Japanese homebuilder plans $20 mln factory rental expansion in Vietnam

  Vietnam has emerged as a manufacturing hub, and foreign investors want their slice of the pie.

With more foreign companies shifting away from China and moving their manufacturing facilities to Vietnam, Daiwa House Industry has also announced plans to quadruple the size of the rental factories it operates in an industrial park in southern Vietnam over the next three years.

The Nikkei Asian Review reported that the Japanese real estate developer currently manages 7,000 square meters of factories in the Long Duc Industrial Park in Dong Nai Province, about 60 kilometers northeast of Ho Chi Minh City.

Daiwa House, which is mainly involved in providing construction and real estate services, plans to expand the floor space to 26,000 square meters at a projected cost of $19.7 million by the 2018 fiscal year.

Currently, Daiwa House is leasing the factory space to foreign companies in Vietnam at a standard rate of $5,000 per month per 1,000 square meters, which is 20 percent higher than the average rate offered by local competitors.

In a survey conducted by the Japan External Trade Organization asking Japanese companies about which countries and regions they would like to expand their businesses in, Vietnam ranked fourth behind China, Thailand and the U.S.

As Daiwa House is stepping up its investments overseas, it will also open lodging facilities with hotel-like amenities in Vietnam to meet the rapidly growing demand of Japanese business travelers to the country.

The Japanese homebuilder is increasing the number of serviced apartments it manages from around 300 units at present to some 10,000 units by 2022. Much of that growth will come in Southeast Asia.

By VnExpress