Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam – Mapletree Investments (“Mapletree” or “the Group”) today unveiled the design of Grade A office twin towers V Plaza – a joint venture with Saigon Co.op Investment Development JSC (“SCID”) – and officially opened its first Mapletree-developed serviced apartment in Vietnam, Oakwood Residence Saigon in District 7 of Ho Chi Minh City.

About 160 guests witnessed the unveiling of V Plaza which was graced by Guest-of-Honour Deputy Prime Minister of the Republic of Singapore, Mr Teo Chee Hean, Chairman of Ho Chi Minh City People’s Committee, the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, Mr Nguyen Thanh Phong, Chairman of Mapletree, Mr Edmund Cheng and Chairman of Saigon Co.op, Mr Diep Dung.

Artist’s impression of V Plaza (centre, behind SC VivoCity) when fully completed in 2023.

Mapletree also hosted guests to a second celebration at Oakwood Residence Saigon. DPM Teo, Mr Phong and Mr Cheng unveiled a commemorative plaque to officiate the opening ceremony and toured the 30-storey serviced apartment.

(From left) Member of Parliament Mr Henry Kwek, Consul-General in Ho Chi Minh City Ms Leow Siu Lin, Member of Parliament Mr Patrick Tay, Executive Director and Group Chief Executive Officer of Mapletree Mr Hiew Yoon Khong, Chairman of Ho Chi Minh City People’s Committee, the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, Mr Nguyen Thanh Phong, Deputy Prime Minister of the Republic of Singapore Mr Teo Chee Hean and Mrs Teo, Ambassador to the Socialist Republic of Vietnam Ms Catherine Wong, Chairman of Mapletree Mr Edmund Cheng, Regional Chief Executive Officer of Mapletree, South East Asia Ms Wendy Koh and Deputy Group Chief Executive Officer of Mapletree Mr Chua Tiow Chye.

Oakwood Residence Saigon is the first Mapletree-developed serviced apartment in Vietnam.

When completed in 2023, V Plaza will be the largest office complex in District 7, offering 66,000 square metres (“sqm”) net lettable area (NLA) of office space. 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 complement Mapletree’s “Work, Live and Play” concept for the 4.4-hectare integrated development.

“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,” Mr Cheng said.

“On March 16 seven years ago, SCID and Mapletree celebrated the groundbreaking 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 Mr Dung.

Meanwhile, Oakwood Residence Saigon offers 237 fully furnished serviced apartments ranging from studio to three-bedroom units, and premium amenities such as multi-function meeting rooms measuring up to 110 sqm, an on-site restaurant, fitness centre, swimming pool and a children’s playground. Managed by Oakwood, the property has attracted many expatriates and business travellers since its soft opening in April 2018.

At the event, each guest also received a box of artisanal soap, a project collaboration between Mapletree and Faire soapworks (“Faire”). With a start-up grant from Mapletree, Faire produced chemical-free soaps from excess cow’s milk sourced in Cu Chi Village in Vietnam. Apart from reducing the wastage of excess milk, these soaps help to uplift the Vietnamese farmers’ income and better their livelihood. Faire is co-founded by a team of students from Singapore Polytechnic and University of Economics Ho Chi Minh City.

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 our strategy. At present, Mapletree owns and manages more than US$1.09 billion of assets in Vietnam.