US giant WeWork is making an entry into the Vietnamese co-working market, Photo: Le Toan The world’s largest co-working space operator WeWork, valued at $20 billion, will likely make competition in the local market grow fiercer if it decides to launch its own co-working spaces in Vietnam. According to the latest report by real estate services provider Savills Vietnam, 43 co-working spaces have been opened in Hanoi and 15 in Ho Chi Minh City since early 2014. The growing market includes local names like Toong, Up, and Hatch as well as foreign operators like Regus (UK), Hive (Hong Kong), CEO Suite (South Korea), and Kloud (Singapore). To serve millennial professionals, most co-working spaces are concentrated in the city centre, namely the four inner districts of Hanoi and the central districts 1, 2, 3, and 4 plus Binh Thanh and Phu Nhuan districts in Ho Chi Minh City, all of which boast a high density of firms, commercial space, and entertainment areas. Will WeWork devour the market? Prior to eyeing Vietnam, WeWork expanded in Asia through mergers and acquisitions (M&A) deals. Last year, the US firm acquired a Singapore-based counterpart Spacemob, which followed a very similar model to WeWork’s, without disclosing the terms of the deal. With Spacemob, WeWork was able to enter Singapore, widely seen as Asia’s most innovative country, as well as Indonesia, Southeast Asia’s most populous country. In April the giant announced a $400 million deal to buy Naked Hub, one of its main competitors in China, to… [Read full story]
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