Spaces has opened its first coworking space center at Hanoi Belvedere Centre which can accommodate up to 500 people.
International Workplace Group (IWG) yesterday announced the opening of its second brand name SPACES in Vietnam, following other 10 locations of Regus in Hanoi, Danang, and Ho Chi Minh City.
Lars Wittig, vice chairman of sales at International Workplace Group (IWG) in ASEAN, Taiwan and South Korea, said that the first Hanoi-based center owned by SPACES, one of IWG’s eight brands, is the first in Asia, adding that the launch proved the great attractiveness of the Vietnamese market to the brand.
“We are extremely delighted to set our foot in Vietnam where SMEs and startups are growing. And Hanoi fits well with its bustling business districts where SPACES can add to the city’s aim of building a collaborative community”, Wittig shared.
Being both modern in construction, but traditional in design, SPACES co-working space at Hanoi Belvedere Centre located on Tran Hung Dao street is one of IWG's largest workspace projects in Vietnam.
The 10-floor centre can accommodate up to 500 people.
SPACES integrates lifestyle into work, and members are encouraged to build their networks and connect. This is one of the outstanding features of the space.
Proven to provide distinct values, the community-centered SPACES offers a creative working environment under unique entrepreneurial ethos with European design.
It offers customers flexibility as they can work in any of IWG's 3,300 locations of SPACES and Regus all over the world.
Wittig said that the Vietnamese market boasts great potential for growth. Prior to the launch of the SPACES center in Hanoi City, IWG had opened centers providing a coworking space service in Vietnam under the brand “Regus.”
Regus owns eight coworking space centers and one conference center in Vietnam, covering a combined floor area of 9,000 square meters.
“The coworking space market in Vietnam is growing below expectations, while its potential is huge. IWG runs 25-35 centers in some countries in the region such as the Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand. The figures are much higher than the 10 centers in Vietnam,” Wittig pointed out.
As Vietnam, Indonesia and the Philippines are considered fast-growing economies in Southeast Asia, IWG will raise the number of centers in Vietnam to match those in the Philippines within the next five or six years, according to Wittig.
Each worker can spend VND1.6 million on space rental fees at the SPACES center for three weeks, while the space rental fee at Regus centers is VND1.6 million per person per month. Besides this, customers will be given a membership card allowing them to work at all centers run by SPACES and Regus anywhere in the world.
IWG said that the coworking space currently accounts for a mere 2-3% of the total area of offices available for rent on the global market. However, some real estate firms and professional and financial service suppliers, including Jones Lang Lasalle, Colliers, KPMG, JP Morgan and Deloitte, forecast that the coworking space will expand rapidly, making up 30% of the total area of standard offices in the near future.
Co-working space has become a trend over the past few years and is forecasted to develop strongly. Due to the blooming of startups and SMEs as well as the wave of foreign investors coming to Vietnam, the market is expected to witness a shortage of working spaces.
"Vietnam is one of the fastest growing economies in Asia. We expect to expand our business in Vietnam to 30 locations within the next five to six years," said Wittig.
Vietnam is home to 20 brands supplying shared workspace services at 100 venues in the country, mainly in Hanoi and HCMC.
