Mirae Asset, global investors eye gain from sale of Hanoi skyscraper

South Korea's Mirae Asset Securities Co. and shareholders in three-building complex Landmark72, a tower of which is the second-tallest skyscraper in Vietnam, are eyeing handsome profits as global reinsurance firm Aon plc, the owner of the property, seeks to sell a 100% stake in the real estate asset for more than 1 trillion won ($748.5 million).

The New York Stock Exchange-listed reinsurer is in talks with potential bidders to sell a full stake in the property, located in Nam Tu Liem, one of the newest districts of Hanoi, according to investment banking sources in Seoul on Thursday.

Some major real estate and infrastructure fund managers are considering acquiring the skyscraper, sources said. 

Aon purchased the property for 454 billion won in 2015 from Korean mid-sized construction firm SM Keangnam Enterprises Ltd., the builder of the skyscraper. The reinsurer won the bid after competing with Goldman Sachs and sovereign wealth fund Qatar Investment Authority (QIA) at the time.

Global institutional investors including Mirae Asset joined the acquisition deal in 2015. The brokerage house bought 300 billion won worth of senior secured debts and 100 billion won worth of convertible bonds (CBs) in the property and sold the first-lien debts.

Mirae Asset still holds the bonds, considering exchanging the securities in common stocks, sources said.

SM Keangnam Enterprises, formerly Keangnam Enterprises, established the three-building complex with a combined floor area of 608,946 square meters in 2012. The property consists of one 72-story mixed-use tower with a height of 350 meters and two 48-story twin towers for residences with a height of 212 meters.  

The 72-story tower, comprised of office and retail, had been the tallest skyscraper in Vietnam until the Southeast Asian country’s conglomerate Vingroup built 81-story building Landmark 81 with a height of 461 meters in 2018.

Write to Ji-Eun Ha at hazzys@hankyung.com
Jihyun Kim edited this article.