In Vietnam, BW and ESR are developing three joint venture projects with a total GFA of 346,000 sqm

HO CHI MINH/HONG KONG [May 16, 2024] – BW Industrial Development Joint Stock Company (the 'Company' or 'BW'), Vietnam’s leading logistics and industrial real estate developer and ESR Group Limited (“ESR”; SEHK Stock Code: 1821), Asia-Pacific’s (“APAC”) leading real asset manager powered by the New Economy, have announced the commencement of construction of two double-storey projects with a total gross floor area (GFA) of 270,000 sqm in Bac Ninh, cementing BW's strong foothold in Greater Hanoi, while expanding ESR’s APAC footprint in the high-growth Southeast Asian region.

BW and ESR have announced the commencement of construction of two double-storey projects with a total gross floor area (GFA) of 270,000 sqm in Bac Ninh.

The first project, BW-ESR Nam Son Hap Linh Logistics Park ('NSHL'), will deliver a GFA of approximately 112,000 sqm of modern ramp-up logistics facilities for lease. With convenient access to National Highway 1, NSHL is situated just an hour’s drive from Hanoi Central Business District ('CBD'), making it a prime delivery base for third party logistics players, retailers and e-commerce companies to serve Greater Hanoi. With a clear height of nine metres and a floor loading capacity of 2.5 to 3 tons, NSHL is designed to cater to a wide range of industries in need of high-quality warehouse facilities in the area.

NSHL is situated just an hour’s drive from Hanoi CBD

With a GFA of 162,000 sqm , the second project, BW-ESR Yen Phong Industrial & Logistics Park ('YPE'), offers two institutional grade products – ramp-up ready-built warehouse spaces with modern specifications similar to NSHL, as well as ready-built factory spaces equipped with cargo lifts. YPE is well-placed to serve tenants from electronics and other related high value-added sectors. The park is located within the established Yen Phong manufacturing hub, which hosts a significant electronics cluster anchored by powerhouses, such as South Korean technology giant Samsung and American semiconductor company Amkor. Noi Bai International Airport is just a 30-minute drive away from YPE, offering customers excellent connectivity to the global supply chain. With a clear height of up to seven metres, floor loading of up to two tons and varying unit sizes, the factory space is designed to accommodate customers’ various production requirements.

YPE offers two-storey, ready-built warehouses with ramp and two-storey, ready-built factories with cargo lift

NSHL and YPE are scheduled for completion in the third quarter of 2025. In addition to NSHL and YPE, BW and ESR are currently developing Project Nam Dinh Vu, a one-storey ready-built factory project with a GFA of 72,000 sqm located in Nam Dinh Vu IP (Phase 1), Hai Phong province. The project started construction in December 2023 and is expected to be completed in July 2024.

BW’s CEO Lance Li said: “We have received increasing leasing enquiries for ready-built space in the North, due to its strong infrastructure, established electronics and other high-tech manufacturing clusters and its strategic geographical proximity to China. These two projects, being BW’s second and third double storey projects in Bac Ninh, serve as part of our key strategy to accelerate the expansion of BW’s footprint in the Northern Key Economic Region, in response to rising customer demand. Being Vietnam’s leading and fastest-growing for-rent logistics and industrial space provider, we are also taking the lead in the industry to intensify land use in prime locations by building more floor area vertically, thereby making better use of scarce land resources that are in close proximity to Hanoi.”

Jai Mirpuri, Head of Southeast Asia, ESR Group said: “Our two additional project starts in Vietnam attest to the continued success of our partnership with BW and our positive outlook on Vietnam’s industrial and logistics real estate. It is a market poised for robust growth driven by the confluence of favourable macro-economic factors and the diversification of supply chain activities into Southeast Asia. In line with this growing market trend, we are fully committed to driving our Group’s Southeast Asia growth engine for regional scale, and to deliver high quality spaces to meet the needs of multi-national enterprises and domestic customers looking to expand their operations in this region.”

Vietnam attracted nearly US$36.61 billion of foreign direct investment (FDI) in 2023, a rise of 32.1% year-on-year, according to the Foreign Investment Agency under the Ministry of Planning and Investment. The disbursed foreign investment in Vietnam reached US$6.28 billion in the first four months of 2024, the highest in five years, according to the General Statistics Office. This year's prominent investment hotspots in the country include the northern provinces such as Hai Phong, Quang Ninh, Bac Giang, Hanoi and Bac Ninh.  

In addition, according to the e-Conomy SEA 2023 Report by Google, Temasek, and Bain & Company, the digital economy in the SEA region is projected to reach around US$45 billion by 2025, driven by high economic growth expectations. E-commerce is set to drive the GMV growth of the national digital economy in the next two years. This positions Vietnam as an appealing investment destination for e-commerce and last mile delivery related businesses.

About BW 

BW Industrial Development Joint Stock Company ('BW') is Vietnam’s leading logistics and industrial real estate platform, with approximately US$2.7 billion of gross assets under management. BW currently has more than nine million square meters of industrial land in prime locations under control across over 50 projects in 12 key provinces in Vietnam, with approximately 3.4 million square meters of gross floor area (GFA) of completed or under-construction properties. As of Q4 2023, BW has secured equity commitments of US$1 billion from stakeholders and has formed strategic partnerships with leading global manufacturers, e-commerce, and logistics players to serve one of the fastest-growing markets in Asia.

For more information about BW, please visit https://bwindustrial.com/.

About ESR

ESR is Asia-Pacific's (APAC's) leading real asset manager powered by the New Economy and one of the largest listed real estate investment managers. With approximately US$81 billion in fee-related assets under management as of 31 December 2023, ESR's fully integrated fund management and development platform extends across various APAC markets, comprising Australia/New Zealand, Japan, South Korea, Greater China, Southeast Asia and India, with a presence in Europe and the U.S. We provide a diverse range of real asset investment solutions and New Eco006Eomy real estate development opportunities across the private funds business, which allow capital partners and customers to capitalise on the most significant secular trends in APAC. Our purpose – Space and Investment Solutions for a Sustainable Future – drives us to manage sustainably and impactfully and we consider the environment and the communities in which we operate as key stakeholders of our business. ESR is listed on the Main Board of The Stock Exchange of Hong Kong, and is a constituent of the FTSE Global Equity Index Series (Large Cap), Hang Seng Composite and MSCI Hong Kong Indices. Visit www.esr.com for more information.

1 Fee-related AUM excludes AUM from Associates and levered uncalled capital. Based on FX rates as at 31 December 2023.