BANGKOK — Thailand’s Central Group plans to invest an additional US$1.5 billion in Việt Nam as it expands its retail and property businesses, according to group chairwoman Wallaya Chirathivat.

This would bring the group’s total investment in Việt Nam to around $3 billion. The investment programme is expected to be carried out over the next 10-15 years, with Central Retail and Central Pattana pursuing opportunities across retail, property and related businesses.

“We are committed to investing and are preparing to invest $1.5 billion. Mainly, of course, retail, which is shopping centres and several formats. But at the same time, we do not neglect either offices or hotels,” Chirathivat told Việt Nam News.

“There will be three main cores of real estate or property development that we are focusing on. But of course, we will be mainly retail-led mixed-use development,” Wallaya said.

Central Retail has invested about 49 billion baht, or roughly $1.5 billion, in Việt Nam since 2012. Its retail network currently spans 26 out of 34 provinces and cities, serving about 500,000 customer visits a day and employing approximately 13,000 people.

Over the eight years from 2018 to 2026, the company generated total sales of more than 330 billion baht, according to Wallaya.

The group is also expanding its property and hospitality businesses. Its Centara hotel arm operates Centara Mirage Resort Mũi Né and plans further expansion in Vân Đồn, Quảng Ninh.

For the retail segment, Central Retail is moving beyond major cities such as Hà Nội and HCM City to explore opportunities in smaller cities and provinces.

Olivier Langlet, CEO of Central Retail Vietnam, said the company had identified about 200 potential locations across Tier 1 to Tier 4 cities.

“We have identified 200 locations we need to work on in Tier 1, Tier 2, Tier 3, and Tier 4 cities. So the team is busy finding those locations, the right plot and the right land to develop. It's a huge job,” he said.

Central Retail is prioritising 50-70 locations from the 200 identified sites, with plans to open stores across different city tiers next year.

The pace of expansion, however, will also depend on the availability of suitable sites and the regulatory environment in each locality, Langlet said.

He praised Việt Nam’s efforts to simplify administrative procedures, while saying that greater clarity in the interpretation of some laws would help the company expand faster.

“Việt Nam has done an amazing job simplifying all the paperwork which remains quite burdensome in the country," he said.

"That said, some laws are still a little bit blurry in terms of interpretation, and we still need to understand them to grow faster.”

He added that high land costs required the company to carefully assess investment returns.

Langlet also said expanding modern retail could support Việt Nam’s double-digit growth by shifting consumers from traditional trade to more formal, taxable retail channels and expanding access to minimarts, convenience stores, supermarkets and hypermarkets.

Central Retail is also using the Vietnamese Week in Thailand to connect Vietnamese suppliers with international markets, with 60 suppliers taking part in this year’s 10th edition and more than 1,000 small businesses participating over the past decade. — BIZHUB/VNS