Vietnam property developer No Va Land delays bond payments

VIETNAM’S leading property developer No Va Land has delayed payments on a 1 trillion dong (S$57.2 million) bond that matured on May 18, as the company faces a credit crunch amid difficult market conditions.

No Va Land is among the hardest-hit by turmoil in Vietnam’s real estate sector, which has been caused by high debt, a surplus of high-end property, and has been exacerbated by tighter credit rules adopted last year and the arrest of high-profile businesspeople.

The company’s shares on Monday (May 22) were trading at a value 83 per cent lower than a year ago, as it struggles to make repayments and scrambles to sell assets.

The company said it was in talks with bondholders to extend the maturity of the bond, according to a disclosure made to the Hanoi Stock Exchange on Monday. It needs to pay back the principal and nearly 64 billion dong in interest.

No Va Land, which has 31 active bonds maturing this year worth roughly 14 trillion dong according to Refinitiv data, in February missed principal and interest payments on another two lots of bonds due to liquidity issues.

Access to credit for property developers has been eased by the government recently but the sector remains on edge.

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No Va Land, which was founded in 2007 and is active mostly in residential property and luxury resorts, did not immediately respond to a request for comment. REUTERS