Wallaya Chirathivat, chair of Central Group (Thailand), announced on 17/9 that Vietnam is a top priority market in the group's international strategy. Central Group plans to invest an additional 1.5 billion USD over the next decade.

"This is a particularly important market for us," she stated. Central Group entered Vietnam in 2012 through Central Retail, which owns a range of retail brands including GO!, Tops Market, Lan Chi Mart, and Supersports. The company currently operates 330 stores and shopping centers across 26 provinces.

To date, the group has invested 1.5 billion USD in Vietnam. This plan to double investment is driven by three key factors. Wallaya Chirathivat noted that Vietnam's economy is growing rapidly, with GDP increasing by 8-10% annually, surpassing the regional average.

Vietnam's population now exceeds 100 million, more than Thailand, with consumers open to modern retail channels. The economy's geographical structure extends from north to south, with major growth poles such as Hanoi, TP HCM, and Da Nang, creating ample opportunities for development to spread across many provinces.

"We have cooperation agreements with Sun Group and other local businesses to research and develop projects," the Central Group chair added.

Wallaya Chirathivat, Central Group chair, at the press conference on the morning of 17/9. *Photo courtesy of Central Group*

Olivier Langlet, chief executive officer of Central Retail Vietnam, stated that the investment plan primarily focuses on retail and shopping centers, alongside hotels. The company has identified 200 potential locations in urban areas for further study.

"Our team is busy finding suitable locations and land for project development. This is a substantial amount of work," he shared.

In the hotel sector, in addition to the Centara Mirage Resort Mui Ne (Lam Dong) with 984 rooms, operational since 2020, the group is developing two more hotels in Van Don (Quang Ninh), which will add approximately 1,000 rooms.

According to Olivier, a challenge in implementing these investments is the "very expensive" land prices in Vietnam, which necessitates careful calculations to ensure the expected return on investment for shareholders.

He also noted that while Vietnam has simplified administrative procedures significantly, further improvements are needed. This would help clarify certain ambiguous legal regulations that can confuse investors regarding their understanding and application.

According to its half-year financial report, Central Retail's operations in Vietnam generated over 24 billion baht in revenue for the parent group in the first half of the year, equivalent to about 19.2 trillion VND. The Vietnamese market contributes approximately 20% to Central Retail's revenue, making it the group's second-largest market after Thailand.

Vietnam and Thailand recently celebrated 50 years of diplomatic relations. As of the end of 8/2026, Thailand has 824 investment projects in Vietnam, with a total registered capital exceeding 15.476 billion USD. This makes Thailand the 9th largest global investor and the 2nd largest in Southeast Asia, according to data from the Foreign Investment Agency (Ministry of Finance).

Vien Thong