputable partners, learn from them, and customize new and unique concepts for the Vietnamese property landscape. We believe that we will continue to be successful in strengthening our property development profile and improving the living standards of Vietnamese people.”