Singapore – Vietnam Singapore Industrial Park J.V., Co., Ltd. (VSIP JV) and Mapletree Investments Pte Ltd (Mapletree) are pleased to announce today that they have signed a Letter of Confirmation, which gives Mapletree the exclusive right to develop a 56-ha logistics park within the Vietnam Singapore Industrial Park (VSIP) II near Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.

Located in Binh Duong Province, one of Vietnam’s most attractive provinces for foreign investments, this logistics park will have a land lease of about 50 years and will contain a Free-Trade Zone and non-bonded warehouses. When fully developed, the US$100 million logistics park will house build-to-suit facilities customized to clients’ specific requirements, as well as modular logistics and warehouse facilities for multi-tenanted use and for customers who are looking for ready space for quick start-ups.

VSIP II, the second industrial park to be developed by Vietnam Singapore Industrial Park J.V., Co., Ltd., is an expansion of the flagship VSIP. Led by a world-class management team, VSIP has experienced strong take-up of its land parcels and ready-built factories by investors. VSIP II will provide investors with a new fully integrated manufacturing environment modeled after the success of VSIP, complete with on-site power generation, water supply and sewerage treatment facilities.

Besides having an exclusive right to develop logistics facilities within VSIP II, Mapletree has also been granted in-principle approval by the provincial government for a three-year exclusive right to develop a logistics park within the 4,196-ha Binh Duong integrated township.

Speaking at the signing ceremony in Binh Duong, Mapletree’s Chairman Mr Edmund Cheng said, “We are pleased to enter into a strategic partnership with Vietnam Singapore Industrial Park J.V., Co., Ltd. to develop VSIP II into a premier industrial park in Vietnam. Today’s signing ceremony marks an important expansion of Mapletree’s footprint into the region’s major manufacturing and trading hubs. It also demonstrates our belief in the strong growth potential of Vietnam’s economy and in particular, its manufacturing sector.”

“The Binh Duong logistics park is an essential part of Mapletree’s “follow the client” regional strategy. As a strategic real estate partner to our logistics customers, we will work and grow in tandem with them by providing them with an integrated suite of real estate solutions, including sourcing, acquiring and custom-building logistics facilities that will accommodate and support their expansion needs in the region,” he added.

Mr Nguyen Van Hung, Vice Chairman of VSIP JV said, “Binh Duong province has been leading the investment attraction in the country during the last few years. However, there is no logistics park here to serve the real needs of investors. VSIP is fully committed to work with Mapletree to develop the logistics park quickly and successfully. This project is in line with the development direction of Binh Duong province and is given full support by provincial government and its relevant agencies. We also hope this project will open a new chapter for business co-operation between the partners for other projects in the future.”

The development of the logistics park will be undertaken in phases, in tandem with market demand. Construction on the first phase is expected to commence in the first quarter of 2006.

Mapletree’s entry into Vietnam is timely. In 2004, Vietnam’s GDP increased by 7.7% to US$45.4 billion, the fastest rate of expansion since 1999. Exports also grew 30% last year to US$26 billion while Foreign Direct Investment was up 7.5% to US$2.9 billion.

With the development of the logistics park at Binh Duong, both VSIP and Mapletree will be well positioned to serve the expected influx of investments into Vietnam once the country gains accession to the World Trade Organization (WTO).