Japanese retail giant Takashimaya moves into Vietnam property market

By Dat Nguyen November 27, 2020 | 08:11 pm PT

An artist's impression of a new commercial project in Hanoi developed by Takashimaya. Photo courtesy of Takashimaya.

Japanese retailer Takashimaya, whose business is suffering from the impacts of Covid-19, plans to expand into property development in Vietnam with commercial and office projects.

It is building a new urban hub called Starlake six kilometers from downtown Hanoi, according to Nikkei.

This is the first ever overseas property development in which it would be involved all the way from land acquisition to operation, and it plans to invest 20 billion yen ($191.39 million) abroad in the next three or four years, the report added.

The company will develop commercial and office space at Starlake between 2022 and 2025, and two other large commercial projects elsewhere in Hanoi.

It also plans to renovate several mixed-use buildings it acquired in Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi last year.

It hopes to attract Japanese brands to its commercial projects to set it apart from malls operated by local companies.

"There's a lot of room for us to expand our portfolio in many different fields in Vietnam," Nikkei quoted Takashimaya president Yoshio Murata as saying.