Real estate businesses are finding every way to "save themselves".

With rising interest rates, coupled with many banks announcing they have reached their credit limits and restricting loans to real estate businesses for project development, businesses are forced to find ways to "save themselves".

Real estate businesses are exploring all possible ways to raise capital for project development (Photo: Gia Huy)

Struggling to secure funding for project development.

As part of its business development plan to transition from a distribution unit to a project investor, in February 2026, DK Joint Stock Company in Ho Chi Minh City decided to purchase a condominium project called "To Am Xanh" (Green Home) in Ben Cat Ward, Ho Chi Minh City. The project covers an area of ​​1 hectare, is designed with nearly 1,500 apartments, and has almost complete legal documentation. The asking price from the developer is 250 billion VND.

After researching the market and contacting the seller, DK Company finalized the purchase price at 235 billion VND. Subsequently, the company worked with VietinBank . However, the bank refused to provide a loan, citing insufficient credit limits, and the quoted interest rate was approximately 14%.

According to the leaders of DK Company, the business also submitted applications to many other banks, all with quite high interest rates, ranging from 12% to 14% per year. In addition, the processing fees charged by the banks for the loan ranged from 5% to 7% of the total loan amount.

Real estate businesses are being forced to find ways to secure funding for projects, accepting high interest rates and significant risks. The pressure on cash flow not only erodes profits but also pushes many businesses into a position where they must "save themselves" at all costs.

“When undertaking a project, we have to borrow money to buy land, complete legal procedures, pay land tax to the State, and cover construction costs. The amount borrowed can reach thousands of billions of dong. With an interest rate of 14% per year and a loan term of about 3 years, if we borrow 1,000 billion dong, the company has to bear interest costs of about 42%. While the profit margin for each project is only about 20%, this interest cost will be factored into the house price, pushing prices up and making them very difficult to sell,” said a leader of DK Company.

Also facing difficulties in securing funding for project development, Mr. Vo Van Nhat, General Director of Van Toan Construction Investment Joint Stock Company in Ho Chi Minh City, stated that in 2025, the company acquired a land plot in An Phu ward, Ho Chi Minh City, with an area of ​​over 6,000 m2, at a price exceeding 220 billion VND. To date, the company has completed the investment approval process, but to develop the project, it is necessary to seek loan capital from banks.

Last February, this company approached BIDV Bank, but was denied a loan after evaluating the project and the company's capabilities. Subsequently, the company continued to approach several other banks, but received similar responses, mostly citing the lack of available credit limits.

More fortunate than the two aforementioned companies, Ky Nguyen Real Estate Joint Stock Company in Ho Chi Minh City reported that in January 2026, the company secured a loan of 600 billion VND from a bank at an interest rate of 11% per year to develop a project in Tay Ninh province. However, due to the loan being disbursed in multiple installments, the company only received the first phase disbursement of 100 billion VND for land compensation and clearance. From March until now, the company has not received the disbursement on time because the bank announced it had reached its lending limit; each disbursement is only a few billion VND, insufficient to implement the project.

They tried every possible way to get the money.

An Ha Construction and Investment Co., Ltd. in Ho Chi Minh City stated that in 2019, the company was licensed to be the investor of the An Ha residential area project in Hoc Mon District, Ho Chi Minh City, covering an area of ​​3.8 hectares, with the product being subdivided land plots. Due to insufficient legal conditions to obtain bank loans, the company raised capital from investors to compensate for land clearance. However, to date, the project has not been able to proceed due to a lack of funds to complete the legal procedures and build infrastructure. Subsequently, the company approached banks, but without success.

Meanwhile, the loans from investors were due, forcing the company to find alternative solutions, including seeking investment funds. Shortly afterward, a Japanese-owned investment fund, headquartered in Tan Hung Ward, Ho Chi Minh City, agreed to lend the company money. However, despite the project land being valued at over 350 billion VND, the fund only agreed to lend 150 billion VND, with an interest rate of up to 17.5% per year.

The loan term is 3 years; after this period, if the principal is not repaid, the investment fund will reclaim the land. In addition, to borrow 150 billion VND, the enterprise must pay an additional processing fee of approximately 7% of the total loan amount.

"Because we needed money to develop the project, otherwise the investment approval would be revoked, along with pressure from investors who had already contributed capital, we were forced to borrow from the fund. Even though we knew the interest and processing fees were very high, almost eating up the borrowed capital," said the leader of An Ha Company.

Facing difficulties in securing bank loans due to existing debt and the inability to issue bonds, NRC Group recently decided to seek funding from foreign funds. After a search, the company received approval from Amber Capital Investment Fund for a loan of 2,000 billion VND, with the condition that NRC Group must find a suitable project to implement before the funds can be disbursed.
The market is clearly segmented.

Ms. Quynh Nguyen, who manages an investment fund from the UAE operating in Vietnam, said that the fund usually has two funding options.

Firstly, we can participate in the project development together, and then share the profits.

Secondly, businesses are provided with loans to develop their own projects, and the fund collects interest. The interest rate is typically about 5% higher than bank rates, and if the business fails to meet deadlines or repay the debt, the entire project could be lost.

In reality, a clear differentiation is occurring among real estate businesses in the Vietnamese market. Large businesses with clean land reserves, complete legal documentation, and sound finances can still access bank loans, while smaller businesses with many unresolved projects and significant debt burdens face very limited opportunities.

Furthermore, bond issuance, once a "lifeline" for many businesses, still faces numerous challenges. Market confidence has not fully recovered, while legal regulations related to issuance remain complex, making it difficult for businesses to access this source of funding.

"For small businesses, when they cannot issue stocks, bonds, or borrow from banks, they are forced to seek external sources of capital with high interest rates, which carries the risk of losing projects if they cannot repay the debt. This shows that the cash flow pressure on real estate businesses today is very high," Ms. Quynh shared.

Acknowledging that funding is one of the biggest challenges facing real estate businesses, Mr. Vo Thanh Dat, General Director of Westland Real Estate Joint Stock Company, stated that businesses are currently facing two major problems.

Firstly, access to capital is becoming increasingly difficult. Previously, businesses could raise capital from various channels such as investment partnerships, customers, bonds, or banks, but now these channels are all being tightened, especially bank credit.

Secondly, the market recovery is progressing slowly. Besides removing legal obstacles, businesses also have to make efforts to address financial issues in order to maintain operations.

In particular, in 2026, access to capital will become even more difficult as the lending interest rate difference between joint-stock commercial banks and state-owned commercial banks ranges from 4% to 5%.

"Therefore, businesses want this gap to be narrowed, and they want to be able to access credit at lower costs, thereby facilitating project development and stabilizing business operations," he said.
Dat said.

Source: https://baodautu.vn/doanh-nghiep-dia-oc-tim-du-duong-cuu-minh-d568734.html