Song Ma Joint Stock Company, formerly Song Ma One-Member Limited Liability Company, is a state-owned enterprise.

In 2008, the People's Committee of Thanh Hoa province issued a decision on the establishment of a steering committee for the equitization of this company.

In 2013, the company underwent equitization, with a charter capital of 35 billion VND corresponding to 3,500,000 shares issued at a par value of 10,000 VND. Of these, the State held 395,000 shares (11.29% of capital), preferential shares for employees amounted to 42,200 shares (1.29%), and shares sold to external parties totaled 3,062,800 shares (87.51% of capital).

Subsequently, Anh Phat Corporation acquired 87.51% of Song Ma Company's capital, becoming the largest shareholder and owner of the company.

In March 2018, Song Ma Company increased its charter capital to 200 billion VND. However, at that time, Anh Phat Corporation divested all its capital in Song Ma Company.

By December 2021, Song Ma Company increased its charter capital from VND 200 billion to VND 600 billion.

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The Hac Thanh Tower project site is located at the intersection of Phan Chu Trinh Street and Hac Thanh Street, considered a "prime location" in Thanh Hoa City.

Prior to its equitization, Song Ma Company had total assets exceeding 462.3 billion VND. The company also owned approximately 21 hectares of real estate and was the investor in numerous projects in Thanh Hoa City, such as: the Bo Ho commercial center; residential areas in Phu Son, Nam Cau Hac, Dong Tho, Tan Son 1, 2, Ho Thanh Cong, Nam Le Loi Boulevard; the Truong Thi ward sports park; the Mai Xuan Duong residential project; and the Dong Ve 1, 2, 3, 4 areas...

During and after the equitization process, Song Ma Company also became the investor in many other projects such as: Hac Thanh Tower, Nui Long urban area...

Notably, among the projects undertaken by Song Ma Company, the Hac Thanh Tower project (No. 3, Phan Chu Trinh Street, Dien Bien Ward, Thanh Hoa City) has been mentioned most frequently recently, as it has led to legal troubles for many current and retired officials.

Regarding the Hac Thanh Tower project, in 1993, the People's Committee of Thanh Hoa province decided to transfer the housing fund with a total area of ​​over 7,400m2 to Thanh Hoa Housing Business Company for management.

In 2009, the People's Committee of Thanh Hoa province approved the land use fee for the property at 3 Phan Chu Trinh Street, Thanh Hoa City, for Song Ma Company to implement an investment and development project covering an area of ​​over 2,700 square meters. This was considered a "prime" piece of land, located right in the heart of Thanh Hoa City. The total amount the company had to pay to the state budget was nearly 57 billion VND.

By 2013, the project was adjusted by the Thanh Hoa Provincial People's Committee, increasing the area from over 2,700m2 to over 2,900m2, but the land use fee that Song Ma Company had to pay decreased from nearly 57 billion VND to over 48 billion VND.

In 2013, Song Ma Company completed the adjustment of the planning layout and was handed over the land on-site one year later.

However, since 2012, the People's Committee of Thanh Hoa province has issued a document agreeing to allow Song Ma Company to transfer the land use rights for the 15-story Hac Thanh Tower mixed-use building to Huy Hoang Co., Ltd. (the secondary investor).

On August 16, 2012, although no land allocation decision had been made yet, Mr. Trinh Van Chien - then Chairman of the People's Committee of Thanh Hoa province - issued a document agreeing to allow Song Ma Company to transfer the land use rights for the 15-story mixed-use building in the Hac Thanh Tower project to Huy Hoang Co., Ltd. (the secondary investor).

Following Mr. Chien's instructions, on December 23, 2013, Mr. Nguyen Dinh Xung (then Vice Chairman of the province) signed the approval for the land use fee that Song Ma Company had to pay to the state. The police determined that the approval of this decision caused a loss of more than 55.8 billion VND to the state budget.

On February 17, 2022, the People's Committee of Thanh Hoa province issued a document directing the inspection of 12 land-use investment projects in the period 2010-2021, including the Hac Thanh Tower construction project.

However, on March 7, 2022, the People's Committee of Thanh Hoa province unexpectedly removed the Hac Thanh Tower construction project from the list of 12 projects recommended for inspection because the project was under investigation by the police.

Besides Hac Thanh Tower, Song Ma Company also owns many other "high-profile" projects in Thanh Hoa.

Among these, the Lakeside Commercial Center Project is worth mentioning. This project was approved by Thanh Hoa province in 2005, with Song Ma Company as the investor. By March 2008, the foundation, basement, and first floor had been completed, but construction was then halted. In 2010, the project changed ownership to Lakeside Commercial Center Investment Joint Stock Company.

Song Ma Company also owns the Nui Long Urban Area project in Thanh Hoa City. The project was approved by the Thanh Hoa Provincial People's Committee on October 21, 2016; the total area is 56 hectares; the investor is a joint venture of Song Ma Company, Dong Son JSC, and Bo Ho Commercial Center Investment JSC with a total investment of over 1.126 billion VND.

In addition, Song Ma Company is also embroiled in controversy related to the reclamation of over 1,182 square meters of land in the heart of Thanh Hoa City.

Specifically, in 2019, the People's Committee of Thanh Hoa province issued a decision to reclaim 1,182 m2 of land from Song Ma Company in Ngoc Trao ward, Thanh Hoa city, to be handed over to the Thanh Hoa Land Fund Development Center for management. The reason for the reclamation was that the land had been leased from the State for a limited period but was not renewed.

(Synthetic)

Hundreds of businesses in Thanh Hoa province have been suspended or shut down for failing to meet fire safety regulations . At a meeting with the business community in Thanh Hoa province, businesses complained that rigid fire safety inspections have led to the suspension or cessation of operations for many companies.