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PROPERTY

year-on-year. Take-up reached 16,500 sq
m, much more than the 1,500 sq m recorded
in the fourth quarter of 2021. This can be
partly attributed to the city’s post-pandemic
economic recovery.
Ms. Hoang Nguyet Minh, Senior Direc-
tor of Commercial Leasing at Savills Hanoi,
told VET that the office market has been
far more resilient than other sectors like
hotels or retail. There were many prolonged
lease negotiations last year as tenants could
not visit sites due to social distancing
restrictions. As these were eased and inter-
national borders reopened, the market has
seen a significant recovery this year. There
has been an increase in the number of
international businesses setting up shop,
particularly those in logistics and real estate.

CHANGING TO ADAPT
Developers have made changes to their
office projects to adapt to the “new normal”
PHOTO: VIET TUAN have adopted hybrid working models,
and attract tenants.
According to Savills, many companies

where employees can work either remotely
or from the office, depending on their
Return to work scheduling requirements, which results in
office densities being much lower than
before. Previously, in Grade A and B offices,
lessors would need about 7 to 10 sq m per
The office segment in Vietnam’s real estate market has seen person, whereas hybrid offices have a den-
positive signs as the “new normal” takes shape. sity of about 5 to 6 sq m per person. Land-
lords are now engaging with tenants to
HOANG TU Reports review their workplace strategies, which
will improve tenant and building opera-
tions. Other trends include the introduction
ietnam’s office market recorded tenants looking to expand. Staff returning of prop-tech (property technology) within
many positives in the opening to offices has also driven up demand in many Grade A offices and the incorporation
V months of 2022, with Savills not- the first few months of the year. Mr. Eddie of green areas into new developments.
ing that real estate, insurance, banking, Lim, CEO of Viva Land, told VET that For old buildings, refurbishment is
and ICT tenants led the market in the Vietnam’s office market has bounced back essential to retain tenants. Many new office
first quarter. Average occupancy came in strongly in the opening months of the year developments are of international standard
at 86 per cent, with Grades A and B the after a challenging period. “Even during and can compete with offices in markets
leading contributors. Covid-19, we still received a lot of inquiries, like Shanghai, Hong Kong (China), Sin-
which means occupiers were preparing gapore, and even London. Landlords also
RECOVERY DURING “NEW NORMAL” for their next move,” he said. “After the need to be more flexible in the services
In terms of projects, in the first month pandemic was brought under control, they provide, as supply levels are increasing
of 2022, the Viva Land Investment and demand for Grade A office space rose.” and demand is becoming more complex.
Development JSC announced that through With overall occupancy at Saigon Centre Mr. Lim agreed that the pandemic has
its affiliates it had acquired Capital Place, well above 90 per cent, Keppel Land’s Grade changed how people work, and many
an international Grade A office building in A office project in Ho Chi Minh City has companies have implemented hybrid work-
Hanoi, paving the way for it to deepen its remained in high demand due to its prime ing models. Several tenants at Capital
footprint in Vietnam’s luxury realty market location and quality offerings. The tenant Place have adopted the model, such as
in the decade to come. Prior to that, Capi- base has remained largely unchanged. Microsoft and LINE. The building has
taLand Development (CLD), the develop- In Hanoi in the first quarter, the total also introduced a number of measures to
ment arm of the CapitaLand Group, stock of 2.17 million sq m net leasable meet requirements and bolster the tenant
announced its divestment from Capital Place area (NLA) from 191 projects was up 8 experience, such as offering the largest
for $550 million to an unrelated-third party. per cent year-on-year according to Savills’ column-free floor plate in Vietnam, assist-
Thanks to a successful vaccination cam- quarterly report released in April. Occu- ing occupiers in developing workspaces,
paign and reopening of borders, which pancy increased 2 percentage points (ppts) installing advanced air purification systems
has enabled expats and business travelers quarter-on-quarter, thanks to Grade A to ensure clean air supply, and imple-
to enter Vietnam once more, Viva Land and Grade B improvements. menting access control technology.
has witnessed a dramatic increase in In Ho Chi Minh City, office stock was KLOUD, meanwhile, is Keppel Land’s
demand and site visits to Capital Place, approximately 2.5 million sq m, up 0.4 new generation serviced co-office platform
not only from new tenants but also existing per cent quarter-on-quarter and 3 per cent that leverages technology and caters to

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