Japanese retail major Aeon to invest $500 mln in 2 Vietnam malls

Japanese retailer Aeon will invest $500 million in building two $250 million malls, one in the northern province of Bac Giang and another in the Mekong Delta city of Can Tho.

Two memoranda of understanding to this effect were signed between the Japanese firm and the two provinces under the auspices of the Vietnam-Japan Economic Forum held in Tokyo Saturday.

Among senior dignitaries witnessing the signing was Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh, who is on a four-day (December 15-18) visit to Japan to attend the ASEAN-Japan commemorative summit and conduct bilateral activities.

Bac Giang Chairman Le Anh Duong said the province would always welcome and facilitate foreign-invested projects to the maximum possible, especially those of Japanese investors. He said the province would provide best support to Aeon in all activities, from completing administrative procedures and carrying out studies to project implementation.

For his part, Can Tho Chairman Tran Viet Truong said he expected Aeon’s investment would have positive impacts on the city, including the creation of more jobs and the attraction of more investments. Aeon’s investment would improve Can Tho’s economic status in the region, he said.

Truong said Can Tho wanted more Japanese investment, especially in supporting industry, processing-manufacturing, high technology and logistics. Notable projects seeking investment include the Can Tho information-technology park, a logistics center, farm produce processing, industrial parks and commercial centers, he added.

Bac Giang is an emerging manufacturing hub in northern Vietnam, while Can Tho is considered the heart of the Mekong Delta.

At the event, Vietnam’s SeABank and Aeon Financial Service Co., Ltd., financial arm of the Japanese retailer, exchanged documents for transferring the former’s entire stake in the Post and Telecommunication Finance Company Limited (PTF) to the latter.

In an October announcement, SeABank, listed on the Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange (HoSE) as SSB, said the deal was worth VND4.3 trillion ($175.4 million).

There are six Aeon Mall outlets in Vietnam: two each in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, and one each in the southern province of Binh Duong and northern city of Hai Phong.

Per its medium-term (2023-2025) plan, the company will open more outlets in Vietnam, including one in the central province of Thua Thien-Hue. Construction of Aeon Mall Hue began in February and a grand opening is planned in the second half of 2024.

The retailer has so far invested more than $1.18 billion in Vietnam, Aeon Group executive chairman Akio Yoshida said at a meeting with Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh in Japan’s Hiroshima last May.

Aeon earned operating revenues of JPY7,155 million ($48.3 million) in Vietnam in the first half of fiscal year 2023 (March-August 2023), up 20.7% year-on-year. In its quarterly report, the retailer said its operating income in Vietnam for the six-month period rose 36.6% to JPY1,992 million ($13.4 million). The figure was the company’s highest in ASEAN and second-highest in the world behind China.