Timing right for BCG Land’s public offering plans

How would you calculate BCG Land’s valuation, particularly in comparison with the average market valuation, and how do you assess your current state of readiness?

Vo Manh Tin, CEO of BCG Land – a member of Bamboo Capital Group

It was announced at our latest AGM that BCG Land has decided to file for an initial public offering (IPO) on the Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange in the second half of 2022. For valuation, we engage the most reputable, leading securities companies and consultancies such as VNDIRECT, TPBank Securities, and ASCO.

Their valuation uses multiple complex models to make reasonable estimates of the value of the company. Based on the advisors’ suggestion, our board will define an appropriate value and offer to the market. The offering is still in the process of getting approval and we are confident in our current portfolio, competency, and governance that will bring the most value to shareholders.

BCG Land will continue to keep our focus on expanding project portfolios and land bank, gradually building trust with customers by partnering with international hospitality brands such as IHG and Radisson Hotel Group. Moreover, in every project developed by BCG Land, we have made a significant amount of effort to preserve and strengthen the cultural heritage of the local area and community, which can be considered one of our unique selling points that sets us apart from other developers.

This year, although Vietnam’s real estate market is still exposed to some fluctuations, researchers revealed many positive signals about the demand for high-end and mid-end housing as well as condotels. A period of declining new supply due to pandemic disruption is likely behind us, and market downturns are opportunities to continue investing in quality businesses at bargain prices.

Our IPO by the end of the year when the market recovers will be good timing for both institutional and retail investors. It will offer a fair valuation for our shares and specify a feasible action plan to fulfil all of the commitments we have made to our investors in the post-offering period.

During this skittish equity market, retail investors might be hesitant to be a part of the game. What is your strategy for foreign and institutional investors?

We would like to invite all investors to participate in this IPO event. With the participation of selected institutional investors as strategic partners, they help to strengthen our governance and also provide support in public relations. Foreign institutional investors will have the opportunity to enter and compete in the Vietnamese market. We believe it is a win-win situation and it will also create value for the retail investor.

In line with Vietnam’s pledge to reach net-zero emission targets by 2050, BCG Land and BCG, as true believers of sustainable development, have made certain contributions to the prosperity of Vietnam, be it environmentally-associated issues or corporate social responsibility programmes.

We believe that our vast expertise in sustainable development, including green building, energy-saving, and eco-industrial zones powered by renewable sources from BCG Energy – another prominent member of our ecosystem – will uplift our market position to greater heights.

If retail investors are still on your agenda, how might you draw their attention?

The purpose of our IPO is to create a very high premium value and upsize opportunity in the long run for retail investors. BCG already has 37,000 retail investors, and additional retail investors from BCG Land will help to strengthen the investor community of the group.

Our mission is to continuously build up trust and values for our business partners, customers, shareholders, and employees through deploying projects and successfully actualising business opportunities based on our professional experiences, strong business connections, and profound knowledge of both local and international cultures. This positively impacts the investor’s confidence because they are seeing high productivity and a good financial return on their investment in the long run.

What is your recipe for success when filing for an IPO in this volatile time?

First and foremost, at BCG and BCG Land, we are blessed to have amongst the very best people whether we look from a capability, attitude, or work ethic perspective.

Despite lingering uncertainty regarding the economic outlook, short-term market events typically should not impact the process companies undertake to prepare for an IPO. We start acting like a public company now and seeking the right combination of outside resources and expertise to augment existing capabilities.

Our secret sauce is to have a clear strategy, strong business governance, and vision for sustainable growth with a long-term business pipeline and increase competitiveness by bringing to our customers the best product that we can, as well as maximising value to potential investors.

As BCG Land, we define our success factors as value with good quality and clear legal status of assets; differentiating with quality of amenities and services; and potential growing value for investors by focusing on core values of the organisation: a leadership team with international management experience, attracting and retaining talent, and promoting integrity.