Sacombank is still "stuck" with a trillion-dollar debt from Phong Phu Industrial Park

(Dan Tri) - According to the previously proposed plan, Sacombank aims to recover 30-40% in 2025 and the remaining 40% will last until 2026.

Mirae Asset Securities' recent analysis report on Saigon Thuong Tin Commercial Joint Stock Bank ( Sacombank , stock code STB) said that in the second quarter of 2025, Sacombank had no further reported progress related to the Phong Phu Industrial Park (IP) loan.

According to the report, in the minutes of the April 2025 General Meeting of Shareholders, Sacombank confirmed that it had made provisions for all debts related to Phong Phu Industrial Park.

Regarding this debt, in 2023, Sacombank organized an auction of 18 debts secured by assets at the Phong Phu Industrial Park project, which was also the 6th time Sacombank put this debt up for sale with a starting price of 7,934 billion VND. This is a debt arising from SouthernBank's lending in the period 2011 - 2012. By 2015, SouthernBank merged into Sacombank, and this debt became a bad debt that Sacombank had to handle.

Citing figures from the report, Sacombank has recovered VND1,600 billion (20%) and used it for bad debt provisions. Sacombank aims to recover 30-40% in 2025 and the remaining 40% will be extended to 2026.

Regarding Phong Phu Industrial Park, the project has a scale of hundreds of hectares located at the southern gateway of Ho Chi Minh City, invested by Phong Phu Industrial Park Joint Stock Company.

Phong Phu Industrial Park (Photo: IT).

Mirae Asset experts believe that Sacombank’s bad debt situation still exists. However, the bad debt ratio on the balance sheet – including substandard, doubtful and potentially irrecoverable debts – fluctuates between 2-3%, showing that there are no signs of significant systemic risk.

However, the “potentially bad” debt group (group 5) increased from 1.3% in the first quarter of 2024 to 1.8% in the second quarter of 2025. According to Mirae Asset, this development reflects the prolonged pressure from the COVID-19 pandemic, along with the weakening of the real estate market and the value of collateral.

Banks also showed a shift in lending structure. Retail lending decreased from 58.9% in 2021 to 45.6% in the second quarter of 2025, reflecting a clear shift to the corporate sector. Manufacturing, processing and education sectors increased their proportion, while finance and trade remained stable.

In particular, lending to real estate businesses accounted for 14.6% of total outstanding loans as of the second quarter of this year. This trend is widespread throughout the banking system but also entails concentration risks.

Source: https://dantri.com.vn/kinh-doanh/sacombank-van-mac-ket-voi-khoan-no-nghin-ty-tu-khu-cong-nghiep-phong-phu-20250917124034417.htm