VinaLand Limited (VNL)

14 November 2011 

VinaLand Limited

Change to composition of Board of Directors

The Board of Directors ("the Board") of VinaLand Limited ("the Company" or "VNL"), an investment company established to target Vietnam's emerging real estate market, announces the following changes to the composition of the Board, effective from 11 November 2011:

·     Mr. Don Lam and Mr. Robert Gordon have resigned as directors of the Company.

·     The Board welcomes Messrs. Michel Casselman, Stanley Chou and Charles Isaac as new Independent Non-executive directors.

The appointment of the three new directors to the Board brings the total number of VNL Board members to seven.

Commenting on the resignations, Mr. Nicholas Brooke, Chairman of the Company, said: "The Board and the Investment Manager would like to express their sincere gratitude to Robert and Don for their significant contributions. Both have served VNL admirably. We are pleased to welcome the three new Board members as we remain focused on enhancing the performance of the Company."

Robert Gordon joined the Board in 2009 and chaired the Company's Nomination and Remuneration Committee, among his other duties. Don Lam served on the Board since the Company's inception in 2006. As the CEO of VinaCapital, VNL's Investment Manager, Mr. Lam will continue to have an active role in the management of the Company.

Commenting on the appointments, Mr. Brooke said, "Our decision to review the composition of the Board was made with the intention to further strengthen the Board's independence from the Management and maintain the level of professional experience, while also bringing new viewpoints and knowledge to help deal with the challenges facing the fund."

"The extensive experience and skills of the new Board members will be instrumental in further improving the oversight and governance of the Company, and crafting the strategies that will further allow the fund to generate and return value to shareholders," he added.

Under the Articles of Association of the Company there is a cap on Directors' remuneration of US$150,000. Until such time as this cap is increased following the successful passing of the relevant resolution at a future general meeting, VinaCapital Group, the Investment Manager of VNL has undertaken to fund, without cost to VNL, any shortfall in total Directors' remuneration following the change of composition of the Board.

Notes to Editors:

Charles Isaac

Charles John Walter Isaac, aged 39, is Managing Partner and Fund Manager at B&I Capital AG which he co-founded in 2007. B&I Capital AG manages funds that invest in listed Asian real estate securities. Previously, he was Senior Fund Manager and member of Senior Management at Swisscanto Asset Management, and at Paribas Asia Equity (UK) Ltd. He has 18 years experience in fund management and real estate investment, and started his career at the private client division at Merrill Lynch in London. Mr. Isaac is a CFA charter holder, holds an MSc in Investment Management from City University Business School, an undergraduate degree in Psychology from the University of Newcastle upon Tyne, and the IIMR Investment Management Certificate.

Mr. Isaac's current and past directorships and partnerships

Mr, Isaac is interested in 83,000 ordinary shares in the Company

Michel Casselman

Michel Joris Carline Casselman, aged 44, is a Partner at Leeward, a private equity asset manager investing in SMEs in the Benelux and northern France. Before joining Leeward, he worked for 13 years for Petercam SA, where he started in 1998 as a financial analyst and had several roles with the company, most recently as Director of Petercam Services responsible for private equity investments. In this role he managed or directed investments in aviation and renewable energy, as well as investments in listed private equity funds in Asia (China, India and Vietnam). Mr. Casselman has almost 20 years of experience, including five years at a technology firm, now part of Oracle, where he started as a consultant and left as Director of Consulting Services. He holds two Masters degrees, in Mechanical Engineering and Financial Economics, from the University of Leuven in Belgium.

Mr. Casselman's current and past directorships and partnerships

Mr Casselman is interested in 145,500 ordinary shares in the Company.

Mr Casselman was formerly a non-executive director of New Paragon Investments Limited ("NPIL"), a company incorporated in Hong Kong.  Mr Casselman resigned from the board of NPIL on 22 June 2010 and subsequently, on 16 May 2011, NPIL was placed into a Creditors' Voluntary Liquidation.

Stanley Y.C.Chou

Stanley Yu Chung Chou, aged 40, is Managing Director of SCA International Ltd and Lufin Asia Pacific Ltd, both investment advisory firms based in Hong Kong. Previously, he was with the private equity group of Fidelity Capital (Far East) Ltd, and the leverage finance group of Paribas Merchant Bank. He began his career at Chase Manhattan Bank in New York. Mr. Chou holds an MBA from Stanford University and a BA from Dartmouth College.

Mr. Chou's current and past directorships and partnerships

There is no other information that is required to be disclosed pursuant to Schedule 2 paragraph (g) of the AIM Rules

Notes to Editors:

VinaCapital is the leading investment management and real estate development firm in Vietnam, with a diversified portfolio of USD1.7 billion in assets under management. VinaCapital manages three closed-end funds trading on the AIM Market of the London Stock Exchange. These funds are: VinaCapital Vietnam Opportunity Fund Limited (VOF), VinaLand Limited (VNL), and Vietnam Infrastructure Limited (VNI). VinaCapital also co-manages the USD32 million DFJ VinaCapital L.P. technology venture capital fund with Draper Fisher Jurvetson.

 
VinaCapital has offices in Ho Chi Minh City, Hanoi, Danang, Nha Trang, Phnom Penh (Cambodia) and Singapore. More information about VinaCapital is available at www.vinacapital.com.

More information on VinaLand Limited is available at www.vinacapital.com/vnl

Enquiries:

Michael L. Gray

VinaCapital Investment Management Limited

Investor Relations/Communications

+84 8 821 9930

michael.gray@vinacapital.com

Philip Secrett

Grant Thornton Corporate Finance, Nominated Adviser

+44 (0)20 7383 5100

philip.j.secrett@uk.gt.com

Hiroshi Funaki

LCF Edmond de Rothschild Securities, Broker

+44 (0)20 7845 5960

funds@lcfr.co.uk  

David Benda / Hugh Jonathan

Numis Securities Limited, Broker

+44 (0)20 7260 1000

d.benda@numiscorp.com

Mark Walters

FTI Consulting, Public Relations (Hong Kong)

+852 3716 9802

mark.walters@fticonsulting.com 

Andrew Walton

FTI Consulting, Public Relations (London)

+44 (0)20 7269 7204

andrew.walton@fticonsulting.com