Quoc Cuong Gia Lai JSC (QCG), led by CEO Nguyen Thi Nhu Loan, is known as one of the premier real estate companies in southern Vietnam. This company is widely recognized but also embroiled in many controversies. It was once closely associated with Nguyen Quoc Cuong (Cuong Dolla), her son, who was part of the company's leadership before branching out on his own.

Recently, Quoc Cuong Gia Lai gained attention after being ordered by the court to pay 2.883 trillion VND ($113.8 million) in the Truong My Lan case. The most recent issue involved Nguyen Thi Nhu Loan's absence due to health reasons, leading to the cancellation of QCG's 2024 annual general meeting on June 30.

On the morning of July 19, the Ministry of Public Security searched the residence of Nguyen Thi Nhu Loan, CEO of Quoc Cuong Gia Lai, in District 3, Ho Chi Minh City.

This action is part of an expanded investigation into violations at the Vietnam Rubber Industry Group, Dong Nai Rubber Company, Ba Ria Rubber Company, the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, and other related entities. This includes violations related to the 39-39B Ben Van Don project in Ward 12, District 4, Ho Chi Minh City (over 6,000 square meters, originally state-owned land).

The land at 39-39B Ben Van Don was state-owned and managed by Dong Nai Rubber Company and Ba Ria Rubber Company, both under the Vietnam Rubber Industry Group.

In December 2009, these companies formed Phu Viet Tin Co., Ltd. with a charter capital of 6 billion VND, headquartered at 39-39B Ben Van Don.

By March 2010, the Ho Chi Minh City People’s Committee decided to recover and allocate the land to Phu Viet Tin for project development.

However, Phu Viet Tin did not develop the project and saw frequent changes in its capital structure. By 2014, Quoc Cuong Gia Lai had entered the picture.

Investigations revealed that Quoc Cuong Gia Lai spent 465 billion VND to acquire Phu Viet Tin’s capital and later sold it to two legal entities and an individual, earning a profit of 382 billion VND.

In late March 2017, Phu Viet Tin merged with Phuc Nguyen Real Estate Investment and Development Co., Ltd.

Government inspections concluded that Phu Viet Tin's failure to develop an investment project violated Government Decree 12/2009.

Additionally, the Ho Chi Minh City People’s Committee’s decision to allocate land and designate Phu Viet Tin as the project developer without auction was found to be in violation of the Land Law 2003 and Ministry of Planning and Investment Circular 03/2009.

The land at 39-39B Ben Van Don, now the site of the Tresor project under Novaland Group, fell into Quoc Cuong Gia Lai’s hands through a convoluted capital acquisition deal.

QCG also faced issues with two Phuoc Kien projects. In phase two of the Van Thinh Phat (Truong My Lan) case, investigators recommended freezing 16 land use rights in Phuoc Kien Commune, Nha Be District (Ho Chi Minh City). The court ordered QCG to return the 2.882 trillion VND received from Truong My Lan to ensure her liabilities in the case were covered.

In early 2022, Quoc Cuong Gia Lai was implicated in the transfer of 32 hectares of public land in Phuoc Kien, Nha Be District. In October 2021, the Ho Chi Minh City Procuracy requested further asset valuation to determine the exact value of Tan Thuan Company’s assets when it canceled its land transfer contract with Quoc Cuong Gia Lai in May 2018.

A decade of controversies and volatile stock prices

Over the past decade, Quoc Cuong Gia Lai, associated with Nguyen Quoc Cuong (Cuong Dolla) and Nguyen Thi Nhu Loan, has been embroiled in numerous controversies. These include issues related to public land projects, delays in site clearance, customer lawsuits, misleading information disclosures, and irregular dividend payments, leading to highly volatile stock prices.

QCG has seen wide fluctuations, with stock prices surging and plummeting multiple times. From October 2016 to March 2017, QCG shares jumped from over 3,000 VND per share (adjusted) to over 24,000 VND per share before falling to 4,500 VND in October 2018. The stock price also rose from about 6,000 VND per share in July 2021 to 21,600 VND in January 2022.

On the morning of July 19, QCG shares fell 7% to the floor price of 9,070 VND per share, with over 2.7 million shares on the sell floor by the end of the morning session. Prior to this, the stock had experienced several consecutive near-floor and floor price drops.

In August 2020, Nguyen Thi Nhu Loan resigned as chairperson (remaining as CEO) after her son, Nguyen Quoc Cuong, left QCG to pursue his own projects.

Despite no longer being chairperson and her son exiting the company, Loan’s family still holds about 55% of QCG shares. She remains the largest shareholder, with nearly 102 million shares (37.05%). Her daughter, Nguyen Ngoc Huyen My, holds nearly 39.4 million shares (14.32%); her sister, Nguyen Thi Anh Nguyet, holds nearly 9.7 million shares (3.52%); and her son, Nguyen Quoc Cuong, holds 537,500 shares (0.2%).

Lai The Ha, a longtime shareholder associated with Quoc Cuong Gia Lai since its early days as a private enterprise in Gia Lai, succeeded Loan as chairperson.

Despite facing numerous challenges, QCG has frequently borrowed hundreds of billions of VND from its leaders, including CEO Nguyen Thi Nhu Loan and chairperson Lai The Ha.

While Quoc Cuong Gia Lai has struggled with business difficulties and debt repayment, Nguyen Quoc Cuong has often made headlines with his flashy lifestyle, hot girls, and supercars.

Manh Ha