China proximity boosts north as Vietnam industrial real estate expands

Continuous business expansion by foreign manufacturers has boosted industrial real estate demand in Vietnam in general and the northern region in particular, given its proximity to China.

The northern region is benefiting more from the “China plus one” trend pursued by multinational manufacturers, including those operating in the electronics, semiconductors, auto and solar energy sectors.

Core5 Vietnam, an industrial real estate investment and development joint venture between Vietnam’s Indochina Capital and Japan’s Kajima Corporation, broke ground on June 29 for its Core5 Hung Yen project in the eponymous province near Hanoi.

The new project, like others implemented by Core5 Vietnam, will have “world-class” factory space and warehouse for lease, the company said.

With a total construction area of 72,000 square meters, the factory space at Core5 Hung Yen will be divided into 22 units in three blocks, with areas ranging from 2,240 m2 to 27,336 m2.

The project is located in the Minh Duc Industrial Park - 40 km from downtown Hanoi, 55 km from the Noi Bai International Airport and about 85 km from the Dinh Vu and Lach Huyen seaports in Hai Phong city, the north’s largest logistics hub.

The project is expected to open for business in the first quarter of next year.

At the company’s launch in July last year, Indochina Capital CEO Peter Ryder said: "Core5 Vietnam plans to roll out a collection of exceptional industrial assets across Vietnam’s key manufacturing markets. Our belief in the market opportunity presented by the industrial sector is underpinned by our long-term vision to invest $1 billion into this sector over the next five to seven years.”

Quang Ninh province, which borders Hai Phong and southern China, granted investment certificates late last month to two projects proposed by Apple supplier Foxconn with a total registered capital of $246 million. The certificates were issued in just 12 hours (instead of the usual 14-day processing period) after the applications were submitted.

Both projects will be located in the Song Khoai Industrial Park, invested by Thailand’s biggest industrial estate developer Amata.

The 6.3-hectare FECV Foxconn Quang Ninh factory, with an investment of $200.24 million, is set to begin operations in January 2025, employing 1,200 people. It will manufacture and assemble electronic components, chargers, and charger controllers for electric vehicles.

The 4.1-hectare FMMV Foxconn Quang Ninh plant, with an investment of $46 million, is expected to start operations in October 2024, employing 700 people. It will manufacture components for IT and communications products.

Quang Ninh also hosts a production plant being built by Czech carmaker Skoda Auto in partnership with Vietnamese automaker Thanh Cong Motor.

Skoda Auto executives said this April that Vietnam was a strategic gateway into the dynamic ASEAN markets and the larger Indo-Pacific region.

In Ha Nam province near Hanoi, Gaw NP Industrial is building a 1.6-hectare readymade factory and warehouse to meet the rising demand for manufacturing and storage facilities. The company is a subsidiary of Hong Kong-based real estate private equity fund management firm Gaw Capital.

The GNP Dong Van 3 Industrial Center is funded by Gaw NP Capital, a $200 million platform backed by Gaw Capital Partners and NP Capital Partners, a real estate firm in Vietnam, Gaw NP Industrial announced on June 28, one day before work started on Core5 Hung Yen.

Gaw NP Industrial is the industrial developer arm of Gaw NP Capital.

In Nam Dinh province bordering Ha Nam, Apple supplier Quanta Computer secured an investment certificate this May to build a $120 million factory in My Thuan Industrial Park. The plant plans to manufacture 1.3 million laptop and desktop computers in 2024, 2.6 million in 2025, 3.6 million in 2026, four million in 2027, and 4.5 million in 2028.

Hai Phong projects

Meanwhile, the Core5 Hai Phong project is set to open this year with 96,000 square meters of factory and warehouse space for lease at the Deep C2 Industrial Zone.

LG Innotek, the electronic component arm of South Korea’s LG group, will invest an additional $1 billion in Hai Phong, doubling its investment in the northern coastal city to $2.05 billion. Haiphong authorities handed over the adjusted investment certificate to LG Innotek Vietnam Haiphong Company Limited, the investor of the project, on June 26.

The company’s 17.2-hectare factory in the northern city’s Trang Due Industrial Park, built with an initial investment of over $1 billion, has been operational since September 2017, employing about 3,500 people producing camera modules.

With the additional investment, LG Innotek will build a new plant for manufacturing and export of camera modules, employing 2,600 people, said Le Trung Kien, head of Hai Phong Economic Zone Authority (HEZA).

Chinese investments

Great Wall Motor (GWM), a major private automobile manufacturer in China, said late June that it planned to officially enter the Vietnamese market in August. It said the first model to be launched in Vietnam would be the HAVAL H6 HEV, a hybrid electric vehicle.

GWM added it would establish a plant in Vietnam in 2025 to assemble new energy vehicles, including hybrid electric vehicles (HEV), electric vehicles (EV), and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEV).

China’s Xiamen Hithium Energy Storage Technology is considering investing up to $900 million to build an energy storage system and battery plant in northern Vietnam. If the investment figure is finalized, the company would become one of the largest foreign investors in Vietnam.

It is likely that the company would select Hai Duong province near Hanoi for the project. On May 22, the province’s Party chief Tran Duc Thang welcomed a Hithium delegation to sound out investment opportunities.

Thang told the visitors: “The provincial government pledges to provide the best possible conditions for businesses to invest and operate while adhering to all relevant regulations throughout the entire process, including financial obligations, labor policies, and other legal requirements.”

Will Shangguang, Hithium director of investment and development, and his delegation was studying Hai Duong’s geographical location, transport infrastructure, industrial zones, and skilled workforce.

Hithium's factory may cover more than 30 hectares, according to a June 8 Reuters report.

Hithium is now expanding operations in Europe and the U.S. The company is headquartered in Haicang, China, with additional offices and manufacturing facilities in the U.S., Germany, India, Australia, and Singapore.

A report on northern Vietnam’s industrial real estate market released Wednesday by property services firm Cushman & Wakefield said the region would supply new 5,000 hectares of industrial park land between this year and 2026, including an additional 1.4 million square meters and 0.7 million square meters of ready-built factory and warehouse space, respectively.

The report estimates growth rates during the period at 9.5% for industrial parks, 7.4% for factories, and 2.9% for warehouses.

“The primary asking price of IP land in the north in this second quarter was $120 per square meter in the entire lease term, up 3.8% on the first quarter and 9.8% from a year earlier, due to high demand,” said Cushman & Wakefield Vietnam’s country director Trang Bui.

“The ready-built warehouse business in the north in this second quarter was busier than in the south thanks to foreign companies’ expanded presence in the north,” she noted.

To maintain their advantages in attracting foreign investment, northern provinces and cities have been rushing to finalize and announce their master development plans so that foreign investors get to make decisions more conveniently, she said.