On the occasion of the Forum of Exchanges & Meetings between Vietnamese and Singaporean enterprises organized by the Embassy of the Republic of Singapore in Hanoi Fortuna International Hotel on March 18, 2011, reporter Doan Tien interviewed Mr YIP Hoong Mun - Deputy CEO of CapitaLand (Vietnam) Holdings. Pte. Ltd.
Could you please tell us about the accomplishments of CapitaLand Vietnam in providing its services to customers and businesses in Vietnam so far?
CapitaLand Group in Vietnam has been a familiar company in Vietnam's market for over 17 years, based on its commitment to the Vietnam economy and the long term real estate market in Vietnam.
CapitaLand was one of the first international developers to enter Vietnam, in 1994. Our wholly-owned serviced residence business unit, The Ascott Limited, pioneered the serviced residence industry in Vietnam when it opened its first property, Somerset West Lake, Hanoi, in 1994. Over the years, we have built a strong track record with the development of landmark projects including Hanoi Towers and Sofitel Plaza (formerly known as Meritus Westlake Hanoi). Ascott is currently the largest international serviced residence owner-operator in Vietnam. Today, Ascott has established a strong foothold in Vietnam with over 1,300 apartment units in eight properties across four major cities – Danang, Hai Phong, Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City.
In 2006, CapitaLand set up an office in Ho Chi Minh City and made its first investment in the residential sector in Vietnam. The Vista, located in Ho Chi Minh City’s District 2, was launched in October 2007. In 2008, CapitaLand opened an office in Hanoi to facilitate its expansion plan in this high growth city.
Leveraging on its track records in China and Vietnam, in 2010, CapitaLand set up a new business unit, CapitaValue Homes to extend its core residential business in the value housing segment in Asia. CapitaValue Homes aims to build well-designed homes targeted at mass market first-time homebuyers whose mortgage capacity to purchase homes are pegged to no more than 40 percent of the household income level in a particular city. This brings the portfolio of residential units to over 4,500 in Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi, comprising four prime residential developments and a quality value housing development in Vietnam.
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CapitaLand is one of
Asia ’s largest real estate companies. Headquartered and listed in Singapore, the company's real estate and hospitality portfolio, which includes homes, offices, shopping malls, serviced residences and mixed developments, spans more than 110 cities in over 20 countries in the Asia-Pacific and Europe.
CapitaLand was one of the first international developers to enter in 1994. Its wholly-owned serviced residence business unit, The Ascott Limited, pioneered the serviced residence industry in upon opening its first property,
Somerset
West
Lake ,
Hanoi , in 1994. Over the years, CapitaLand has built a strong track record with the development of landmark projects including
Hanoi
Towers and
Sofitel
Plaza (formerly known as Meritus Westlake Hanoi).
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In the next three to five years, the Group will also explore opportunities in other real estate sectors and grow its total assets in Vietnam from the current S$400 million to S$2 billion. For CapitaValue Homes, it targets to build 10,000 to 15,000 homes annually in the next three to five years.
Could you share what is CapitaLand’s primary orientation in the Vietnamese market?
In the residential sector, we will focus on building quality value housingtargeting middle-income earners and mass market first-time homebuyers whose mortgage capacity to purchase homes are pegged to no more than 40 percent of the household income level in a particular city.
With the rapid pace of urbanisation and escalating home prices, we believethat both our mid-high end prime residential projects and our value housing projects willmeet thepractical needsas wellasthe ability of our Vietnamese customers.
As a large group in the real estate sector, what environmental conservation issues concern you at CapitaLand group in the Asia-Pacific, as well as in Vietnam?
As an international corporate citizen, CapitaLand is committed to protecting the environment. For our residential projects in Vietnam, we have incorporated good designs and principles that CapitaLand has established from our international projects. We always ensure that each project provides good layout of blocks and units with ample natural ventilation and natural daylight along with lush landscaped greenery and good range of amenities for healthy and family living.
In Vietnam, our second residential project, Mulberry Lane in Hanoi, receives the Green Mark by Singapore’s Building and Construction Authority. We are honoured that our commitment towards environmental sustainability and our stakeholders is recognized by the Vietnamese community. For example, in 2009, CapitaLand (Vietnam) and Ascott have been awarded the Saigon Times Top 40 – Green Values awards, honouring outstanding foreign-invested enterprises that have contributed to the country’s economic development and environmental sustainability.
On the international front, CapitaLand obtained ISO 14000 certification, an internationally recognized standard for the environmental management of businesses, for its Singapore operations in 2007 and extended the certification to its operations in China and Vietnam in 2008.
Vietnamese
