Many of them have already announced plans to sell properties as part of their debt restructuring strategies.

The trend has been on the rise so far this year, with many real estate firms looking to repay their debts during their annual general meetings.

LDG Investment (LDG) has announced plans to sell two projects: Bai But - Son Tra beach resort in Da Nang city and an apartment complex in Binh Duong province’s Di An city.

The Bai But - Son Tra beach resort, which covers an area of 29 hectares with a total investment of over 4.6 trillion VND, is one of LDG’s key strategic projects.

The company had explored the possibility of finding partners to invest with a 50-70% stake. However, LDG’s leaders said that this was unlikely in the current real estate market.

Similarly, Hai Phat Investment Corporation recently announced the successful sale of its capital contribution in commercial land use rights at a commercial project in Nha Trang city.

The development adjacent to Tran Phu bridge and the mouth of Cai river where it flows into the sea consists of three 40-storey towers with three commercial floors, 10 hotel floors, and 27 apartment floors.

It also plans to sell other real estate projects in the northern provinces of Lao Cai, Bac Giang, and Quang Ninh.

Hoang Anh Gia Lai group recently announced its plan to sell one of its last prime assets. A hotel in Pleiku city in the Central Highlands province of Gia Lai province will be sold in order to settle its bond debt.

Pham Duc Toan, a seasoned professional in brokerage and real estate development, said the main driver behind the trend is the lack of revenue for many businesses since the beginning of the year. To stay afloat, they are resorting to selling assets and projects.

However, liquidity remains a significant challenge, as potential investors are wary of investing due to financial uncertainties, he added.

In addition, the prices of most real estate projects remain too high, and many of them encounter legal obstacles related to land use rights and other legal matters.

A director of a Hanoi-based real estate company, who wanted to remain unidentified, said it typically takes six month to a year to finalise the sale of projects.

According to the director, while companies still have assets and projects to offer for sale, many smaller real estate firms have already closed due to financial constraints.

Bond repayment crisis

According to a report by VNDirect, corporate bonds worth nearly 273 trillion VND will mature this year, mostly in the last two quarters.

The report also stated the amount of maturing bonds from real estate developers will be 65.9 trillion VND in the second half of this year and over 124 trillion VND in 2024.

To address the issue, the government in March issued a regulation allowing companies to use other assets to make bond payments if approved by debtholders.

The regulation, along with the extension of debt maturities, has provided much-needed breathing space for issuers.

As a result, more than 42 trillion VND (1.77 billion USD) worth of corporate bonds were rolled over in the second quarter.

The market experienced a surge in 2020 and 2021, with issuances rising to 462 trillion VND and 658 trillion VND, respectively, according to data from the Vietnam Bond Market Association.

The boom was largely driven by increased capital demand from property developers and banks, but the property market collapsed and many issuers faced trouble following investigations into bond issuance and improper capital use by several large firms and related arrests in the middle of last year.

As of the end of August, the number of dissolved real estate firms had increased by over 30% year-on-year, according to a report by the Ministry of Construction./.VNA