One of the yachts operated by Lux Group, which has signed a capital contribution agreement deal with a foreign business partner to jointly build three yachts in May, worth US$11 million – PHOTO: COURTESY OF LUX GROUP

HCMC – Lux Group, a Vietnamese travel and hospitality group, has signed a capital contribution agreement deal with a foreign business partner, who preferred anonymity, to jointly build three yachts in May, worth US$11 million.

According to Lux Group CEO Pham Ha, the two sides signed the deal onboard the Heritage Binh Chuan, one of the Group’s three operational yachts.

Under the deal, 30% of the total capital to build the yachts that will be operated in Nha Trang of Khanh Hoa Province, Lan Ha Bay in Haiphong City and Phu Quoc Island off Kien Giang Province will be contributed by the Lux Group and the remainder will be financed by the partner.

Each yacht in Nha Trang and Phu Quoc has some 200 seats, offering sightseeing tours to tourists, excluding overnight services. The yacht in Lan Ha Bay will have 20 cabins and offer sight-seeing and overnight services.

“We are carrying out essential procedures so that the partner can contribute the first part of the capital,” he told the Saigon Times on April 4 .

The yachts in Nha Trang and Phu Quoc are expected to be put into service by the end of this year, while the one in Lan Ha Bay is slated for operation in 2022. By 2025, the partner is set to inject additional capital to build new ships.

The Group decided to expand its business by implementing this deal to serve both the international and domestic markets, as it forecast that there is much room for yacht tourism to grow further, Ha added.

Before Covid-19, the Lux Group’s yachts mainly served international tourists. Since last year, the international segment was suspended due to the pandemic and the Group switched to tapping the domestic segment and realized it had potential for strong growth, according to the Lux Group CEO.

For instance, despite the impact of the public health crisis, the Heritage Binh Chuan made an average 25 trips per month last year. Further, its yachts are currently fully booked on the weekends. The Group has also launched 10,000 vouchers with discounts of 40% to attract local tourists to book yacht trips departing from now till mid-2022.