Above: CapitaLand’s first “international Grade A” office property in Vietnam.

Singapore government-linked company has $500 million fund planned for Vietnam

SINGAPORE — CapitaLand, Southeast Asia’s leading real estate developer, is entering Vietnam’s office space market. The Singapore government-linked company announced on Tuesday that it has agreed to acquire a 0.6 hectare lot in Ho Chi Minh City’s central business district.

It intends to build an office tower on the property that would cater to foreign banks and big multinationals.

Above: The company has 22 serviced apartments and nine residential developments in Vietnam.

CapitaLand has developed high-end office towers in Singapore and elsewhere in Asia, serving corporate tenants from around the world. It now intends to be a major player in Vietnam’s growing office space market.

The tower is to be CapitaLand’s first “international Grade A” office property in Vietnam, the company said in a press release.

CapitaLand expects to begin construction by March and to complete the building in 2020. The 240-meter tower is to have total floor space of 106,000 sq. meters.

According to the press release, demand for “Grade A” office space in Vietnam is “expected to grow further with limited new supply coming to market in the next few years.”

Above: President and CEO Lim Ming Yan said in the press release. “And we will continue to look out for opportunities to grow our footprint.”

CapitaLand sees rent in the segment increasing 4% a year during the next few years.

“We are excited to be a long-term player in Vietnam’s growth story,” President and CEO Lim Ming Yan said in the press release. “And we will continue to look out for opportunities to grow our footprint.”

A company spokesperson said CapitaLand will disclose how much it paid for the lot and how much it expects to spend developing the tower when the purchase of the real estate is completed sometime around March.

This is the first stand-alone office development for CapitaLand in Vietnam, where the company has 22 serviced apartments and nine residential developments. One of its serviced apartment complexes in the country includes an office element.

Above: CapitaLand expected to grow further with limited new supply coming to market in the next few years.

Source: Nikkei Asian Review