Thai retail giant to build shopping mall in Hung Yen province

Leading Thai retailer Central Retail will build a 15,847 square meter mall, GO! Hung Yen, in Vietnam's eponymous northern province that neighbors Hanoi.

Hung Yen authorities said they have approved a 1-to-500 detailed construction plan for the mall drafted by Viet-Nhat Real Estate JSC, a local real estate developer acquired by Central Retail in 2020.

No information was shared on the project’s estimated investment.

The plan earmarks 8,684 square meters for the mall’s main building, 3,141 square meters for trees, and 4,021 square meters for parking areas and roads.

As of end 2023, Central Retail was operating 133 stores and 39 malls in 42 of Vietnam’s 63 localities. Its net selling space in the country reached 354,913 square meters, while the net leasable space was 213,324 sqm. Notably, Central Retail’s network in Vietnam of 39 malls was higher than 33 in Thailand, its home market.

In February, Central Retail said it planned to expand operations in key markets, including Vietnam. The retail giant looked to launch three more GO! Hypermarket and nine more mini Go! outlets after both formats received positive responses over the past year, CEO Yol Phokasub said at a forum in Bangkok last month.

Phokasub said the group hoped to operate a total of 42 GO! Mall outlets in Vietnam this year in as many localities. He also noted that the group plans to introduce popular Thai fashion brands to Vietnam. For hardline products, the group will focus on improving the performance of its home appliance chain Nguyen Kim, Phokasub said.