Texas-based real estate investor Hines has set up the second headquarters in Southeast Asia in Vietnam’s Ho Chi Minh City to tap opportunities in the market.
The new office will be spearheaded by Anh Hao Le who joined the company this month as director. Reporting to Kian Fong Lim, the Singapore-based head of Southeast Asia for Hines, Le will source new acquisitions and development opportunities in Vietnam.
Le, who has over 18 years of professional experience in Vietnam’s property sector, most recently served as head of investment at Vietnamese real estate investor and developer Sunny World Investment & Development.
Prior to that, he was a senior director at the Vietnamese unit of Gaw Capital Partners, Hong Kong’s private equity real estate investor. He previously held the titles of investment director VinaCapital Real Estate and director, head of capital markets at JLL’s Vietnam branch, respectively.
“Vietnam marks the next step of our ambitious growth plans for the Asia Pacific, both as an exciting strategic market for us as a firm, but also as a way of strengthening our offering to the region,” said Ray Lawler, chief executive officer of Hines Asia Pacific unit.
“As we see strong demand for opportunities in Vietnam, we are very enthusiastic about the real estate market there and across the region, so are foreseeing continued long-term growth and new business opportunities across all our product categories.”
The latest expansion is the firm’s sixth country launch and 10th location in the Asia Pacific since its entry into the region in 1996.
“The Vietnam market has strong manufacturing fundamentals, favourable demographics and has seen strong interest from institutional capital in recent years, and we think it is timely for our entry to the market,” said Lim. “The new office will allow us to bring the best of Hines’ global expertise and resources to the market combined with the strong support from local insights and expertise from Le.”
Hines is joining a throng of real estate players such as private equity firm Warburg Pincus, Gaw Capital, Australia-based LOGOS property and SGX-listed GLP who have established their presence in the country.