“To my surprise, CDL pumped in US$20m!”: How God used a small Singapore company to pull together a multimillion dollar deal for affordable housing in Vietnam

After successfully listing Olive Tree Estates in 2017, the managing partner of Providence Capital Management Daniel Long received an impression from God that Olive Tree should be repurposed as a social impact company to provide social and affordable housing to the masses in emerging markets.

In addition, this housing model was to also offer education, healthcare and social services as part of a holistic solution to uplift lives and build community.

Undertaking such a project would be almost impossible, Daniel thought.

However, he knew that such a tall order had to be from the Lord.

After three months of walking the ground and assessing potential partnerships, Daniel and his team feared that they would not be able to find a partner that was both trustworthy and had excellent ground execution capability.

Soon after he “gave up”, God showed up and delivered the partner of their dreams on a silver platter to them: NHO, run by a group Christian Koreans.

In June 2018, NHO’s executive director Kim Kyoo Chul extended an unusual invitation to Olive Tree Estates to participate in four of its ongoing projects on a cost-to-cost basis.

In order to join in, Olive Tree and Providence would have to raise USD$30 million for the projects.  

“I felt it was impossible,” he said. “Olive Tree had not much capital and Providence did not have the track record in Vietnam nor the asset class experience in affordable housing to persuade investors to put in the money.

“I wrote off our chances.”

(Read the whole of Part One here.)

Daniel had low hopes for joining in NHO’s housing projects, but God was not done.

One day, Charlotte, a friend from church told Daniel about a vivid and unusual dream she had of him.

In the dream, Daniel was at an event with Natalie, a bespectacled youth leader. He introduced Natalie to everyone and encouraged those around him to support her. As Daniel lobbied for people to attend the event, God reminded him that He is the Lord of hosts and that He would bring in the guests. All Daniel had to do was to “cook”.

“Charlotte had no clue what the dream meant and asked me for insight. My only impression at that time ­– strange as it may seem – was that the bespectacled Natalie was actually Kim,” said Daniel.

Daniel’s church friend Charlotte who shared her dream of him with him.

A few weeks after he returned from Vietnam, Daniel happened to have a coffee catch up session with a friend, Sherman Kwek, the group chief executive officer of City Developments Limited, a multi-billion dollar market-cap property developer in Singapore.

The two friends had never talked business before, but when Sherman asked him what he was up to, Daniel brought him up to speed with the latest developments that involved Olive Tree, NHO and the “crazy” Koreans.

Sherman’s associate, Andrew (a former intern at Providence’s and Daniel’s ex-Sunday school kid) reached out to Daniel and revealed that following their coffee session, Sherman was keen to find out more about the housing projects.

This resulted in Daniel sharing further about the projects with CDL a month later.

During this time, Daniel continued looking for investors to raise the requisite USD$30 million in order to participate in NHO’s offer.

“I did not panic over raising funds because to me it was impossible to be done. We didn’t even broach the topic of the US$30 million fundraising with the property developer team because in my mind, it was impossible for their company to support us,” admitted Daniel.

After his sharing, the interest from the CDL team was piqued and they wanted to visit NHO in Ho Chi Minh City to explore a new market for potential investments.

In September 2018, the CDL team visited NHO and NHO’s North Vietnam projects in Ha Long Bay and Haiphong.

Sherman Kwek (third from right) and his CDL team, with Daniel, in North Vietnam in the September of 2018.

Sherman was so moved and impressed by NHO’s achievements and purpose that he told Kim that he wanted to significantly enhance NHO’s impact and footprint in Vietnam through massive financial support.

The Korean’s reply was unexpected.

Daniel related: “Kim told him that one billion or two billion (dollars) is not important to them. What’s important is that they follow hard after Jesus and do what He tells them to do.

“Kim added that it is far more important for him that Sherman gives his heart to Jesus.

“In the marketplace, as we know it, we have never met anyone who would be willing to priortise the well-being of a person’s soul over extremely significant financial support.

“This was a very special moment where everyone was able to glean the heart of the Koreans and what drove them.”

Kim told Sherman that he should “try” to get to know Jesus and teased that in the meantime, he and NHO would work with Olive Tree instead.

Daniel found Kim’s response astounding, given that Olive Tree had comparatively no financial resources at that point in time, compared to Sherman’s CDL.

Sherman Kwek (second from left) was moved by NHO’s social housing projects in Vietnam. NHO is run by Kim (front, on the right). Daniel is sitting next to him at this dinner gathering in Vietnam.

So much money in so little time

Though his offer of financial support was turned down by NHO, Sherman indicated his desire to help Daniel and Olive Tree when they returned to Singapore.

But Daniel had doubts.

“Once again, the word ‘impossible’ came into my mind. Why would he help us, seeing that his company had no pre-existing relationship with Olive Tree and NHO? Would his board even agree? And why would the company agree to take a passive stake in our fund for the housing projects when they are often a pro-active investor that takes the leading role in real estate developments and investments?” 

Daniel and his team were informed that Sherman was willing to stand behind a US$20 million commitment to Olive Tree’s Emerging Markets Affordable Housing Fund (EMAHF), pending board approval.

It was a complete surprise to Daniel. “I didn’t expect them to secure the necessary board approval for the proposed investment in EMAHF.

“But Zechariah 4:6 was about to come alive again,” he said. 

The CDL board approved the US$20 million investment in EMAHF at the first sitting and soon after that, additional investors added on to bring EMAHF’s fundraising to US$29 million.

Daniel with Terrance (his Providence’s co-managing partner), alongside Kim and his Korean NHO colleagues and Sherman (Group CEO of CDL) at CDL’s diamond jubilee celebrations in 2023.

It was clear God was in this with Daniel and his team. Their journey was signposted with miraculous opportunities, unmerited favour and all manner of confirmations.

The same month Olive Tree received its funding from CDL, Daniel received a photo from a friend.

Pastor Song Tjoa was a former venture capitalist who was an investor in Providence’s first fund back in 2007.

The pastor had suddenly sent Daniel a picture of himself with the Koreans from NHO, and asked him if he knew of them.

As it turned out, one of Pastor Song’s church members in Vietnam had introduced him to the Koreans. Daniel met up with the pastor and shared with him the story of how NHO had miraculously become Olive Tree’s local partner in Vietnam and how they had amazingly received commitments for US$29 million to date.

Two months later, Pastor Song agreed to round up the funding to the target amount of USD$30 million.

“I was ecstatic,” said Daniel.

“Providence has never raised so much money in such a short space of time to support investments in a product class and in a geography where we have absolutely no track record as fund managers.

“When the investment agreements were signed, the doubting Thomas within me started to really believe that God was standing solidly behind the mission of Olive Tree Estates and NHO.

“God kept showing up again and again through Zechariah 4:6 moments,” he marvelled.

In January 2019, after EMAHF had successfully raised US$30m, Daniel spoke to Kim over the phone.

“I jokingly told him that the ‘baby and intern’ has graduated and that maybe he can and should regard us as a value-adding partner from here on,” he related.

Kim laughed and told him that the reason why he offered the four projects to them on such preferred terms was not because he saw them as a partner but because he regarded them as brothers-in-Christ.

Daniel with his Korean partners at a NHO’s New Year party in Ho Chi Minh City in 2020. On the far right is Kim.

A covenantal partnership, a vision come to pass 

Shortly after Olive Tree managed to raise USD$30 million, Daniel met his church friend Charlotte again.

She happened to remember the dream she had of him and asked him if she had told him Natalie’s family name. Daniel said no.

“Charlotte told me that in the dream, she somehow knew that Natalie’s surname is Ho. My jaw dropped and my heart skipped a beat,” he related.

“Suddenly, everything made sense: Natalie’s initials were NHO.”

Truly, Olive Tree and Daniel’s journey had nothing to do with might or power. It was all orchestrated by the Spirit of God.

“With the benefit of hindsight, I think what God was saying was that I should let go of the feeling that I needed to bring in all the guests to support Natalie (NHO),” Daniel said.

“God, as the event host, would bring in the guests and all I needed was to stay in the kitchen and cook for the guests (managing the meetings, paperwork etc).

“Indeed, it was the Lord who brought the investors in and raised the money for us to partner with NHO to do the work and mission in Vietnam,” he added.

In March 2019, the covenant partnership agreement between Olive Tree Estates, NHO and EMAHF to invest in four projects to build over 6,000 affordable homes in Vietnam was signed.

Signing of the covenant partnership agreement between Olive Tree, NHO and EMAHF to invest in four projects to build over 6,000 affordable homes in Vietnam.

Daniel (centre) with Kim and the other Koreans and representatives from CDL reviewing a parcel of land for purchase.

To date, around 1,500 apartments and townhouses have been built. Four family resource centres and two kindergartens have also been established alongside the housing developments.

The completed affordable housing development in Ha Long Bay, where a two-bedder sells for about US$50,000. It even has a sky gym and an infinity pool.

Their holistic impact and outreach solution calls for community amenities and services such as family centres in as many of their estates as possible.

Olive Tree Estates’ social impact advisory board member John Ang training undergraduates at Sunshine Kindergarten at NHO’s social housing estate in Thanh Loc, Ho Chi Minh City.

Daniel bringing a group of Singaporeans – including Pastor Eugene Seow, his wife and Radion International’s Eugene Wee and his wife – to visit Sunshine Kindergarten (their second kindergarten), earlier this year.

In 2022, another US$40 million was raised for a second fund to support the work in Vietnam. Over the next decade, the Olive Tree and NHO collaboration will see more than 26,000 affordable homes being built.

Signing of another USD$40 million agreement in 2022.

Olive Tree Estates partners with the University of Labour and Social Affairs in Ho Chi Minh City, bringing in expertise for social work training.

Daniel believes that God has a redemptive plan for business and the marketplace.

Along the wide spectrum of spending and giving, he said that people, investors and consumers largely understand profit maximisation to be one end of the arc and charity on the other.

“Well-meaning believers in positions of authority have encouraged me to pivot Olive Tree’s business model, to focus on maximising profit. They suggest that such profit can then be paid out as dividends to shareholders who will then decide how to deploy these funds for charitable and philanthropic purposes,” said Daniel.

“But I believe God does care for what occupies the middle ground ­– the Olive Trees of the world where businesses are forces for good and change.

“These are businesses where profit that is generated is not maximised but rather, optimised because emphasis is placed on addressing pressing social and environmental issues, concerns and problems.

“But for these middle-ground enterprises to succeed, investors and consumers need to support them,” he added.

He hopes that believers will move some of the capital that they have allocated to invest in profit-maximising companies to creative enterprises which prioritise transformational impact and holistic returns. 

At an affordable housing conference organised by the World Bank and the Indonesian Government, Daniel presented Olive Tree Estate’s affordable housing and community development proposition.

The launch of the third family centre at NHO’s social housing estate in An Giang province.

Daniel in the reading section of one of their family centres.

Although Daniel experienced open doors and confirmations that he was on the right track, “we (Olive Tree) had to contend with all manner of trials and challenges from 2020 to the present.

“To be honest, hardly a day goes by without me telling God that the burden is simply too heavy to bear,” he admitted.

“But I am reminded that His strength is made perfect in my weakness.”

Some of the challenges they faced include COVID exacerbating project delays and lengthening investment horizon for their investors, facing massive delays in obtaining permits due to land law reform, as well as political uncertainty in Vietnam that caused greater gridlock and difficulty in securing approvals.

Daniel said: “I don’t know what the future holds for Olive Tree, though I hope ours and NHO’s impact footprint will scale to new countries.

“What I do know is how God had walked with us through mountain highs and valleys low.

“What if the whole point of this journey was to train us in obedience and to refine us? Would that be enough for me?

“And if every effort comes to nought, all investments fail and the world see us as failures, shouldn’t we be at peace if we know that we have sought to be faith-filled and faithful throughout the journey?”

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