Chairman of Nam Long: 'Affordable housing is almost extinct'

Sharing at the annual general meeting of shareholders on April 24, Mr. Nguyen Xuan Quang - Chairman of Nam Long - said that the company heads towards 2030 as the leading real estate developer in the region, with the participation of international consultants.

Accordingly, the company will gradually move from developing affordable housing to the developer of integrated urban areas, while strengthening its position in the core business (housing development).

Nam Long (NLG) is known for its affordable housing product line, typically Ehome apartments. Mr. Quang said that this segment on the market is now "almost extinct" and the opportunities for other businesses are not much.

"But we judged otherwise. The demand for the Vietnam market is large because the population is young and the immigrant population is high. Nam Long has been developing this product line for more than 14 years, so we think that affordable housing is the mass need. The demand is still enough for Nam Long to develop this business in the next 10-20 years", Mr. Quang declared.

"The government is having policies that show support for the affordable housing segment. It's a will, but enforcement will be a different story," Quang added.

Besides expanding the land fund, Nam Long also aims to diversify growth by developing integrated real estate. General Director of Nam Long Land, Mr. Nguyen Thanh Son said that one of the first projects that the company will implement under this model is the WaterPoint urban area in Long An Province, with an area of 355 hectares.

According to Mr. Son, an integrated urban area will develop based on 5 factors including living environment, recreation, shopping, work, and education. "This is an important business in our step-by-step strategy to become an integrated urban developer in the next 10 years", Mr. Son emphasized.

2021 is the first year in Nam Long's 3-year strategy of 2021-2023. The company aims to grow sales by an average of over 85% per year. In 2021 alone, Nam Long's revenue is expected to reachVND4,963 billion, up 124% compared to the previous year. Its profit after tax is expected to reach VND1,367 billion, up 61% compared to 2020. Nam Long plans to pay dividends in cash at a rate of 15%.

In April 2021, the company offered 210 apartments for sale and consumed 190 units. Nam Long is about to offer 700 Mizuki apartments for sale in late April.

"We have researched and are confident that we in 2021 can achieve the plan", Mr. Son said. Nam Long this year will collect revenue from the Mizuki, Izumi, Paragon, Akari projects.

Also this year, NLG plans to spend VND2,000 billion to expand the land fund. In addition to some priority districts in ho Chi Minh City, Nam Long will expand the market in Hanoi and some cities such as Hai Phong, Can Tho, Da Nang, etc.

In addition to the available capital, Nam Long also plans to raise its capital this year. The company is working with international financial institutions to prepare for the issuance of bonds this year. The company plans to borrow about VND 1,000 billion to replenish capital.

In the first quarter of 2021, Nam Long reported its revenue of VND235 billion, only 56% of the same period but its profit after tax reached VND365 billion, 3.3 times over the same period.

(Source: Nam Long Group (Hose: NLG))