Another Vietnam asset for Mapletree Investments

Singaporean real-estate investment firm Mapletree Investments has acquired Kumho Asiana Plaza Saigon, a mixed-use complex in Ho Chi Minh City’s CBD, taking its total assets under management in Vietnam to more than US$1 billion.

As well as a supermarket, the plaza has mainly restaurants and is anchored by Hard Rock Cafe and Starbucks. It also has Grade A offices, serviced apartments and a hotel managed by InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG). It is Mapletree’s largest acquisition in Vietnam involving a completed income-producing property.

Korean media outlets say that South Korea’s second-largest flag carrier, Asiana Airlines, and Kumho Industrial, the two joint-venture partners of the complex, have sold off their interest for US$215 million in a bid to improve their financial health.

“Kumho Asiana Plaza is a rare asset given its attributes such as size, strong occupancy and location,” says Mapletree CEO Hiew Yoon Khong.

He says the group will continue to seek similar investment opportunities in Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi.

Mapletree entered Vietnam in 2005, and most of its projects are developed within central business districts as well as four logistics parks across the country.

One of its main current developments is Saigon South Place, a mixed-use project in Ho Chi Minh City that will comprise Grade A office towers, serviced apartment and residential buildings, as well as the current shopping centre SC VivoCity, which Mapletree jointly developed with Vietnam retailer Saigon Co.op.