EasyPropertyInfo.com - HCM Offices

MARKET IN FREE-FALL : Office rents have plunged by up to 50% and the trend is tipped to continue as belt tightening and office construction ensure that supply far outstrips demand. Top quality office space rents had fallen from a peak at the beginning of 2008 of USD$70/sqm to @USD$45 and could go down as far as USD$15 in our opinion (back to 1999 levels and in-line with other regional cities). Rentals at Grade B space has similarly fallen from around USD$45/sqm to USD$25-USD$40 and Grade C rental from USD$40-USD$25/sqm. These rentals do not include Service Charge or VAT. Some 1.25m sqm of new office space is predicted to come into the market in 2009. Most MNC (multinationals) have their head offices in Bangkok, Singapore or Hong Kong and have only a handfull of expats. The largest (exluding insurance and financial services) lease @400sqm with the vast majority in units of 100-200sqm. Vietnamese companies much prefer to lease houses or Grade D-E space. Thus, one can see what an enormous glut of space is about to hit the market - much of it built off expected rentals of at least USD$30/sqm.

It should be emphasised that landlords increasingly are, and will continue to "mask" the down turn in rentals by offering ever increasing incentives. Some landlords are already offering 6 month rent free in a vain attempt to maintain "Headline" or quoted rentals are riddiculously artificially high levels.

The office rental market over the past 10 years can be characterized as 5 years of development inactivity, and 5 years (on-going) of development frenzie. Thus, until @2005 there was excess supply with steady demand, until fully occupancy was reached in most of international standard buildings, whereafter rents steeply increased to the point where Ho Chi Minh City became one of the most expensive office locations in the world (let alone Asia).

What is a Grade A building? Different companies have different criteria for classifying Grades A-C. We think such a distinction is too narrow for Vietnam since some "Grade C" buildings were not designed as office buildings (eg Harbour View was designed as a hotel; OSIC & Han Nam as apartments), and / or meet no international standards and can even be described as dangerous. Hence, we use 5 : Grades A-E. This allows us to distinguish the "good" ie genuine "institutional" standard (like the Metropolitan), from others, such as Me Linh Point Tower and Centec (poor design / layout or outside of District 1 / CBD). Grade C buildings, whilst being "investment grade" are deficient in other respects, either in sub-urban locations like e-Town or without any parking like Bitexco. Grade D buildings will typically be built to some national standards, but like OSIC otherwise deficient. Grade E buildings are in some cases just dangerous, like the Saigon Jewelry Company's International Trade Centre (ITC) which caught fire and killed almost 100 AIA staff in 2002. We believe that this is the only suitable way to grade properties since no matter how good a building, if it is miles away from the CBD it can never be considered to be the of equivalent of an identical property in a down-town location eg Phu My Hung or Me Dinh in Hanoi.

The last few years has seen an ever increasing amount of new stock being developed, including several “prime” Grade A buildings that have recently or are about to open, such as Asiana Plaza, Vincom Towers, Bitexco Financial Tower and M&C Tower, and many more about to commence construction.

Given the relatively small amount of stock actually required it can be argued that there is already a glut of space (with large vacancies at many of the newly opened buildings), a situation which will be exacerbated as time passes, since most (small) Vietnamese companies prefer either Grade D/E accommodation, or to lease whole shop-houses. The larger Vietnamese companies such as the banks or State Owned Enterprises (and affiliates) typically prefer to develop their own buildings, utilizing their connections to access both land and loans. Most foreign companies have relatively small operations with head office typically being in Hong Kong, Singapore, or Bangkok, so average office size is less than 200sqm (often less than 100sqm). Consequently, it is difficult to envisage a point in time in the short to medium term whereby the better office buildings that have and which are being developed will be able to achieve desired, anticipated, or even financially required occupancy levels. The situation is and will increasingly exacerbated by both the plethora of Grade C/D office buildings which have and continue to appear in secondary and sub-urban locations. Many of these are being developed by land owners who are seeking more profitable uses than coffee-shops / light industrial. Consequently, they do not have to shoulder the burden of acquiring what is relatively expensive land (in regional and global terms). By contrast construction costs are relatively cheap.

There is also growing interest from foreign developers, several of whom have expressed interest in bidding for about half-a-dozen “golden land” prime site set to be auctioned by the local government, and in the 770 hectare Thu Thiem peninsula the other side of the river from Saigon. Estimates show millions of square meteres of office space under planning.

The impact of the numerous smaller Grade C/D office buildings that have and continue to appear is already being felt on the market, though Grade A/B landlords remain reluctant to cut rents.

In our opinion office rentals will fall to at least the levels of Bangkok & Kuala Lumpar of @USD$15 + VAT + Service Charge for Grade A accommodation, which infact is where they were in Ho Chi Minh City between 1999-2004. We think this will happen much quicker than most agents forecast, principally because of the continuous increase in (many cases good “international quality”) Grade C/D stock, coupled with the requirement for the local landlord’s to fill it to pay off expensive, short-term banks loans (typically for less than 10 year terms at @15% per annum).

GRADE A OFFICES

Most Grade A buildings were constructed before the Asian economic crisis of 1997 mainly by Hong Kong and Singaporean investors and were ready for occupation by 1999 (except PetroVietnam Tower which remained a concrete skeleton). These 6 buildings provided a total net area of 120,000 sqm or some 30% of total market supply until @1998 when a large number of small or sub-urban buildings opened. The first building was completed in October 1996 (Saigon Centre). In the beginning of 2009 average occupancy remained over 95% but, along with rentals, was falling fast. Most of the Grade A buildings have floor plates of over 1,000 sqm and can accommodate large space users.

Grade A Office Buildings in the CBD

Name Foreign Partner From $m sq.m

Diamond Plaza Posco Engineering & Construction Co Ltd Korea 92* 19,722

Sunwah Tower Sunwah Group (bought out local partner) Hong Kong 46** 26,562

The Metropolitan Saigon Metropolitan Ltd BVI 43*** 29,315

Saigon Centre Keppel Land Watco Co Ltd***** Singapore 42**** 11,803

Saigon Tower Hong Kong Chiap Hua Grp Hong Kong 20 13,953

PetroVietnam Twr N/A Vietnamese 30 18,000

* Inc for 6,090sqm of aptmts (44 units) & 8,000sqm retail

** Inc 3,124sqm retail

*** Inc 823sqm retail

**** Inc 8,860sqm Sedona Suites (89 aptmts) & 6,265sqm retail

***** Dev by First Pacific Straits Land (Saigon) Ltd then sold to Keppel Land

Most of these buildings are Grade A and constructed before the Asian Financial Crisis in 1997 : -

Name Address District Completion GFA (sqm)

Diamond Plaza 34 Le Duan District 1 Feb-99 19,722

Sunwah Tower 115 Nguyen Hue District 1 Nov-97 26,562

The Metropolitan 61 Nguyen Du District 1 Dec-97 29,315

Saigon Centre 65 Le Loi District 1 Nov-96 11,803

Saigon Tower 29 Le Duan District 1 Jan-97 13,953

PetroVietnam 1-5 Le Duan District 1 Jul-07 18,000

1) Diamond Plaza is a mixed-use development comprising office, serviced apartment and retail space. Diamond Plaza has the largest floor plate in Ho Chi Minh City totaling 2,465 sq.m. However, the ceiling height of the office premises is only 2.52 metres and its curvy shape restricts the floor layout efficiency. Leasing started in late 1998.

2) Sun Wah Tower is located on Nguyen Hue Street near Saigon Prince Hotel and completed in November 1997. The building has a total gross office area of 26,562 sq.m. with ample floor plate of 1,475 sq.m.

3) The Metropolitan is possibly the best office building in Ho Chi Minh City and in Vietnam. Completed in December 1997, it has state-of-the art building management system, lifts, business and conference centre. The building has a power backup capacity at 150% of peak building load and a central UPS system. The Metropolitan has a total gross office space of 29,000 square meters with ground floor retail space. Typical building floor plate is 1,542 square meters

4) Saigon Centre was completed in late 1996 and was the first grade A office building built in Ho Chi Minh City. Good timing and good location at the city centre have helped secure a high occupancy rate of 98% since its opening. Besides the 9,500 sq.m. net area of office space, Saigon Centre also comprises the Sedona Suites Apartments with 89 apartments and some 6,000 sq.m. retail podium on the first 3 floors. Typical building floor plate is 1,073 square meters

5) Saigon Tower is located on Le Duan Street, just walking distance from the US, British and French Consulates. It is an 18-storey office building, providing 12,000 square metres of gross office space. Facilities include Regus Business Centre located on the 16th floor. Typical building floor plate is 954 square meters. The building has very good management services; however its floor layout is not large enough for some large tenants.

6) PetroVietnam Tower : In July PetroVietnam Tower finally opened opposite the zoo at the end of Le Duan, after almost a decade since the superstructure was built. Though hopelessly space inefficient, the stunning looking project was originally designed for Governmental Office's southern branch containing all the representative offices of the ministries in HCMC but plans changed and PetroVietnam Technical Service Company (PTSC) ended up with the half built property in 2002. The USD$30 million development consists of a 21 storey block and an 8 storey podium covering some 1.6 hectares. Naturally, PetroVietnam affiliates occupy several floors but other tenants include Microsoft, Qatar Airlines and Mercedes Benz.

In our opinion not enough people ("professional" property "experts") take account of real world tenants' actual demand or the fact they can and WILL happily accept good quality Grade B or even C space. Hence, our bleak outlook for rentals at "prime" buildings is : -

GRADE B & C & D OFFICES

Many of these office buildings completed construction in the mid-1990s before the onset of the Asian financial crisis. There are about 30 office buildings classified as Grade B and 30 classified as Grade C in Ho Chi Minh City, with a total supply of 200,000 sqm (gross floor area). Unlike the Grade A offices, the total gross office space of most of these Grade B and C buildings is less than 10,000 sqm and floor plate size is not more than 1,000 sqm. Grade C office buildings are mostly mid-rise structures of not more than 12 storeys and the GFA is less than 10,000 sqm or in sub-urban locations.

Grade B Buildings

Good quality modern office buildings which do no meet Grade A standards or are outside the CBD are classified as Grade B. Often Grade B and C office buildings do not have professional management, central air conditioning systems, inefficient floor plates or are too small.

Grade C Buildings

Most Grade B office projects have foreign joint venture partners, mostly Asian companies from Singapore, Hong Kong, Japan and Taiwan, while Grade C offices are often developed by local developers. The first generation of these office buildings were completed in the mid-1990s before the onset of the Asian financial crisis, but given the sky-high occupancies and rising rentals of 2003-8 many developers rushed to cash-in, even if their buildings were not in prime locations or too small. Unlike the Grade A offices, the total gross office space of most of these buildings is less than 10,000 sq.m. and floor plate size is not more than 1,000 sqm. Grade D office buildings are mostly mid-rise structures not more than 8 storeys and the GFA is less than 5,000 sq.m. Large space users in these buildings occupy a number of floors, and often do not have flexibility in their office layout because of the limited space available.

Grade D Buildings

Specifications of Several Grade B-D Office Buildings

Name Address From GFL ( sqm) NFL ( sqm) Floorplate No.Fls

Central Plaza 17 Le Duan Dec-97 6,300 5,540 630 10

Me Linh Point 2 Ngo Duc Ke Jun-99 20,000 14,400 952 21

Somerset ChancellorCt Nguyen Thi Minh Khai Sep-96 3,424 3,200 571 6

Saigon Riverside 2A-4A Ton Duc Thang Apr-97 11,827 9,768 657 18

Saigon Trade Center 37 Ton Duc Thang Jul-97 41,000 32,702 2,134 25

Landmark 5b Ton Duc Thang Feb-95 9,783 7,369 1,284 10

Harbour View 35 Nguyen Hue Dec-96 10,286 8,000 486 20

PDD 162 Pasteur Mar-95 3,070 2,700 300 11

YOCO building Nguyen Thi Minh Khai May-95 4,500 3,600 409 11

OSIC 8 Nguyen Hue Jul-93 9,950 6,500 711 14

BELCO Tower Nguyen Thi Minh Khai Nov-00 2,800 2,240 185 6

Cityview 12 Mac Dinh Chi Sep-96 1,228 966 409 3

Fiditourist Office Bldg 127-129 Nguyen Hue Aug-04 2,000 1,600 252 8

Hai Thanh Office Cntr 2 Thi Sach May-95 3,690 2,952 738 5

Han Nam officetel 65 Nguyen Du Jun-93 6,287 5,100 786 8

International Bus Cntr 1A Me Linh Square Sep-94 2,300 1,574 575 4

IDC 163 Hai Ba Trung Nov-96 1,932 1,642 193 10

Jardine House 58 Dong Khoi Aug-94 2,288 1,952 286 8

Kim Do Business Cntr 123 Le Loi Aug-96 2,100 1,880 250 5

Maison 180 Pasteur Feb-97 1,600 1,350 270 5

Modial Centre 203 Dong Khoi Feb-94 1,230 1,000 410 3

Montana 170 Hai Ba Trung Feb-95 3,100 2,400 300 8

Nhat Nam Plaza 56-58 Nguyen Trai Aug-99 3,780 2,400 600 4

Saigon Parkview 10 Truong Dinh May-02 2,438 1,950 195 10

Bitexco 19-25 Nguyen Hue Apr-05 7,500 6,000 300 20

Thien Son Office Bldg 5 Nguyen Gia Thieu Dec-07 6,000 4,800 472 7

Norfolk Mansion 17-19-21 Ly Tu Trong May-98 400 340 340 2

Partial List of Sub-Urban Office Buildings : -

Building Name Address GFL ( sqm) NFL ( sqm)

Broadway 1 Saigon South, District 7 2,550 2,275

Broadway 2 Saigon South, District 7 6,740 4,175

CMC Plaza 79b Ly Thuong Kiet, Tan Binh 3,600 3,200

E-Town 364 Cong Hoa, Tan Binh 29,000 29,000

Garden Plaza 311 Nguyen Van Troi, Phu Nhuan 1,300 1,300

Lawrence S. Ting Saigon South, District 7 12,500 10,165

Tecasin Business Center 243 Hoang Van Thu, Phu Nhuan 3,300 3,300

FORECAST

The total supply for the next 4 years will about 900,000 sqm as a result of about 90 buildings mainly in Districts 1 and 3. However, this is still less than in other major South East Asian cities such as Bangkok (more than 2.5m sqm), Manila's Makati City (2.6m sqm) or Jakarta (4m sqm).

Name Address Completion GFL ( sqm) NFL ( sqm)

A&B Building Le Lai, D1 2008 25,000 25,000

EVN Building 35 Ton Duc Thang, D1 2008 20,000 10,000

Him Lam Building Ba Son Shipyard, BT 2008 30,000 30,000

The Manor 2^nd Phase 91 Nguyen Huu Canh, BT 2008 10,000 10,000

SPN Office Building 72 Ng. Thi Minh Khai, D1 2008 16,000 16,000

Broadway 4^th Phase Saigon South, D7 2008 6,000 6,000

34 Ton Duc Thang 34 Ton Duc Thang, D1 2009 18,000 18,000

Times Square 22 - 36 Nguyen Hue, D1 2009 3,000 3,000

Vietcombank Tower Me Linh Square, D1 2009 50,000 30,000

Bitexco Financial Tower Ngo Duc Ke, D1 2009 70,000 70,000

Saigon Pearl 1^st Phase 92 Nguyen Huu Canh, BT 2009 25,000 25,000

Saigon Brewery Hai Ba Trung, D1 2010 25,000 25,000

SJC building Nam Ky Khoi Nghia, D1 2010 8,000 8,000

Saigon Pearl 2^nd Phase 92 Nguyen Huu Canh, BT 2010 30,000 30,000

Le Loi Plaza Le Loi, D1 2010 15,000 10,000

XI Park Tower Le Lai, D1 2010 21,600 21,600

Satra Commercial Ctre 39 Le Loi, D1 2010 36,000 36,000

Summary

The Financial Tower is invested by Bitexco, a local company on a plot of 5,200 sq.m one of the most beautiful site of the CBD. The projected cost for the building is about $100 million.

FOSCO Commercial Centre & Office Tower: The Service Company to Foreign Missions (Fosco) has said it plans to build a hi-rise International Commercial and Service Center at 64 Pho Duc Chinh Street in HCMC's District l and at 39 Nguyen Thi Minh Khai in District 3.

Teco Software Park: Taiwan’s Teco have proposed building a software centre with a total investment capital of $1.5 billion in the Thu Thiem New Urban Area.

Banking Tower: Cotec Land, the property development arm of the Technical Construction and Building Materials Joint Stock Company (CotecGroup), is to develop the $4.95 million 12 story office building in HCMC's District 1 with around 1,000 sq.m and another smaller office building with 10 levels costing $1.36 million with about 400 sq.m.

Golden Garden: Cotec Land’s An Pha Cotec subsidiary with Ngoc Phuc O Ltd is also developing the $2.1 million 17 story Golden Garden office building in District 1.

TRICO Office: In early 2007, the Transport Trading Investment & Construction JS Co. 1 (TRICO) decided invest $8m in developing a l7 story office building.

BIDV Banking Tower: The Bank for Investment and Development of Vietnam (BIDV), are developing a 40 story building covering 2,700 square meters at 117-119 Nguyen Hue Boulevard in District 1 at an estimated cost of $112.5 million. BIDV plans to build a string of towers in major cities such as Hanoi, HCMC, Danang, Haiphong and Can Tho, with each having 20 to 40 floors and costing $74-110 million.

Transimex Office: Transforwarding Warehousing Saigon Company announced that it was to issue over 2 million shares to mobilize $4.7 million for a 13 floor office building on Hai Ba Trung.

Cotec Tower: Large local property developer Cotec is to build a 22 storey office building in central HCMC.

Ben Thanh Tower: Kinh Do will develop a 45 story tower commercial and office complex at a location near Ben Thanh Market costing $166 million and covering 5,600 square meters at 125 Le Loi Boulevard, the current premises of Saigon Hospital.

IMEC Tower: Kinh Do is developing a $41 million 20-25 floor VIMEC office building covering 13,000 sqm at the intersection of Thanh Thai and To Hien Thanh streets in District 10.

Nam Long Capital Tower: Nam Long Development Corporation have started a world-class office building for lease in HCMC's Saigon South. The $7 million 12 storey Nam Long Capital Tower building will provide 6,000 square meters of office space and 4,000 sq. m for cafes, shops, and services in District 7 will have a basement floor and areas for a parking lot, coffee shops and service centers. It is near trading, conference and exhibition centers in Saigon South, which is emerging as a new finance, trade and service center of HCMC.

Berjaya Complex–District 10: Malaysia’s Berjaya Group have signed a contract with Ky Hoa Company to build a financial and commercial centre in District 10. The project will include office blocks, hotels, shops and 5 star tourist facilities.

Saigon International Exhibition & Conference Centre: As part of the new $200 million plus Saigon Exhibition and Convention Centre (SECC) project in Phu My Hung town in HCMC's District 7 a 35 story office building will be constructed.

Saigon Co-Op plans to develop a 22 storey office building at 102 Nam Ky Khoi Nghia in District 1 including a department store and offices for lease.

Kinh Do Ben Thanh Tower: Confectionary maker and real estate developer Kinh Do plans to develop a 45 storey office tower on a 5,600sqm opposite Ben Thanh market with a leaseable floor area of 131,000sqm. Construction will take 3 years to complete and development cost is estimated at $166 million.

Kinh Do Nguyen Binh Khiem Tower: Confectionary maker and real estate developer Kinh Do plans to develop 5,000sqm of offices, a 7,000sqm shopping area and 216 apartments at 25 Nguyen Binh Khiem Street, District l.

Kinh Do District 10 Tower: Confectionary maker and real estate developer Kinh Do office and residential complex in District 10.

Tan Binh Electronics Office: In mid 2007 the local electrical manufactuer announced plans to issue 5 million additional shares to partially pay for the construction of a $1.86 million office building on Pham Ngpc Thach Street in District 3.

Hoa Binh Tower: In mid 2007, Hoa Binh construction company announced plans to build an office tower covering 2,775sqm in the Phu My Hung area of District 7.

Vincom: In mid 2007, Vincom announced plans to build a USD$300 million complex covering a total area of 310,000 sq.m with 3 sections including a trade centre named Eden, an office and 5 star hotel and parking area on Le Thanh Ton; the Chi Lang Park underground car park; and Dong Khoi infront of the prominent People’s Committee – ‘Palace de Ville’. Approximately 100,000 sq.m will be reserved for the trade centre, 60,000 sq.m allocated for parking, and the rest for hotel, offices and rental apartments. The 7 floor trade centre and parking will be located underground. The three projects are estimated to cost some $250 million, including compensation for site clearance.

Foxconn Trade Centre: In mid-2007 HCMC authorities approved 2 projects worth some US$1 billion by Taiwan’s Foxconn Technology Group including a 10 hectare trading center for its products in the new urban center of Thu Thiem in District 2. Foxconn Group is looking to USD$5 billion in Vietnam and is the trade name for Hon Hai Precision Industry Co Ltd - Taiwan's largest technology company.

Beautiful Saigon 1 & 2: BB Dai Minh is developing a series of office buildings, hotels and serviced apartments in Saigon South and a residential area in Long An and has joined forces with Vietnamese, French and Korean partners in forming JV to develop 4 hi-rise buildings in District 7 with total investment of USD$39 million: the first 2 projects are the Beautiful Saigon office buildings 1 and 2 (BS 1 and BS 2); the 3^rd with the French hotel management company Accor to open a 3 star IBIS Saigon Hotel in 2009; the 4th for the USD$14 million Luxel Serviced Apartments.

Majestic Hotel Office Tower: SaigonTourist is adding a 37 floor tower as part of it 5 star upgrade of the Majestic Hotel at the end of Dong Khoi facing the river.

Saigon Jewelry Company’s Diamond Tower: Saigon Jewelry Holding Company (SJC), Vietnam's leading gold trader, will start construction of a USD$100 million hi-rise in central HCMC called SJC Tower. The project has sat idle since it was licensed in 2004 as Diamond Towers and SJC planned to get the project completed by 2005 but time consuming administrative procedures such as seeking approval for the plan from the city government caused delays. SJC Tower will comprise offices, apartments and a commercial center and be 45 stories tall with 6 basements. The company initially planned to spend only US$60 million developing the 40 story building which is surrounded by Le Thanh Ton, Nguyen Trung Truc, Nam Ky Khoi Nghia and Le Loi streets. The 3,800 square meter location is the former premises of the International Trade Center, which was destroyed by the fire of October 2002. Construction will account for about 62% of the total area.

Pacific Tower: Though delayed because the developer (Pacific Beer), insisted on it’s subsidiary (Pacific Construction Company) building 6 instead of the approved 3 basements and repeatedly violating safety rules and ignoring fines, thus causing the catastrophic collapse of the adjacent Southern Institute for Social Sciences (SISS) and endangering the neighboring YOKO building, the 20 story Pacific Tower in District 1 is due to be completed in 2008/9.

Saigon Port Towers: In late 2007 Saigon Port struck a deal with HCMC's District 4 Public Service Co to jointly develop an 18 floor apartment complex and an 18 floor office building at 430 Nguyen Tat Thanh Street in District 4. Saigon Port will contribute 60% and the public service firm the remainder.

HCMC Metal Tower: In late 2007 the HCMC Metal JSC (HMC) started work on a USD$5.3 million 12 floor office building at 193 Dinh Tien Hoang in Dist 1.

Quang Trung Software City: In late 2007 HCMC approved a master plan to develop the Quang Trung Software City (QTSC) on nearly 44 hectares in District 12. Nearly 45% of the area is for offices, software production and training facilities, and the rest for apartments for experts, exhibition facilities and greenery.

Chipsang Hi Tech Building: In late 2007 local hi-tech company Chipsang broke ground for a hi-tech incubation building on 22,000 square meters in HCMC's Saigon Hi Tech Park at an estimated cost of USD$9.95 million.

Geruco Tower: In late 2007 Vietnam Rubber Group (VRG aka Geruco) announced tenders for the redevelopment of their properties at 177 Hai Ba Trung in District 3.

Savico Plaza: At the end of 2007 Savico and New City Properties signed an agreement to develop and operate a property complex named Savico Plaza in Tan Binh. The project includes a trade centre, offices for lease, a hotel and high class apartments. The JV is capitalised at USD$30 million.

Cotec Tower Binh Thanh: In late 2007, the construction group Cotec announced plans to develop the USD$19.24 million Cotec Tower at 35 Nguyen Huu Canh in Binh Thanh District.

Savico Office: In late 2008, the Saigon General Services Corporation (Savico) and the HCM City Housing Management and Trading Company announced plans to build an office tower at 91 Pasteur in District 1. The project is estimated to cost nearly USD$6.4m and will have 7 stories with a usable space of 6,500 sqm.

Tan Phong Complex: In early 2008 Saigon Co.op Investment Development Joint Stock Co. (SCID), 60% owned by Vietnam's leading supermarket chain operator Saigon Co.op, cut a deal to build a huge shopping mall worth up to US$200 million. Under the memorandum, SCID will hold a 65% stake in a tripartite venture to build the Tan Phong Shopping Complex in HCMC's District 7, while MapleTree of Singapore will hold 30% and the Saigon Transportation Mechanical Corp. (Samco) the remaining 5%. The shopping complex, covering over 42,000 square meters at a location just 5km from downtown HCMC, will include a 7 story shopping mall with more than 70,000 square meters of floor space and a 20 story office building with more than 100,000 square meters. The Tan Phong project will be a first class integrated development, with a vibrant "work, live and play" environment for the sophisticated local and international communities.

Techconvina Towers: In early 2008 the Vietnam Investment Promoting Technics and Construction joint Stock Co. (Techconvina) announced plans for a 34 floor office and apartment twin tower.

SBI Centre: In early 2008 the 4 floor Software Business Incubator (SBI) Center at Quang Trung Software Park opened developed with the European Union funding from 2005 to 2008. The center covers 1,000 square meters and has total floor space of 2,800 square meters, providing 30 offices for incubatees, strategic partners and the company's management. Other networking infrastructure and services in the building include high-speed Internet connection, IBM servers, meeting and training rooms, video conference system, and software testing lab.

Dai Ha Tower: Dai Ha Tech Corporation, a domestic design consulting and project management company, has inked a deal with two strategic investors. Song Da 207 Joint Stock Co and Dong Il Architects and Engineers Co from South Korea hold a stake of some 10% each in Dai Ha to develop the Dai Ha Tower and Vika Housing and office building complex in partnership with several local and South Korean investors, including Beta of Vietnam and Dong11.

Saigon Centre (Phase 2): In 2008 Keppel Land announced the 2^nd Phase of the Saigon Centre by Skidmore, Owings and Merrill will develop 2 towers - an 88 story skyscraper comprising shopping mall, grade A offices and a 5 star hotel, and a 66 story tower including a commercial center. The PM asked the JVC - Keppel Land Watco 1, to undergo restructuring before continuing the development of the project. Vietnamese partners Sowatco and Resco will transfer their stakes in the JV so that the foreign partner will develop the 2^nd Phase of Saigon Centre in the 100% foreign ownership format. The 1^st Phase of the Saigon Centre, which was completed in 1996, is a 25 story building comprising a three-story retail podium, 11 levels of office space, 89 units of serviced apartments and 3 levels of basement car park.

BCCI Tower: In early 2008 BCCI announced plans to develop several office projects, including the An Lac Plaza and BCCI Office Building in HCM City.

CII Tower: In early 2008 the CII announced USD$62.5 million plans to develop 2 office towers at 152 Dien Bien Phu Street in Binh Thanh District, with one 25 stories in height and another 27 stories.

Richland Emerald: In early 2008 construction started on the 28 story building which will serve as a commercial centre and luxurious apartment complex in west HCM City. The USD$40 million project was developed by Thai Thinh Capital and financed by Dong A JSC Bank is on a prime site in District 6 in the heart of the Cho Lon (Grand Market) area and in proximity of Binh Tay Market and only 500 m from the HCM City's East-West Highway. It will include a commercial space and luxury apartments.

Construction Materials & Interior Decoration Company Tower: In early 2008 the People’s Committee appoved an office development on the site at 538 Cach Mang Thang Tam in District 3.

Saigon Garment Commercial Complex: In early 2008, the Saigon Garment corporation announced plans to build a 20 story commercial and office tower at 213 Hong Bang in District 5. The project will cost USD$19.24m with 51% contributed by Saigon Garment and the rest by a number of partners.

Ben Thanh Group Tower: In early 2008 the People’s Committee appoved a serviced complex development on the site at the Ho Tung Mau-Huynh Thuc Khang-Ton That DamTon That Thiep quadrangle in District 1.

Imo Group Tower: In early 2008 the People’s Committee appoved an office building and commercial service center at the corner of Hai Ba Trong and Dong Du in District 1 to France’s Imo Group.

Saigon Oil Drilling Service Company Tower: In early 2008 the People’s Committee appoved an office development on the site at 259 Dien Bien Phu in District 3.

Boat Club Residences: In mid-2008, the House Vietnam JSC announced plans for the Boat Club Residences covering 14.5 hectares in HCMC's District 9 comprising of a multi-functional trading center, office buildings, outdoor theater, conference halls, entertainment area and shopping center.

Horizon Place : In mid-2008, Aseana Properties Group from the British Virgin Islands and its partner Binh Duong Corporation obtained an investment certificate to develop the USD$200 million complex project at the corner of Hoang Dieu and Nguyen Huu Hao in District 4 covering about 8,400 square meters. The 65/35% JV named Aseana-BDC Company will develop a 30 story structure with the first 7 floors as a retail mall, while 3 towers of 23 stories each are above with 2 for apartments and 1 for offices. The amenities including swimming pools and a recreational area at the landscaped podium roof deck with ample car park spaces will also be available. The Horizon Place will be linked with the proposed metro station route No. 4, which is adjacent to the development.

Last Updated ( Thursday, 15 July 2010 )

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