Happyland assets put up for auction due to massive debts

Ocean Bank, which owns the assets to be auctioned, has set the starting price at VND817 billion. Participating individuals and organizations were required to pay a VND163 billion deposit prior to October 30.

The first asset is a bad debt attached to a credit contract signed in June 2014 between Happy Games and Ocean Bank. The debt was guaranteed by property rights formed from the cooperation agreement between Happy Games and Phu An Infrastructure Investment and Development JSC, a subsidiary of Khang Thong Group, to build the Happyland entertainment complex, as well as the house ownership and land use rights of Phan Thi Phuong Thao, chairwoman of Khang Thong Group.

The second bad debt is associated with a credit contract between Happy Games and Ocean Bank – Thang Long Branch. It was mortgaged using the rights to utilize a 190,000-meter land lot in Ben Luc District, Long An Province; the property rights from the agreement between Happy Games and Phu An Company; a balloon able to handle 30 people per trip; and 4.2 million shares in Gia Dinh Development Investment JSC, owned by Khang Thong Group.

Covering 350 hectares along Vam Co Dong River in Ben Luc District, Long An Province, the US$2-billion Happyland entertainment complex was expected to become one of the largest entertainment and commercial centers in Southeast Asia, featuring a theme park, convention center, hotel, restaurants and other facilities within three years of construction.

According to a representative of Khang Thong Group, the group invested some US$600 million to develop a 100-hectare theme park. The remaining facilities were mainly sourced from domestic and international investors. During the initial period, the project was backed by 10 foreign investors, including the father of late pop star Michael Jackson, who signed a memorandum of understanding with Khang Thong to develop a five-star hotel with 1,000 rooms as a component of the Happyland project. He, however, later announced to pull out of the project.

The developer began work on the Happyland project in early 2011. It was then expected to be up and running in April 2014. However, the project moved at a snail’s pace and faced numerous woes, triggered by the economic downturn and the frozen real estate market. By 2014, only a few small facilities had been completed.