A Qatari sovereign wealth fund has officially denied that it planned to spend US$800 million acquiring a Hanoi skyscraper that is the tallest in Vietnam.

The Qatar Investment Authority “has not attempted to buy the [Keangnam] Landmark 72 Tower,” a company spokesperson told Tuoi Tre News on Saturday.

English-language newspaper The Korea Herald reported on Thursday that the Doha-based firm, which specializes in domestic and foreign investment, has agreed to the $800 million price set for the acquisition of the 72-story building.

The South Korean newspaper cited “investment bankers and news reports” for its report.

But the Qatar Investment Authority spokesperson said such a report is false and the company denies all of other similar ones.

The fate of the Hanoi building, whose owner, South Korea’s Keangnam Enterprises, has been hit by a corruption scandal at home, thus remains unclear.

Different reports from South Korean media have previously said Qatar Investment Authority and Goldman Sachs have shown interest in buying the Keangnam Landmark 72, built at a cost of $1.03 billion but now reportedly valued at $770 million.

Opened in October 2011, Keangnam Landmark 72, fully known as the Keangnam Hanoi Landmark Tower, consists of one 72-story office tower with a height of 350 meters and two 48-story residential towers.

Keangnam Enterprises still owes bank loans totaling 530 billion won ($48.62 million), according to South Korean media.

Former head of Keangnam Enterprises Sung Wan-jong killed himself in mid-April over a corruption scandal involving many top South Korean politicians.

Keangnam Vina, which operates the Hanoi skyscraper, was involved in window dressing the accounting books to hide mounting debts during its construction, according to The Korea Economic Daily.

A Keangnam Vina representative told Vietnamese newswire VnExpress on Thursday the sale of the Keangnam Landmark 72 tower does not have anything to do with its two 48-story residence towers, whose apartments have already found buyers.

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