WeWork, a co-working space provider, on Wednesday announced plans to enter the Vietnamese market as part of its strategy to expand operations in Southeast Asia.

Turochas T Fuad, managing director of WeWork Southeast Asia, said the company would open its first office at E-Town Centre in HCM City’s District 4 in early December.

It is seeking locations to open more offices in HCM City and other cities and provinces next year, he said.

The HCM City office would be able to accommodate over 1,000 clients in its four floors, he said.

“With Viet Nam being one of the fastest growing economies in the world and Southeast Asia, there is no better time to be here than now.

“We are also seeing demand from our existing global members in other markets, such as Fortune 500 companies and leading financial institutions, looking to us for a solution for growing their local eco-system and network as well as a collaborative community for fostering innovations here in Viet Nam.”

At the launch, WeWork said Viet Nam is home to a rising millennial population and an increase in people moving to cities, so there is a shift towards a new way of working and living.

With the economy growing at its fastest pace in the past eight years, Viet Nam is one of the most exciting markets in Asia and the world today, it said.

The country is also a hotbed of technological innovation right now, with a country-wide drive to develop smart cities, especially in HCM City, Ha Noi and Da Nang, and a pledge to move towards a 90 per cent cashless economy by 2020, which spells further growth for the company, it said.

WeWork was founded in 2010 in the US. Over 43,000 companies and more than 268,000 members are now its clients.

In Southeast Asia it has 12 offices and more than 6,000 clients. — VNS