New wave of investment expected in Industrial Zones

Gaw Capital Partners, a Hong Kong investment fund, has teamed up with NP Capital Partners to invest in IZ and logistics projects in Vietnam. 



In late 2018, Mappletree Logistics Trust spent $30 million to buy a storehouse in Binh Duong province from Unilever Vietnam. CRE, the biggest Japanese logistics firm, has invested $6 million in Sembcorp Infra Services which will develop 30,000 more square meters of storehouses in Vietnam.



The developer of Long Hau IZ has revealed that the third phase of Long Hau IZ in Nam Sai Gon area will start soon after administrative procedures are completed. Long Hau 1 and Long Hau 2 are nearly fully occupied.



The developer of Long Hau has also injected money into the Da Nang market in the central region with a hi-tech workshop project worth VND1 trillion. The strong point of the project is the rent, just from $3 per square meter per month, and the flexible land area of between 500 and 3,300 square meters.



Nam Tan Uyen IZ Company plans to kick off Nam Tan Uyen 3 project by the end of the second quarter. The joint venture between Warburg Pincus and Becamex IDC – BWID Industrial plans to continue expanding in Vietnam in the upcoming years.

Meanwhile, VSIP chain has been developing a series of new IZs in Nghe An, Quang Ngai and Binh Dinh. Truong Hai Automobile has decided to develop an IZ that serves hi-tech agriculture, capitalized at VND7.8 trillion in Thai Binh.



Analysts all predict that industrial property will be in higher demand in the time to come as multinational corporations head for Vietnam to set up production facilities.



The corporations are mostly from Japan, South Korea and China. Vietnamese manufacturers, especially in automobile assembling, food processing and beverage industries, are also scaling up their production, so they need more premises.



A report from JLL Vietnam shows the high occupancy rate in IZs. The figure is 74 percent (18,000 hectares) in nearly 100 IZs in the eastern part of the southern region. The average rent in the area is $63.3 per square meter. However, it is expected to increase slightly in the future when more foreign investors arrive and trade agreements are made public.



Some provinces and cities have adjusted their strategies to the new stage of development. Binh Duong, for example, seeks IZ projects associated with the development of smart city models, while HCMC plans to attract hi-tech foreign invested enterprises to IZs in the east.