Mapletree said the Grade A office tower covering 28,384 square meters of gross floor area has attracted strong leasing interest from global and local corporations, and is home to multiple companies, including Standard Chartered Bank, Uniben, Far Eastern Polytex and SCC UK.

The Saigon South Place Complex is a mixed-use project developed by Mapletree in phases. The first phase was a joint venture with Saigon Co.op-SC VivoCity, a 64,250-square-meter shopping mall which was inaugurated in April 2015. An Oakwood-branded serviced apartment and a high-rise residential block RichLane Residences are on track for completion by the end of 2017.

There are also plans for two more office towers in the precinct, according to Mapletree.

Commenting on the project, Mapletree Chairman Edmund Cheng said the company wants to create a work-live-play environment by combining lifestyle, office and residential at Saigon South Place Complex.

Hiew Yoon Khong, group chief executive officer of Mapletree, said in a statement that Mapletree entered Vietnam more than 12 years ago and has since grown from one logistics project into one of the largest Singapore real estate companies in Vietnam by capital investment.

“On March 23, Mapletree owns and manages more than S$1.2 billion worth of mixed-use, office, retail, industrial, logistics, residential and serviced apartment assets in Hanoi, HCMC, Binh Duong and Bac Ninh. Vietnam presents an exciting investment opportunity for us because of its strong economic fundamentals, such as a young and industrious population, a burgeoning middle income group as well as a stable increase in foreign direct investments,” Hiew said.

He added Mapletree is looking for more investment opportunities in Vietnam because the country is seen as a key market for the group.

Mapletree Business Centre is developed and managed by Mapletree Vietnam Management Consultancy Co Ltd. The office tower is designed to meet the office space requirements of global corporations from various industries, including information technology (IT), research and development (R&D), banking and financial services sectors.

After the opening ceremony of Mapletree Business Centre, the Singaporean PM toured Co.opXtra, a hypermarket jointly set up by Saigon Co.op and Singapore’s NTUC FairPrice at SC VivoCity.

Mapletree’s strategic focus is to invest in markets and real estate sectors with good growth potential. It currently manages four Singapore-listed real estate investment trusts (REITs) and six private equity real estate funds, which hold a diverse portfolio of assets in Asia Pacific, the United Kingdom and the United States.

By December 31 last year, Mapletree had owned and managed S$38.6 billion (around US$26.6 billion) of office, retail, logistics, industrial, residential, corporate housing and serviced apartment, as well as student housing properties. The group’s assets are located in Singapore, Australia, China, Germany, Hong Kong, India, Japan, Malaysia, South Korea, the UK, the U.S. and Vietnam.

In Vietnam, Mapletree is developing the mixed-use Saigon South Place Complex in phases. The group also owns and manages three logistics parks in Binh Duong and Bac Ninh, industrial and business park development Mapletree Business City @ Binh Duong, mixed-use development Pacific Place in Hanoi, and CentrePoint office building with a retail podium in HCMC.

In June last year, the group acquired mPlaza Saigon, formerly known as Kumho Asiana Plaza, which is a prime mixed-use development comprising Grade A office, serviced apartment, a hotel and a retail podium in District 1, HCMC.

Source: thesaigontimes.vn