Saigon Centre mall brings out the big guns

With a wide and exciting array of fashion, lifestyle, and food and beverage offerings, Saigon Centre is poised to be the shopping and lifestyle destination in Ho Chi Minh City.

According to Keppel Land’s CEO Ang Wee Gee, as a pioneer foreign real estate investor that has grown to be one of the largest players in Vietnam, Keppel Land has been privileged to play a part in transforming the country’s cityscape.

“Today marks an important milestone, as we open our retail mall in Saigon Centre, which has become a landmark of Ho Chi Minh City’s central business district,” Gee said.

He added that the company will build on its experience and expertise to develop iconic mixed-use developments, creating vibrant and sustainable live-work-play environments of enduring value in Vietnam.

Integrated with the revamped first phase of the mall, the new seven-storey retail unit forms part of the second phase of Saigon Centre and is 100 per cent committed, with a total gross floor area of 55,000 square metres.

The mall houses more than 400 international and local brands, as well as leading Japanese retailer Takashimaya Department Store’s 15,000 square metre flagship outlet.

Tatsuo Yano, managing director of Takashimaya Singapore, said that Ho Chi Minh City is the group’s fourth overseas department location.

“This development has come about through years of cultivated retail experience between Japan and Singapore. We aim to create a store that will become a sought-after shopping destination for our customers in Ho Chi Minh City,” said Yano.

About 25 per cent of the tenants in Saigon Centre’s retail mall are entrants to the market. Such onternationally renowned brands debuting in Vietnam include luxury and fashion labels Carolina Herrera, Kenzo, Moschino, Stuart Weitzman, and Armani Exchange.

Close to 30 per cent of Saigon Centre’s retail mall has been set aside for F&B, presenting diners with a wide selection of about 50 restaurants, cafes, and food kiosks.

Shoppers can look forward to exciting upcoming events and promotion events at the 500-square metre atrium, as well as relax at the rooftop garden above the retail podium once Phase Two of the office tower, currently progressing on schedule, is completed by the end of 2017.

Saigon Centre Phases One and Two are jointly owned by Keppel Land, Toshin Development Co., Ltd., and Vietnamese partners Southern Waterborne and Transportation Corporation and Saigon Real Estate Corporation. Keppel Land holds a 45.3 per cent stake in the development.