Northern Vietnam province Bac Giang seeks faster progress on Aeon Mall project

A top leader of Bac Giang province has expressed his hope that Aeon Mall Vietnam, under Japanese retail giant Aeon Mall, would push ahead with its 7.7-hectare commercial center project in order to put it into operation as soon as possible.

Speaking at a Friday working session with Aeon Mall Vietnam and Newland Investment JSC that won the land-use right auction for the project, provincial Chairman Nguyen Viet Oanh added that he will instruct relevant agencies to support the investors with procedures and accelerate the project progress.

The project, which includes trading and office spaces, has a total investment of at least VND3.9 trillion ($150.12 million).

Set to operate for 50 years, the commercial center will be located in Bac Giang town - capital of Bac Giang province, which is planned to house the administrative center after its merger with neighboring Bac Ninh province.

The chairman stressed that after the merger, the new province will have the fifth-largest economy nationwide, with a total of 33 industrial parks.

With such advantages, the new province will offer favorable conditions for the development of high-quality shopping malls and service centers, Oanh noted.

For their part, the investors called on Bac Giang province to facilitate the provision of electricity for project construction and operation, as well as the approval of design and construction documents.

They also committed to minimizing the project implementation timeline.

To date, there are seven Aeon outlets in Vietnam: two each in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City; and one each in the southern province of Binh Duong, the northern city of Hai Phong and the central city of Hue.

Japanese retailer Aeon posted an operating income of JPY4.2 billion ($29.36 million) in Vietnam during its fiscal year 2024 (March 2024-February 2025), up 8.6% year-on-year.

The retailer brought in operating revenues of JPY17.3 billion ($120.9 million) in the fiscal year, up 13.5% year-on-year. Its profit in Vietnam was only 10.7% less than in China despite revenues being just a quarter.

Vietnam maintained its position as Aeon’s third-largest market globally, following its home market of Japan, which generated revenue of JPY345.9 billion (nearly $2.42 billion), and China, with JPY68.1 billion.

In its full-year review, Aeon reported that shopping activity in Vietnam remained stable last year, despite several challenges, including a decline in customer numbers in the southern region, the temporary closure of some hypermarkets due to typhoon Yagi in September, and weak demand in July.

The merger of Bac Giang and Bac Ninh is part of a plan approved by the Party Central Committee to reduce the number of provinces and centrally-governed cities in the country from 63 to 34.

The merger plan is expected to be approved by the National Assembly, the country's legislature, at its ongoing May-June session.

Bac Ninh province, the new name of the merged Bac Giang and Bac Ninh, will have a population of over 3.6 million and cover more than 4,700 square kilometers. It is home to global tech giants including Samsung, Foxconn, Canon, and Luxshare.