Korea's virtual asset exchange Bithumb is pushing ahead with a luxury resort development in Vietnam, but all three of its local representative offices have been shut down, records show. Bithumb purchased the resort site in 2022, but is said to have faced difficulties in actual development.
According to the virtual asset industry on the 12th, Bithumb founder Lee Jeong-hun's Bithumb A is pursuing a resort development in Hoi An, Vietnam, through its subsidiary Asia Estate. Asia Estate has the Vietnamese local company Gold Burger Company as a subsidiary, and that company in turn owns Golden Sand Service & Trading Company as a subsidiary. As of the end of September last year, Asia Estate held 57.5 billion won in assets but had no sales.
Gold Burger's representative office appears to have been closed. According to the Vietnamese corporate information search site "Masothue," Gold Burger's address is registered on the third floor of a five-star hotel in Da Nang. The representative office is listed as "business operations have ceased and the tax identification number cancellation process has been completed."
Golden Sand Service, a subsidiary of Gold Burger, lists the resort under development by Bithumb as its address. However, after the resort ceased operations in 2017, it was left so unattended that outsiders could come and go without being stopped. In a video posted by a foreign YouTuber in Dec. 2024, the pool water was black with rot, showing a lack of maintenance. Last year, part of the abandoned structure was found to have been demolished.
Both of Golden Sand Service's representative offices in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City have also halted operations. The heads of the offices are presumed to be local Vietnamese nationals, not Koreans.
Since 2022, Bithumb has invested hundreds of billions of won through Asia Estate, but is said to have faced difficulties in actual development. A virtual asset industry official said, "Vietnam is a communist country, so it is difficult for a foreign company to invest directly. It appears that establishing local partnerships will be necessary for proper development and investment."
The reason Bithumb was able to pursue a resort development unrelated to its core business is the lack of regulation. Banks and comprehensive financial companies are prohibited under the Banking Act and the Financial Investment Services and Capital Markets Act from acquiring or owning real estate other than business-use property.
Regarding Gold Burger's representative office, Bithumb A said, "The newly changed representative office is currently operating normally," and added, "We are in the basic design approval stage, carrying out site preparation as planned, have completed the demolition of existing structures, and are in the process of preparing for groundbreaking."