Credit Rating Result
Hanoi, 09 October 2026 - Vietnam Investors Service and Credit Rating Agency Joint Stock Company (VIS Rating) has assigned a BBB- long-term issuer rating to Century Land Joint Stock Company (short name: CRE). The outlook for CRE’s BBB- issuer rating is stable. This is the first time VIS Rating has assigned a rating to CRE.
The rating presented in this announcement is effective from the date of the announcement and remains in effect unless and until it is superseded by a subsequent rating action. Please visit https://visrating.com/rating-results to obtain the latest update on the rating.
SUMMARY OF KEY FACTORS
| Extremely Weak |
Very Weak |
Weak | Below- Average |
Average | Above- Average |
Strong | Very Strong |
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|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stand-alone Assessment | ▲ | |||||||
| Scale | ▲ | |||||||
| Business Profile | ▲ | |||||||
| Profitability & Efficiency | ▲ | |||||||
| Leverage & Coverage | ▲ |
| Other consideration | Negative | Neutral | Positive |
|---|---|---|---|
| Liquidity | ▲ |
| Low | Moderate | High | Very High | Extremely High | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Affiliate support | ▲ | ||||
| Government support | ▲ |
Rating rationale
CRE’s BBB- long-term issuer credit rating reflects its ‘Average’ standalone assessment, underpinned by its ‘Average’ scale and business profile, Average’ profitability and efficiency, and ‘Below-Average’ leverage and coverage profile.
Established in 2001, CRE is one of Vietnam’s leading real estate brokerage and distribution companies. The company provides primary market brokerage, project research and marketing services, and undertakes secondary real estate investments, leveraging an extensive sales network and relationships with residential property developers nationwide. Management says that from 2026 onward, CRE plans to expand into residential project development by acquiring and developing greenfield projects for sale to homebuyers.
While brokerage was CRE’s largest revenue contributor in 2024–2025, secondary real estate investment and project development will become its key earnings drivers over the next two years. Project development will be the company’s primary focus, accounting for most capital expenditure, borrowings, and cash flow going forward. Accordingly, we consider residential real estate to be CRE’s core business.
CRE’s ‘Average’ Business Profile reflects our view of its ‘Average’ Industry Profile of the residential real estate sector and ‘Average’ Competitive Position and Diversification.
The residential real estate industry in Vietnam is characterized by high barriers to entry, average competition and volatility, and a moderate growth outlook. Developers in the sector operate in a highly regulated environment and undertake project development work that is both time-consuming and highly capital-intensive.
We view sector growth as moderate, supported by rising project approvals and continued expansion of transportation infrastructure in major cities and suburban areas. However, tighter financing conditions and weakening demand have constrained growth since Q2/2026.
CRE’s ‘Average’ Competitive Position and Diversification reflects its established market position as one of Vietnam’s largest real estate brokers and its vertical integration in the real estate business from landbank acquisition, project development, commercialization, and property management. The assessment also incorporates CRE’s track record of legal delays across some invested projects and its limited project development experience.
CRE is one of Vietnam’s leading real estate brokers, with an estimated market share of 34% in Hanoi and 15% in Ho Chi Minh City. Its nationwide sales network, online property platform – cenhomes.vn, and longstanding relationships with large developers support its brokerage and secondary distribution businesses. CRE also provides project research, marketing, and sales strategy services. Going forward, we view these sales and marketing capabilities as supporting the growth of its residential development business.
CRE has moderately diversified income streams. In addition to brokerage and secondary investment, the company has expanded into property leasing, property management, vocational training, and workforce supply services. However, these businesses contribute only a small share of revenue. We expect the project development business will further improve CRE’s business diversification going forward.
However, CRE’s execution track record in property development remains limited. Its key projects, including Lilaha Complex (Hanoi) and Khe Cat (Quang Ninh) are at early stages of development and have yet to demonstrate execution and sales performance. We therefore expect its transition into residential development to be gradual.
In addition, CRE has consistently underperformed its business plans over the past four years, primarily due to legal delays in secondary investment projects such as Louis City Hoang Mai and Hoa Tien Paradise. Management says these issues have been resolved, allowing project sales and revenue recognition to begin in 2026.
Over 2023-2025, CRE generated revenue of VND 1-1.5 trillion, mainly from brokerage and secondary investment, reflecting ‘Average’ scale. Over the next 12–18 months, we expect revenue to remain around VND2 trillion annually, supported by contributions from the Louis City Hoang Mai project and Khe Cat, which should offset weaker brokerage revenue.
CRE’s ‘Average’ Profitability and Efficiency score is indicated by a consolidated EBITDA (Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation, and Amortization) margin of 12-14% in 2026-2027. Higher margins from real estate investment and development activities will offset brokerage compression from slower market conditions.
We assess CRE’s leverage and coverage as ‘Below-Average’, reflecting its ‘Above-Average’ Leverage but ‘Weak’ Coverage scores.
CRE’s leverage, indicated by Debt/EBITDA, is expected to rise from 4.3x in 2024-2025 to an average of 6.7x in 2026-2027. Before 2026, CRE mainly relied on short-term borrowing to finance working capital needs in its brokerage business. Since Q3/2026, the company has raised new long-term bonds and bank loans to fund acquisition and construction capital expenditure (CAPEX) of VND 3 trillion in its project development pipeline in 2026-2027. Higher debt is partly offset by increasing EBITDA, driving CRE’s leverage to be broadly stable and in line with the sector average.
CRE’s ‘Weak’ coverage reflects persistently negative operating cash flow (CFO) due to project acquisitions and development spending that have yet to generate cash inflows. We expect CFO/Debt to further deteriorate to -30% in 2026-2027 from -13% in 2024–2025. We also expect interest coverage (EBIT/interest expense) to decline to an average of 2.25x in 2026–2027, below the peer average of 2.5x, reflecting higher borrowing costs to fund project development.
We assess CRE’s liquidity over the next 12–18 months as tight, reflecting significant CAPEX requirements, negative CFO, and reliance on short-term credit facilities to finance its brokerage business. Management says the company will mitigate liquidity pressure by using bank credit lines, collecting receivables from business cooperation contracts, and issuing long-term debt to fund capex.
We do not factor in any potential external support from related entities or the government in meeting its debt obligations.
The outlook on CRE’s long-term issuer rating is stable, reflecting our view that its credit fundamentals will remain stable over the next 12-18 months.
Factors That Could Lead to an Upgrade/Downgrade
Rating methodology
Non-Financial Corporates Rating Methodology.
For more detailed information, please refer to our full credit rating methodology at: here
Credit rating history
| Date | Rating type | Rating | Outlook | Action |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 09 October 2026 | Long-term issuer credit rating | BBB- | Stable | First-time assignment |
Regulatory disclosures
For further specification of VIS Rating's Rating Symbols and Definitions, please see: here
CRE’s ownership stake in VIS Rating: 0%
The ownership ratio of CRE held by VIS Rating’s staff: 0%
Cases in which analysts and credit rating council members cease their participation in the credit rating contract before the contract expires and the reason for the cessation: 0
VIS Rating adheres to a stringent independence policy by current regulations governing the provision of credit rating services in Vietnam. This commitment extends to compliance with our conflicts-of-interest policy, aiming to uphold objectivity and independence when expressing opinions on credit ratings.
The rating has been disclosed to the rated entity or its designated agent(s) and issued with no amendment resulting from that disclosure.
This rating is solicited.
Regulatory disclosures contained in this rating announcement apply to the credit rating and, if applicable, the related rating outlook or rating review.
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Analyst & Committee
Primary Analysts
Rating Committee Members
Credit Rating Announcement Number
Public credit rating announcement no: VN0101160306-001-091026
Disclaimer
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