Why Was Son Kim Land Fined Over Sales of 136 Apartments to Foreign Buyers?

Son Kim Land has been fined by Ho Chi Minh City for selling 136 apartments to foreign individuals and organizations without sending the required information to the city’s Department of Construction by email and in writing.

The apartments are part of Gateway Thao Dien, a high-end development in An Khanh Ward. The city’s administrative penalty decision requires the company to comply with the order and pay the fine within 10 days of receiving it. Payment must be made through a commercial bank where the regional State Treasury’s Area II office holds an account, and the company must provide proof of payment to the authorities. If it does not comply voluntarily, enforcement measures may follow.

Gateway Thao Dien occupies a site of about 10,944 square meters and contains 439 apartments. The project cost more than $100 million, or over 2.6 trillion dong. It entered the market in 2015 and was completed in 2017. Current transaction prices are reported at around 150 million to 161.5 million dong per square meter.

The case has also drawn attention to the rules surrounding foreign ownership. A Ho Chi Minh City real estate expert told Tuổi Trẻ that strict action over late or missing reports is more than a routine paperwork issue because the legal framework for selling apartments to foreigners is tightly controlled.

Under current rules, an apartment project selling to foreign individuals or organizations must be a commercial housing project and appear on a list approved by the competent authorities. It must also be outside areas subject to national defense and security restrictions identified through notices from the Ministry of National Defense and the Ministry of Public Security. The article says further requirements apply, but the supplied text ends before those details are completed.