The Hanoi office market will be a tenants’ market by the end of 2025 or even 2026, so developers need to change their financial equation to bring more attractive incentives to tenants, said Hoang Minh Nguyet, senior directorfor commercial leasing at Savills Hanoi.
Hoang Minh Nguyet, senior director for commercial leasing at Savills Hanoi. Photo courtesy Savills.
What is your assessment of the Hanoi office market trend in 2025?
The 2024 market recorded a good rebound in the second half, when a series of companies had their plans to relocate, expand, or open new offices approved. This will help the market demand in 2025 to rise. We expect the absorption rate of vacant areas in 2025 to be higher than in 2024.
This year, the market will have many new sources of supply, giving tenants more choices. At the same time, it will increase competition among developers in terms of rental prices, building quality, and other rental incentives to attract customers.
Abundant new supply can lower the occupancy rate of the entire market. But the market will have much more positive activities in terms of both supply and demand in the new year.
Regarding tenants’ demand for office space, is there any difference compared to previous years?
At the end of 2024, we conducted a survey with nearly 500 businesses that are currently tenants of class A and class B offices, with an aim of better understanding the demand of the office market in 2025-2026. The results provide interesting information about the continuous shift in office demand.
First, the selected office location. The demand has shifted from the Hoan Kiem district area to Ba Dinh and Cau Giay districts. The percentage of tenants interested in the Hoan Kiem district area decreased from 45% in 2021-2022 to only about 25% in 2024.
In addition, tenants expanded their search, instead of focusing on just one area to find rental space as before. Almost all tenants pay attention to at least two different areas when looking for a new location, which can be Hoan Kiem or Ba Dinh, Cau Giay or Ba Dinh, Dong Da or Tay Ho.
This is understandable as the Hanoi market has achieved diversity and differentiation in terms of administrative/office locations. Therefore, tenants have more choices, and their choices will no longer be limited to one area. This means tenants will have more ability to negotiate with owners to achieve better rental conditions than before.
Taisei Square Hanoi office building in Hanoi. Photo courtesy of the building.
Which industries will have high demand for office space this year?
Information technology and manufacturing will still be the leading industries in terms of office space rental, because they often require very large rental spaces, with the average area of up to over 1,000 square meters of floor space.
Taking into account the number of office rental transactions in the 2025-2026 period, companies in the consulting sector, including financial and legal consulting, and the distribution and education industries may take the lead thanks to their rapid development in the coming time.
Is the office real estate market in Hanoi a tenants’ market?
With the large supply across the districts as it is now, the Hanoi market is clearly more beneficial for tenants. They now have more choices so they become more demanding.
We believe that until the end of 2025, even 2026, the market will still be largely in favor of tenants. Therefore, developers need to make better financial calculations to bring more attractive incentives to tenants.
What do office owners need to change to attract tenants in 2025?
In the past, owners would simply need to build a building and rent out empty space. Now, they have to provide more to tenants.
Because the market is very competitive, most buildings are built in a meticulous manner and Class A buildings are all aiming for green certification. A green certificate is now almost a must, especially in the context of climate change, air pollution, and environmental pollution, along with the need for businesses to ensure the requirements of achieving Net-Zero goals.
Services in the building are also a concern. Currently, buildings that are built later tend to compete by providing more services to customers. Dining areas for employees, gyms, green spaces are services that many owners add to retain tenants.
Some developers are very flexible in rental policies. They even support tenants to invest in perfecting interiors. Many tenants can sign management and operation contracts in cooperation with serviced offices, coworking spaces, and shared offices. Owners now can add more amenities in service of tenants.
Therefore, to compete amid the large number of office supplies, owners should expect reasonable prices, offer attractive rental policies, and provide more internal services.
Minister of Finance Nguyen Van Thang met with Mariam Sherman, World Bank division director for Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos in Hanoi on March 21 to discuss upcoming projects using official development assistance (ODA).
At the meeting, Minister Thang explained that the amended Law on Bidding had been in effect since January 15, decentralising the approval process to cut down the time needed for the disbursement of loans.
Based on the decree guiding the implementation of the amended law issued in February, the Ministry of Finance (MoF) submitted a decision on the bidding of Binh Duong wastewater treatment scheme and the southern waterway corridor development to the government, which issued a resolution approving the loans on March 19. The resolutions have since been submitted to the president for approval.
“The MoF will conduct meetings with localities to remove obstacles for ODA projects, including those of the World Bank. This will help accelerate progress on projects set to be disbursed this year and beyond,” said the minister.
Mariam Sherman thanked Thang for these solutions and proposed some initiatives to remove obstacles for projects that need to be implemented soon, such as the renewable energy enhanced transmission grid, and projects that are currently being implemented and negotiated.
“The aim of Vietnam and the World Bank is to ensure that the schedule and objectives of this capital mobilisation drive are met,” said Sherman.
According to Sherman, the combined value of the World Bank’s list of projects is about $11.2 billion, targeting key areas such as growth innovation, economic restructuring, energy conversion, and climate change response.
“To achieve the high growth rate set out by the government and National Assembly, foreign loans, including those from the World Bank, will play a vital role,” said Minister Thang.
The minister shared the government’s viewpoint that between 2026 and 2030, ODA is expected to pour into key projects such as expressways, railways, high-speed railways, energy infrastructure, climate change resilience, and digital infrastructure.
“With the government’s objective of high economic growth over the next few years, cooperation between Vietnam and the World Bank will be extensive,” he said.
Minister Thang expressed his appreciation for Sherman’s contributions to accelerating the progress of ODA-funded ventures. He also requested the World Bank to consider further simplifying and harmonising procedures, as well as consider finding ways to reduce interest rates for high-priority projects.
More than 25 kilogrammes of various narcotics has been seized in the lastest drug crime crackdown in Quang Binh province.
More than 25 kilogrammes of various narcotics are seized in the crackdown. (Photo courtesy of the police)
Quang Binh – Police of the central province of Quang Binh said on March 20 that the force, in coordination with authorities of Laos’ Khammouane province, has successfully dismantled a major cross-border drug trafficking network, seizing more than 25 kilogrammes of various narcotics.
The crackdown took place on March 12 when Dinh Hong Thuan, born in 1971 and from Quang Binh’s Minh Hoa district, and Nguyen Thanh Phuong, born in 1993 and from the province’s Dong Hoi city, were caught red-handed illegally transporting drugs.
Authorities confisticated some 20 kilogrammes of drugs, including 60,000 amphetamine pills, eight kilogrammes of ketamine, four kilogrammes of crystal methamphetamine, and two kilogrammes of heroin.
Following further investigation, the law enforcement force arrested Pham Le Tuan Anh, born in 1995 and from Dong Hoi city, for drug trafficking. In this additional arrest, around 5 more kilogrammes of narcotics was seized, including over 25,000 amphetamine pills, 1.5 kilogrammes of crystal methamphetamine and ketamine, and 1 kilogramme of heroin.
The local police charged the suspects and is expanding investigation into the case.
Microsoft is monitoring developments related to US export restrictions on semiconductor technology, but its operations in Malaysia have not been affected, according to an executive of the US tech giant.
The Microsoft logo in London, the UK (Illustrative photo: Xinhua/VNA)
Kuala Lumpur – US tech giant Microsoft said its artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure rollout in Malaysia remains on track despite concerns over potential disruptions in the supply of advanced AI chips.
The company is monitoring developments related to US export restrictions on semiconductor technology, but that its operations in Malaysia have not been affected, Microsoft Malaysia managing director Laurence Si told a press conference on March 20.
Microsoft’s investments in Malaysia, including the upcoming cloud region launch, are proceeding as planned. It is committed to deploying AI services and digital infrastructure on schedule, ensuring Malaysia benefits from the latest technological advancements, he added.
Concerns over AI chip supply have grown following Microsoft’s announcement of its in-house Azure Cobalt 100 chip, designed to enhance AI capabilities.
Asked whether Malaysia’s cloud region would use the latest AI chips, Si said Microsoft is assessing market demand.
If there is a market for it, it will be incorporated into the framework and timeline for Malaysia, he said, adding that there is already industry interest in AI-optimised chipsets like Cobalt
In a related news, Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim has emphasised the importance of developing local talent in blockchain technology to ensure that investments in the sector benefit Malaysians.
The matter was discussed during a courtesy visit on March 20 from representatives of Klickl, a company operating finance and assets within the digital and blockchain ecosystem, he said in a Facebook post.
Anwar noted that Malaysia has significant potential in the field and can leverage blockchain technology across various sectors. Beyond finance and digital assets, he said the technology could also be utilised in government services and the halal industry.