vietnam Making a Pointe

A California-based financier has set out to develop what could eventually be one of the largest master-planned communities in Vietnam.

The community is called Philand Ranch, and it’ll eventually spread over 8,000 acres in Chu Lai (in Quang Nam Province). Chu Lai, the home of a U.S. Marine Corps base during the Vietnam War, is located along Vietnam’s eastern coast, roughly 55 miles down the coast from Danang.

Like any other huge planned community, Philand Ranch will include houses, hotels, retail and commercial areas, and other attractions. It’s being developed by a subsidiary of PHI Group, Inc., a publicly traded firm in Huntington Beach (the “Surf City” immortalized by the Beach Boys). The subsidiary, Philand Ranch Limited, is currently traded on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange, and it could start trading on U.S. stock exchanges later this year.

The first phase of Philand Ranch is a resort community called Pointe 91, which will take shape on bluffs overlooking the South China Sea. Pointe 91 will consist of 227 single-family houses and villas, a 180-room beachfront hotel with a spa, 30 cabana units that will be part of a private residence club, a marina with a yacht club, a 250-seat outdoor amphitheater, a management training center, a shopping area, a farmers’ market, and hiking trails.

All those elements will be located on 118 acres. In the next phase of development, Pointe 91 will grow to 300 acres and include an 18-hole golf course.

PHI Group’s principal, Henry Fahman, is currently trying to secure financing for Pointe 91. Fahman, who was born in Vietnan, believes he’ll have it in place sometime this summer.

These days Fahman is also trying to round up financing for a resort community in Da Lat City, one of Vietnam’s favorite vacation destinations and the capital of Lam Dong Province. The to-be-named community is being developed by Camly Mangling Company, Ltd., a subsidiary of Linh Thanh Group. It’ll have villas, time-share condos, two or three hotels, an entertainment complex, a retail/commercial area, and an 18-hole golf course.

PHIglobal.com, PhilandRanch.com