HCMC Chairman Nguyen Thanh Phong (L) shakes hands with Singapore’s Deputy Prime Minister and Coordinating Minister for National Security Teo Chee Hean at the ceremony. (Photo: NLDO)
Deputy Prime Minister of the Republic of Singapore Teo Chee Hean, chairman of the Ho Chi Minh City People’s Committee, the Socialist Republic of Vietnam Nguyen Thanh Phong, chairman of Mapletree Edmund Cheng, and chairman of SCID Diep Dung participated in the official opening ceremony of Oakwood Residence Saigon at The Saigon South Place Complex in District 7.
The joint venture is established between the Vietnam’s Saigon Union of Trading Cooperatives (Saigon Co.op) and Singapore's Mapletree Investments (Mapletree). Local media reported that in addition to the 30-storey apartment block, the V-Plaza Towers office building project, whose design model was introduced at the opening ceremony, also belongs to the joint venture.
Oakwood Residence Saigon is the first Mapletree-developed serviced apartment in Vietnam.
Reportedly, Oakwood Residence Saigon consists of 237 units including studios and one to three-bedroom serviced apartments. These units offer guests fully furnished homes for both short and long stays, as well as multiple facilities such as fitness center, outdoor swimming pool, on-site restaurant, barbeque pavilion, children’s playground, residents’ lounge, multifunctional meeting rooms and car parking lots. Managed by Oakwood, the property has attracted many expatriates and business travellers since its soft opening in April 2018.
As planned, the V-Plaza Towers project will be completed by 2023 with a floor area of 66,000 sqm. Once completed, it will be the District 7’s largest office complex to meet international standards. The new skyscrapers are highly anticipated to cater to the demands of local and international companies in e-commerce/IT, banking and financial services, and manufacturing.
Together with the existing SC VivoCity, Mapletree Business Centre, RichLane Residences, and Oakwood Residence Saigon, V Plaza will create a close multifunctional complex to serve the needs of residents and neighboring communities.
Artist’s impression of V Plaza (centre, behind SC VivoCity) when fully completed in 2023.
“Having successfully transformed the HarbourFront and Alexandra precincts in Singapore, Mapletree brought its expertise to Ho Chi Minh City and created a ‘Work, Live, and Play’ environment at Saigon South Place. Our flagship properties in Singapore are well-received and we target to deliver a very good set of results in Vietnam. Saigon South Place, which started out as a greenfield project, has injected vibrancy to today’s District 7. We are confident that Saigon South Place will be a highly sought-after destination because of its proximity to the Central Business District, many international schools, industrial zones, as well as the Saigon Exhibition and Convention Centre, providing a one-stop convenience to those living and working nearby,” Cheng said.
“On March 16 seven years ago, SCID and Mapletree celebrated the ground-breaking of SC VivoCity. SC VivoCity attracted occupancy of above 95 per cent in its third year of operation in 2018 and footfall at the shopping mall also increased annually. We look forward to scaling greater heights with Mapletree upon the completion of V Plaza,” said Dung.
Since entering Vietnam in 2005, Mapletree is committed to growing its footprint in the country. The group will continue to transform more precincts, develop flagship properties, and be on the lookout to acquire operating assets which are in line with their strategy. At present, Mapletree owns and manages more than $1.09 billion of assets in Vietnam.
