Keppel lowers prices on the sale of stakes in Saigon Sport City

[SINGAPORE] Keppel has amended the terms of the sale of its 70 per cent stake in Saigon Sport City, with the prices lower than earlier announced, a regulatory filing of the asset manager and operator on Tuesday (Aug 5) showed.

Keppel’s subsidiary Jencity, which owns 100 per cent of Saigon Sport City, will now sell a stake of 35 per cent each to HTV Dai Phuoc and Vinobly Investment Real Estate Joint Stock, for about 2.6 trillion dong (S$127.2 million) for each divestment.

Saigon Sport City, which holds the right to develop a 64-hectare plot of land in Ho Chi Minh City, is to be a township of about 4,300 premium homes as well as Vietnam’s one-stop sports, entertainment and lifestyle hub when completed.

When the divestment was announced in 2024, Jencity was to be paid by HTV Dai Phuoc about 320 billion dong for a 5 per cent stake, and as much as 3.3 trillion dong for another 30 per cent stake, depending on when the conditions precedent would be fulfilled, and subject to completion adjustments.

Before the terms were amended, Jencity was to have received up to 3.8 trillion dong from Vinobly Investment Real Estate Joint Stock for that stake.

However, under the now-amended terms, Dai Phuoc and Vinobly would each be extending Saigon Sport City a loan of 974.9 billion, for it to repay part of a loan owing to Jencity. These loans were not part of the earlier terms.

Had the divestments been completed at the end of 2024, the net tangible asset per share of Keppel would have risen to S$5.19 from S$5.12.

Had they been completed on Jan 1, 2024, the earnings per share for FY2024 with December year-end would have risen from S$0.523 to S$0.586 cent.

Keppel shares were up S$0.07 or 0.8 per cent to S$8.42 at Tuesday’s market close, before this announcement was published.