Property Vision - Post-crisis Period

After the prime time, the advent of global economic crisis in 2008 wrecked the Vietnamese real estate market, sending many property companies to the brink of bankruptcy. However, some companies like Vingroup, Sao Mai Group and Hoa Phat Group managed to live through the stormy time and enjoyed prosperity.

In recent years, the real estate market was more volatile, unpredictable and illiquid owing to tremendous difficulties, mounting bad debts, rising interest rates. Many property projects were left vacant. Lending interests and other expenses gnawed many residential areas and forced many indebted investors to sell off their projects for loan repayment. Many companies even did not have money to pay salaries to employees.

This not only exerted direct impacts on the destiny of many real estate firms, but also produced great influences on overall economic development and people’s livelihoods. Fortunately, in addition to continuous efforts of property firms, effective policies and actions of the Government, authorities and the Vietnam Real Estate Association helped revitalise the property market. However, it seems that the playground is for big professional investors like Vingroup, Hoa Phat Group and Sao Mai Group.

At that tough time, most investment projects of Sao Mai Group outperformed the market, including the Sao Mai high-grade urban zone (Ben Tre City), Sao Mai Binh Khanh 3 - 5 premium urban zone (Long Xuyen City), Sao Mai high-class urban zone in Tinh Bien Border Gate, Sao Mai high-class urban zone in Tan Hiep town (Kien Giang province) and 30-4 urban zone in Cao Lanh City. All sold out residential units after they completed. In addition, impressive sales in other projects in Mekong Delta provinces also helped Sao Mai Group to achieve spectacular development.

In property business, the success of Sao Mai Group came not only from experience, prestige and brand, but also from a solid foundation built on market research, solid understanding of market supply and demand, customer taste, good location, and management. When bank loans bore high interest rates, Sao Mai Group used its strong financial standing to support buyers (like deferred payment with flexibly low interest rates, investment redirection to small towns, strengthened cooperation with secondary investors, and investment phase-out).

With its relentless efforts and innovation, experienced investors like Vingroup, Hoa Phat Group and Sao Mai Group still confidently expanded operating scales and achieved spectacular breakthroughs to climb to a high position on the ladder of the Vietnamese business community.

Phuong Lan