SLP aims to dominate Vietnam's markets

Kent Yang, founding managing partner of SLP

Early this year, GLP announced the establishment of GLP Vietnam Development Partners I (GLP VDP I) with a total investment value of $1.1 billion.

How will SLP activities be deployed in the Vietnamese market

SLP is an industrial and logistic facility development and operation platform backed by GLP – one of the leading logistics infrastructure providers and operators – and three founding partners. Even though SLP is in a joint venture format, since its inception, it has been an extension of GLP in Southeast Asia and Vietnam.

We closed the GLP VDP I fund earlier this year – in less than a year. For funds of this size, it's considered very fast. The ability to close this fund in such a short period is due to the fact that Vietnam is an extremely favourable market and our institutional investors trust GLP as a partner. With a size of $1.1 billion, we have raised one of the largest logistics development funds in Vietnam.

Since the beginning, we have had a long view of Vietnam and we are determined to become a prominent player in this market. Rather than investing project by project, our plan is to develop a nationwide logistics infrastructure network that can serve our customers in multiple locations and help them grow their businesses efficiently. We target to develop 1-1.5 million square metres over the next 2-3 years.

What is the potential of the Vietnamese market for SLP and GLP?

Southeast Asia is the next growth market and Vietnam is at the centre of this growth, all the fundamentals are right. The country has a large population, a young and energetic labour force, and the GDP growth is one of the highest and most rapid in the region.

It is driven by export, manufacturing, and uprising middle class consumption. These are all the right factors for the logistics sector.

Vietnam is an exciting emerging market, but compared to other mature markets such as the US or Japan, there is a lot more efficiencythat can be created, and this is where we can add value. We are very excited about our business in Vietnam.

What is the importance of the Vietnamese market compared to other neighbouring countries?

Vietnam is a relatively small market compared to many others like the US, Japan, or China, but strategically, it's a very important one. It represents a lot of significance. Generally speaking, Vietnam is a gateway for us to Southeast Asia.

Vietnam is becoming an important global manufacturing base, and there is a shift and diversification of the supply chain to Vietnam, both of which represent a tremendous opportunity for us. Vietnam is obviously the right place at the right time.

What are the advantages of SLP in the Vietnamese market?

We never positioned ourselves as a warehouse landlord that just leases out spaces, we see ourselves as a solution provider and resource aggregator.

Over the last 20 years, GLP has transformed itself from being a landlord to an ecosystem including logistics technologies, equipment leasing, robotics, supply chain financing, logistics private equity, new energy, sustainability, and many others. This ecosystem enables us to provide a comprehensive solution to our customers to meet their logistics and operational needs and ultimately grow their business more efficiently.

Through our vast network, we are able to understand our customers better and serve them better, and if we do things right, hopefully in the near future, we can become the brand of choice in Vietnam.

What is SLP's strategy for the coming period after more than two years impacted by the pandemic?

Our strategy has been straightforward since we entered Vietnam. We want to quickly scale up our business and build a world-class logistics infrastructure in Vietnam. With the closing of our VDP Fund I, we can deploy capital to demand-driven projects and grow our portfolio.

Vietnam's government has done a tremendous job at managing the pandemic, and the country has recovered faster than many parts of the world.

Logistics is our core business, we will stay focused on growing our network in Vietnam. As we grow our presence throughout the country, we will introduce more ecosystems and bring more value to our customers and to Vietnam.