Aeon takes possession of 10.5-hectare site for central Vietnam mall

Aeon Mall Vietnam Co. Ltd., under Japanese retailer Aeon, has received a 10.5-hectare site for its project in the central province of Thanh Hoa.

Under an approval given by the provincial People’s Committee on Wednesday, the Japan-invested retailer will receive the cleared site for the Aeon Mall Thanh Hoa project from Mien Trung South City Two Member Company Limited, a local real estate business.

In December 2023, this firm paid VND451 billion ($17.9 million) in a winning bid for the land lot for a commercial project, now designated for Aeon Mall Thanh Hoa.

Aeon Mall Vietnam will invest VND4,157 billion ($164.9 million) in the mall, which will have a total floor area of 23.5 hectares.

Site clearance of the land lot was completed in June 2023 and the local company completed the land lease process in February 2024.

Per the provincial authorities’ decision, the project investor must complete construction of basic infrastructure within 48 months from the date of receiving the land, and the remaining infrastructure in the next 48 months.

Aeon operates six malls in the country: two in Hanoi, one in Hai Phong city, two in Ho Chi Minh City, and one in nearby Binh Duong province.

Aeon earned an operating income of JPY1,332 million ($8.44 million) in Vietnam in the first quarter of its fiscal year 2024 (March-May 2024), up 21.9% year-on-year. The retailer recorded operating revenues of JPY4,013 million ($25.42 million) in the three-month period, up 13.8% year-on-year.

The Japanese retail giant has begun work on two malls in Vietnam this year. In January, it kicked off construction of a 13-hectare mall in the northern province off Quang Ninh. This VND5,200 billion ($214 million) project is being implemented in collaboration with local business Viet Phat Group JSC.

In May, it began building the VND1 trillion ($39.3 million) Aeon Tan An shopping center in Long An province. This is its first project in the Mekong Delta.