Vietnam most attractive ASEAN industrial zone market: WHA exec

WHA entered Vietnam in 2017 to develop an industrial zone in Nghe An province. Who are your main clients to date and what areas have they invested in?

More than 40% of our customers are from the electronics sector. We see this trend continuing with a lot of demand. Most of our customers are from China. We also have customers from South Korea, Japan, but the bigger share is from China.

There have been reports that you are investing in Thanh Hoa province. Can you share some details?

We are in the licensing process and believe that we should start construction by the end of 2024. Roughly, it's about 500 hectares. And we believe it's a very attractive project, adjacent to the highway as well as the new motorway. We are quite confident that it will be a successful one.

What are other investment destinations that you are considering?

We see northern and central Vietnam regions as very attractive in terms of potential, especially in the electronics sector. We see a lot of electronics investment going into the north of Vietnam. And the provinces of Nghe An and Thanh Hoa stand to benefit because there's been a lot of improvement in logistics infrastructure.

Any plans for the south of Vietnam?

We will expand to multiple locations and multiple provinces in the future. We are studying all localities in Vietnam very carefully, including the south. I think the south of Vietnam has some areas that can also benefit because of a lot of infrastructure improvements and connectivity with seaports and airports.

Please tell us something about your operations in Thailand.

We have been in Thailand for over 30 years and are the largest developer in Thailand. Today, we have 12 industrial zones in Thailand. The country has been very supportive of us.

So, Vietnam is your first country outside of Thailand?

Yes. It is the first country where we expanded outside of Thailand. Vietnam, clearly within the region, is the most attractive in the industrial zone market. And so far, we've been very successful. I'm very satisfied with the success so far.

There is a lot of talk about green growth now. What are WHA’s green credentials?

We differentiate ourselves through the high quality standards – of infrastructure and the smart ecosystem industrial zone concept. In Thailand, we have already implemented technological measures to ensure that our customers and we ourselves can measure and monitor our impact on the environment. For example, we have a unique biotech wastewater treatment plant. It does not use any chemicals and it's environmentally friendly.

Another example is a central control room. Thanks to technology, with various sensors and the internet, we can monitor all kinds of environmental indicators including airquality, wastewater quality, water levels, and traffic safety.

These are the things that we can monitor in real time in our central control room. We are at the forefront of innovation in terms of industrial real estate technology. We are constantly testing new features and finding ways to improve our products and services for our customers. For example, in Thailand today, we are piloting peer-to-peer trading of excess solarenergy. We produce energy with solar rooftops and sell it to those who are in need. And this is done with blockchain technology.

So technology is one of WHA’s advantages?

We see that we are one of the leading developers in terms of applying technology in our operations, development and in the service of the customer. So it's definitely an advantage and a competitive one at that, we believe.

Can you share some thoughts about Vietnam’s investment environment?

Vietnam has a good investment environment with very strong comparative advantages – the strong macro fundamentals, strong trade and GDP growth, a large population of 100 million people and very, very favorable demographics. Vietnam also has a strong business environment in terms of the number of FTAs the country has signed, including some major ones that other several other countries are not part of, like the CPTPP or the FTA with the UK.

What are the difficulties you have faced in Vietnam since your entry in 2017?

We’ve faced some issues, but the important thing is that we find ways to work collaboratively with all stakeholders to solve such issues.