Hanoi's Department of Construction has issued Official Letter No. 23754/SXD-QLN, dated 21 October 2026, on capital mobilization for the Hanoi International Sports City project. The letter says row houses, villa land and high-rise housing land in all four zones (A, B, C and D) meet the conditions to raise capital under the 2023 Housing Law and Decree 95/2024/ND-CP.Nguoi Quan Sat
For anyone holding VHM shares, a legal condition has been cleared for the largest source of money the project depends on. For a Hanoi resident thinking of putting down a deposit on a home in the south of the city, the letter is easy to misread as "sales are open." The two readings are far apart, and this post separates them step by step.
A huge project with equity of just 15% or more
According to the investor's filing, the project covers about 8,965.7 ha across 11 wards and communes in southern Hanoi, with total investment of about VND 925,651 billion. Equity must be at least 15% of the total, while loans and other lawful funding can make up at most 85%.Nguoi Quan Sat
That puts minimum equity at roughly VND 138,800 billion (15% of VND 925,651 billion), leaving more than VND 780,000 billion to come from borrowing and mobilized capital. The project is built to run on other people's money more than the investors' own, so fundraising sets the pace of construction.
The letter went to a consortium of Vinhomes JSC (lead member), Ngoc Hoi Real Estate Investment JSC, Ngoc Quy Trade Investment and Development Co. Ltd, and Tuong Lai Investment Research and Development JSC. Per CafeF, Vinhomes holds a 35% stake in the consortium.CafeF VHM holders should remember that not all of the project's cash flow belongs to Vinhomes alone. The project aims for basic completion in Q1 2030 and full completion in Q4 2030.
The VND 375,000 billion plan: housing has covered only a short stretch
Under the consortium's proposal, total capital to be raised is VND 375,000 billion: VND 237,000 billion for residential real estate and VND 138,000 billion for non-residential. Housing is about 63% of the plan, and the whole plan equals roughly 40% of total investment. The press reports do not say how the rest splits between equity and bank loans.Nguoi Quan Sat
The Department also said that as of 7 October 2026 the project had raised VND 37,000 billion through bond issues, of which VND 11,039 billion went to housing works. Set side by side, the numbers show where the project stands: the total raised is about 9.9% of the VND 375,000 billion plan, and housing alone is about 4.7% of its VND 237,000 billion target. All of it came from bonds, which means borrowed money, not equity contributions or home-buyer payments.Nguoi Quan Sat
Put simply, the housing leg of fundraising has barely begun. The 21 October letter opens the way for the rest, more than VND 225,000 billion under the plan.
What the letter opens: capital contributions, cooperation, profit sharing
Per VnExpress, the fundraising formats in the plan are capital contributions, investment cooperation, business cooperation, joint ventures and associations among organizations and individuals. Participating parties may only share profits, and the fundraising period runs no longer than the project schedule, that is, to Q4 2030. The scope proposed covers more than 4,000 ha of land that Hanoi handed over in early October, of which about 1,200 ha is for housing.VnExpress
"Profit sharing only" is the most important detail for anyone considering putting money in. A contribution or cooperation contract under this plan gives the contributor a right to project profits. It does not give a right to a specific home.
What the letter does not open: the right to sell homes off-plan
Selling housing that is not yet built is a separate procedure under the 2023 Law on Real Estate Business. Housing can be marketed only once it meets conditions on land-use rights, a building permit or construction-start notice, and, for apartments, completion of the foundation.LSVN The developer must notify the Department of Construction, which replies in writing for each product.
The law also caps how much buyers pay early: a developer may take a deposit of no more than 5% of the sale price, and only once the housing is eligible for sale.VietnamFinance
Letter 23754/SXD-QLN is not part of that procedure. It confirms eligibility to raise capital under the Housing Law, not a notice that housing is eligible for sale under the Law on Real Estate Business. So as of now there is no basis to say housing in the project has gone on sale.
For buyers, the consequence is concrete. If someone offers a "contribution" or "reservation" with a promise of a specific home in this project, the document to ask for is the Department of Construction's notice that the home is eligible for sale. The 21 October letter cannot substitute for it.
What Vinhomes' cash flow on this project rests on
The project's funding currently has three layers, each with a different degree of certainty.
The layer already in hand: bonds. The VND 37,000 billion raised by 7 October is borrowed money, with interest and principal to repay. The press has not reported tenor, rate or issuer for each tranche. On Vinhomes' balance sheet, total borrowings at the end of Q2 2026 reached VND 215,508 billion, up from VND 146,323 billion at end-2025. These are consolidated figures for the whole company, not broken out for this project, so the increase cannot be attributed to it. They do show Vinhomes tying up a lot of capital in land bank and construction.
The layer just opened: capital contributions and cooperation. This is what the 21 October letter directly affects. The money is not debt, but profits must be shared with contributors. Actual size depends on how many organizations and individuals are willing to contribute, and no figures have been published.
The layer not yet here: home sales proceeds. This is the largest source over the long run, but it flows only once each product clears the eligibility procedure. No selling price, launch date or collection pace has been published.
Meanwhile, spending already has a schedule: Vinhomes' board has approved construction contracts with Vincons Windows and Vincons for the project, one of them provisionally valued at more than VND 67,000 billion.CafeF Housing revenue does not.
Where the risks sit
Land clearance. Per Nguoi Quan Sat, the People's Committee of Tam Hung commune has just announced the recovery of more than 14.5 ha in Bach Da and Phuong Thien hamlets, with surveying, compensation and resettlement expected in Q4 2026.Nguoi Quan Sat Recovery rounds still under way show clearance is not finished across the project boundary. No overall clearance rate has been published.
Schedule through Q4 2030. The fundraising period is tied to project progress. The centerpiece, VinFast Trong Dong stadium, is at the concrete-structure stage and due for full completion in July 2027.Nguoi Quan Sat No construction milestone has been announced for the housing zones. Each quarter of delay adds another quarter of bond interest while sales proceeds have not arrived.
Demand. About 1,200 ha of residential land is a very large block of supply entering southern Hanoi over a few years. How fast cash comes in depends on how many homes the market absorbs per batch and at what price. There is no data yet to measure this.
There is also an alternative reading. The consortium may not need to wait for retail sales if institutional partners contribute early through the cooperation formats the letter just opened. Cash would arrive faster, but the profit to be shared would be larger too. The available data does not say which way the consortium leans.
Which documents will show when housing cash starts to arrive
Letter 23754/SXD-QLN cleared one legal condition for housing capital. That is a necessary step, not a sufficient one. For Vinhomes, the project is currently spending running ahead of revenue, and the pace of revenue depends on paperwork not yet issued.
Signals worth watching:
- A Hanoi Department of Construction notice confirming housing in the project is eligible for sale. This is the document that allows sales and deposits of up to 5%, so only when it appears does buyer money have a legal basis to flow in.
- Vinhomes' Q3 and Q4 2026 financial statements. Two lines matter: total borrowings and customer advances. If borrowings keep rising while advances do not, the project is still running on debt.
- Land handover notices from the communes in the project, starting with the Tam Hung recoveries expected to finish in Q4 2026. Clean land is a precondition for a building permit, and a permit is one of the conditions to sell homes.
Until the first of those appears, the right reading of the 21 October letter is this: the project has gained another lawful door for raising capital, and the door to selling homes is still shut.