Coworking startup WeWork plans to open two more offices in Ho Chi Minh City’s District 1 this month. One of them will be at Lim Tower 3, and rents will start at VND6.9 million ($297) per month for a single-seat, according to the company’s website. Another will be on Sonatus Building, with prices starting at VND7.8 million ($336).
The New York-based startup opened its first working space in the city in District 4 in March. WeWork’s move comes in a market that has some serious players with a lot of locations.
Vietnam’s Toong, backed by private-equity firm Indochina Capital, has 12 locations besides one each in Laos and Cambodia.
Hanoi company UPGen, with funding from Singapore PE firm Northstar Group last year, has 13 offices in Hanoi and HCMC.
Coworking spaces are becoming popular in HCMC’s central districts since the limited traditional office space there is unable to meet the burgeoning demand.
As of the end of September, coworking companies had rented 52 percent of all office space in the central area, including in under-construction buildings, according to a report by real estate firm Savills Vietnam.
HCMC has been ranked the 41st fastest-growing coworking markets in the world this year by consultancy Co-working Resources, which said a new coworking space opens in the city every 47.5 days.
WeWork has added 114 new sites in the past four months, according to its website, and is planning to open another 208 in the next few months, bringing its total number to 850.
The announcement came in the backdrop of the company’s failed IPO amid investor concerns that its valuation was inflated.
WeWork owed $18 billion in a long-term lease at the end of June and is expected to lay off 4,000 of its more than 12,500 employees