HCMC – HCMC will have an additional 60,000 square meters of retail space this year with the reopening of the Union Square in District 1 and the launch of the Socar Shopping Mall project in District 2, according to a press release by property service provider CB Richard Ellis (CBRE) Vietnam.
From 2022, the supply of retail space will be mainly in the eastern and central parts of the city. CBRE predicted the city would have an extra 500,000 square meters of retail space in the next five years, Thanh Nien Online newspaper reported.
Besides catering, healthcare and beauty care services, supermarkets, fashion and accessory stores, some other sectors were expected to have a higher demand for retail space this year, such as showrooms for cars, household appliances and high-end goods.
Due to the impact of Covid-19, HCMC saw almost no new supply of retail space in 2020. Besides the flagship store of Uniqlo which was opened earlier, only the Parkson shopping center in District 1 was reopened in the last quarter with two key lessees — MUJI and Kohnan.
By the end of last year, the city’s retail market had an area of more than one million square meters. The rentals of the retail space fell a slight 3%-5%. Some projects reported a higher reduction, at 8%-15%, due to a smaller number of shoppers and a 15% increase in the vacancy rate over the pre-pandemic period.
Meanwhile, the office-for-lease market continued facing difficulties as many enterprises have been hit by the pandemic. The market saw three new office buildings with a total area of more than 65,000 square meters last year, including the Friendship Tower, the UOA Tower and the Opal Tower.
By 2020, HCMC had more than 1.4 million square meters of offices to be leased, including 18 grade-A buildings and 68 grade-B buildings. As their vacancy rates increased 18.1% and 9.1%, respectively, the rentals declined.
In 2021 and 2022, HCMC will have more than 15,000 square meters of space to be leased, with the introduction of six new buildings—Pearl 5 Tower, Cobi Tower, The Graces, Saigon First House, Spirit of Saigon and Etown 6.
