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The 12 nations in the proposed TPP.

The World’s Biggest Ever Trade Deal

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In a previous post, we explored Vietnam’s economic context in the region and the world but here is a quick rundown of local current and proposed multi-party agreements that Vietnam is part of:

East Asian Summit (EAS)—annual forum on energy and trade held since 2005 between 18 countries.

Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP)—proposed free trade agreement between ASEAN members and Free Trade Agreement partners; formally launched in 2012 at the ASEAN summit. (China’s version of the proposed TPP.)

Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC)—21 member Pacific Rim forum that was established in 1989. Membership is determined by economy, not country.

Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)—formed in 1967, its membership today includes ten countries and focuses on political and economic issues.

And then there is the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP); this week we are going to do a roundup of some of the competing narratives when it comes to the TPP. The TPP has been in the works since 2002 (under a different name) with the US and Vietnam joining the round of talks in 2008. The twelve countries involved in the TPP comprise approximately 40% of global GDP; those countries are Brunei, Japan, Malaysia, Singapore, New Zealand, Australia, Mexico, Canada, Chile, Peru, and, of course, Vietnam and the US.

The TPP is both an economic and a strategic agreement; one thing to keep in mind is the annual GDP of Vietnam: approximately $170 billion. To put that in perspective, the annual revenue of General Electric is approximately $150 billion. In other words, the revenue of one US company is almost on parity with the annual GDP of Vietnam so there are other reasons than purely economic interest in Vietnam.

At a time when China is creating competing regional and global financial organizations, according to The New Yorker, such as “the New Development Bank, the Silk Road infrastructure fund, and the Asia Infrastructure Investment Bank, which, together, intend to amass two hundred and forty billion dollars in capital” (in association with some US allies) the US needs the TPP (or something like it) to pass in the near future to provide a counterbalance (as proponents of the TPP have argued).

In Favor of the TPP

What are the governments behind the TPP saying? Let’s start with some of the countries that are involved in the TPP negotiations (more than 20 rounds so far).

According to the Office of the US Trade Representative:

“As the cornerstone of the Obama Administration’s economic policy in the Asia Pacific, the Trans-Pacific Partnership reflects the United States’ economic priorities and values. The TPP not only seeks to provide new and meaningful market access for American goods and services exports, but also set high-standard rules for trade, and address vital 21st-century issues within the global economy.”

According to the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade:

“Conclusion of the TPP would open new trade and investment opportunities for Australia in the Asia-Pacific region, further integrate our economy in this fast growing region, and promote and facilitate regional supply chains. By setting commonly agreed rules and promoting transparency of new laws and regulations, the agreement will provide certainty for businesses and reduce costs and red tape for Australian exporters, service suppliers and investors.”

According to the New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs & Trade:

“As well as tangible benefits for our exporters and consumers, TPP would safeguard New Zealand’s longer term trading interests. TPP is potentially a platform for wider, regional economic integration.”

According to the Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development Canada:

“Along with our successfully-concluded free trade agreement with Korea, our ongoing bilateral talks with Japan, and other ongoing initiatives, the TPP is a means to achieve our ambitious pro-trade, pro-export plan to create jobs and opportunities for hardworking Canadians.”

Against the TPP

What about the TPP’s skeptics?

There has been a great deal of secrecy surrounding the terms of the deal and some controversy. For example, China isn’t included in the deal and most of the information that the public knows about the TPP has been due to leaks.

According to Public Citizen:

“We only know about the TPP’s threats thanks to leaks – the public is not allowed to see the draft TPP text. Even members of Congress, after being denied the text for years, are now only provided limited access. Meanwhile, more than 500 official corporate “trade advisors” have special access. The TPP has been under negotiation for six years, and the Obama administration wants to sign the deal this year.”

MSF (Doctors without Borders) is against the TPP:

“Proposed by U.S. negotiators, the IP rules enhance patent and data protections for pharmaceutical companies, dismantle public health safeguards enshrined in international law, and obstruct price-lowering generic competition for medicines.”

Nobel economist and professor at Columbia University, Joseph Stiglitz, made the case against the same drug provisions in the TPP:

“The efforts to raise drug prices in the T.P.P. take us in the wrong direction. The whole world may come to pay a price in the form of worse health and unnecessary deaths.”

The EFF (Electronic Frontier Foundation) is against the TPP:

“TPP raises significant concerns about citizens’ freedom of expression, due process, innovation, the future of the Internet’s global infrastructure, and the right of sovereign nations to develop policies and laws that best meet their domestic priorities. In sum, the TPP puts at risk some of the most fundamental rights that enable access to knowledge for the world’s citizens.”

Former US secretary of Labor, Robert Reich is against “fast-tracking” the TPP (under the Trade Promotion Authority) and identifies some issues that the TPP overlooks:

“We need trade agreements that address unfair trade practices such as currency manipulation, foreign subsidies to exports, corporate power grabs and systematic and egregious violation of internationally recognized labor rights.”

Fast-tracking is important because it allows Congress to approve (or disapprove) the TPP as a whole, instead of introducing amendments which would surely kill the TPP in its entirety. (Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell from Kentucky is among those who want to pass the Trade Promotion Authority.)

Senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts is against the TPP, in particular “Investor-State Dispute Settlement,” or ISDS:

“[I]f a Vietnamese company with U.S. operations wanted to challenge an increase in the U.S. minimum wage, it could use ISDS. But if an American labor union believed Vietnam was allowing Vietnamese companies to pay slave wages in violation of trade commitments, the union would have to make its case in the Vietnamese courts.”

The CATO Institute mostly agrees with her.

Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont is also against the TPP:

“The TPP would make it easier for countries like Vietnam to export contaminated fish and seafood into the U.S. The FDA has already prevented hundreds of seafood imports from TPP countries because of salmonella, e-coli, methyl-mercury and drug residues. But the FDA only inspects 1-2 percent of food imports and will be overwhelmed by the vast expansion of these imports if the TPP is agreed to.”

(Here is a speech Senator Sanders gave to the Senate earlier this year.)

Both sides are very clear in their respective positions; there does not seem to be much middle ground. On one hand, governments and corporations are overwhelmingly in favor of passing the TPP. However, NGOs along with current and former politicians, policy advisers, and pro-consumer advocacy groups have all voiced their concerns about elements of the TPP.

Defining Failure and Success

So there are clear and credible opponents to the TPP. However, if the TPP fails, it could mean disastrous results for American foreign policy in the region.

As The Economist points out:

“Failure to complete it would be a terrible blow to American interests, for a number of reasons. Trade liberalisation itself is of course one. With prospects of a global agreement at the World Trade Organisation vanishing, America’s hopes lie in the TPP and the more distant Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership with Europe. In his state-of-the-union speech to Congress in January, Barack Obama dwelt on “the world’s fastest-growing region”, ie, Asia and the Pacific.”

As The Editors of the Bloomberg View pointed out:

“The main harm, if the talks fall apart, is the damage this would cause to the larger process of global economic integration.”

(However, a Bloomberg View columnist also covered secrecy issues involving the TPP process.)

The Brookings Institution laid out one scenario as a result of a failed TPP:

“The rebalance to Asia will stall. TPP is the second leg (after a reorientation of military resources) of the policy of rebalancing to Asia. As such, its fate will determine whether this strategy advances or just limps along. If TPP fails, doubts about the staying power of the United States will once again rear their ugly head. The signature U.S. policy to remain vitally connected to the world’s most dynamic economic region will come to naught. Let’s not forget that prior to the advent of TPP, the United States appeared poised to be marginalized from the process of regionalism in Asia.”

And if the TPP passes then what would that mean for the average American?

According to Moyers & Company, the TPP will drastically impact income distribution in the US:

“[T]he incomes of those at the very bottom of the ladder would be protected by the minimum wage, and those at the very top would benefit significantly from the deal’s intellectual property and investment protections. But the vast majority of Americans would see their incomes drop.”

Rep. Loretta Sanchez of California goes further to elaborate how destructive the TPP would be for the US and its workers:

“Unfortunately, the TPP would neither ‘protect American workers’ nor bring jobs ‘back from China.’ Assessing what we know of the massive TPP only affirms what we’ve learned the hard way through past broken promises on trade pacts – it’s a bad deal for American workers.”

And what about the ISDS?

Jeffrey Zients, Director of the National Economic Council, wrote on the White House Blog:

“There have only been 13 cases brought to judgment against the United States in the three decades since we’ve been party to these [kinds of] agreements. By contrast, during the same period of time in our domestic system, individual and companies have brought hundreds of thousands of challenges against Federal, state, and local governments in U.S. courts under U.S. law.

We have never lost an ISDS case because of the strong safeguards in the U.S. approach.”

But that doesn’t mean that the US will always win an ISDS in the future either.

Time is Running Out

So who is right and who is wrong? Can both sides be right? What should be done?

American workers can’t compete on labor wages alone and workers (in general) can’t compete against automation. Is it better to get rid of vulnerable (to outsourcing) American jobs now that will eventually be lost to job automation?

Who would benefit the most from the TPP? What sort of timeframe are we looking at? Five years down the road? 10 years? 20? Through that lens, who is really winning and who is losing? It’s only with hindsight that we can see the effects of NAFTA.

Are there other issues that have been overlooked and that the TPP would open the floodgates for?

In the short term, the TPP would make Vietnam a clear winner (as a result of its growing manufacturing base) but the benefits for the majority of Americans seems limited and largely focused on American corporations. Mexico would benefit as well, especially if Vietnam were to slash its high import taxes on vehicles. However, as we pointed out in this post, cheap labor is not a sustainable competitive advantage for Vietnam in the long term.

However, the effects of the TPP will surely be felt beyond Vietnam, the US, and the 10 other countries involved. In a sense, international trade, intellectual property rights, and fundamental issues of national sovereignty in the 21st century will all be redefined. The lack of transparency in the process, the unanswered questions, and the overall unclear picture does little to bolster confidence in those who are promoting the TPP in a positive light.

If the TPP fails to go through, it would deal a serious blow to American efforts in Asia. The TPP is in a fragile state at the moment; it can be derailed if Congress does not grant Trade Promotion Authority. Trade Promotion Authority (TPA) means that Congress can approve or disapprove the TPP but cannot amend or filibuster. The TPA must be obtained from Congress first in order to “fast-track” the TPP, i.e., to give a “yes” or “no” vote as President Obama has requested. The US expects TPA to pass within the next month but it’s not a done deal.

The LA Times recently summed up the state of negotiations:

“At this point, the administration appears to have pinned its hopes on a fast-track bill being negotiated by Sen. Ron Wyden of Oregon, the Democrats’ top member of the Finance Committee. Fast-track authority is also supported by the committee chairman, Sen. Orrin G. Hatch (R-Utah), and Ryan in the House.

But the administration’s strategy looks in peril as talks between Wyden and the others have dragged on.”

Simply put, without TPA, there is no TPP, (and less “rebalancing” to Asia) but perhaps that’s a good thing in the long term.

Former IMF chief economist Simon Johnson, and Representative Sander Levin of Michigan posed a profound question about the TPP in Politico Magazine:

“Are the agreement’s rules sufficiently forward-looking and strong enough to bring about meaningful lasting improvements to people’s lives, by enhancing the positive aspects and addressing the negative impacts of globalization?”

As more information about the TPP’s 26 chapters continues to leak to the public, the answer to that question seems to be a resounding “no.”

The outdoor stage before the event.

Yamaha Town Hanoi

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On September 5 Yamaha Town Hanoi opened its doors to the public at 62 Nguyen Chi Thanh in Dong Da District, Hanoi. The opening of the showroom is unique because it is the only official Yamaha Motors Vietnam showroom in Hanoi—although a potential local partner has the option to takeover the management of the facility, which includes a state-of-the-art service area on the first floor (ground floor for the Americans), and office space on the second floor.

It took about a year to open this particular location but depending on a local partner’s resources (and relationships) and taking the dealership location into consideration, it can take between three and 12 months to open up a new Yamaha Motors Vietnam dealership.

Across Vietnam there are approximately 500 showrooms where Yamaha Motors products can be found in—a staggering figure considering that Yamaha Motors Vietnam has been operating here for 15 years. Yamaha Town Hanoi is the latest location to join the stable of other Yamaha Town locations throughout Vietnam. There are Yamaha Town locations in the cities of Can Tho, Vung Tau, Phan Thiet, Nha Trang, Da Nang, and Hai Phong. In the entire country, Hanoi is the second-largest market for Yamaha Motors Vietnam as the brand is more popular in Saigon.

At the opening ceremony, the director of Yamaha Motors Vietnam, Mr. Masaru Ono, spoke about grasping the needs of each customer segment and he also set the development of marketing as an urgent task. Mr. Ono laid out how Yamaha Motors Vietnam has a specific strategy to set the highest standards for its customers—something that will help Yamaha drive sales in the current market and in the future.

It’s currently a particularly difficult time in the motorcycle industry in Vietnam due to saturation, some recent economic uncertainty, and a rising interest in cars from consumers with increasing purchasing power. Currently, about 61% of the vehicles in Vietnam are motorcycles. But cars will not be able to fully replace motorcycles due narrow passages, housing density, and high vehicle tax barriers.

FZ150i brand ambassador, singer Tuan Hung was present at the event and delivered some remarks about his opinion on the Yamaha brand and its products.  Mr. Hung mostly spoke about his affinity for Yamaha’s sporty designs and how he thought they contributed to the brand’s success here in Vietnam. Afterward, fans were able to take photos with him in the showroom and outside on the sidewalk.

During the event there were different elements of Yamaha operators, each fulfilling a different role: promotion girls to attract attention to the products, ao dai girls to greet the event guests, Yamaha Grande girls to parade through Hanoi, and sales girls to answer questions from potential customers.

The event wrapped up with a parade of at least twenty Yamaha Grande scooters led by Mr. Masaru Ono, who also had the pleasure of owning the first motorcycle sold at the new dealership. He then proceeded to don proper riding gear in front of the showroom and took off in a southerly direction through the streets of Hanoi.

Yamaha’s Local Operations

Honda is Yamaha’s main competitor in Vietnam. Whereas Honda can leverage its economies of scale, and expertise in the automobile and other markets, Yamaha focuses specifically on motorcycles segments and connecting with its customers.

One way that Yamaha Motors Vietnam engages its customers is through a customer relations management (CRM) program based on three month intervals. It uses call centers to directly contact their customers in order to remind them of service dates and intervals. The service technicians also use stickers that are placed in the storage compartment of motorbikes (under the seat) so when getting gas the customers are reminded of the next service date as well. Because of these different methods of engaging consumers, the average Yamaha product has a seven year lifespan.

In terms of training and customer service, Yamaha Motors Vietnam’s technicians go through a training program to eliminate technicians with poor attitudes and/or a lack of soft skills. This training program ensures that graduated technicians will be able to deliver consistent experiences at every showroom, thereby resulting in satisfied customers. In order to be selected for the training program, technicians need to have at least a basic understanding/basic training of technical know-how.

Yamaha Motors, like many corporations, has a global strategy but largely relies on country organizations like Yamaha Motors Vietnam to implement local initiatives. For example, Yamaha Motors Vietnam has a specially modified caravan that goes into small towns across Vietnam. During local weekend events thousands of Yamaha riders will attend and receive free oil changes and other perks.

These local community support events are important because some motorcycle (and bicycle) riders do not perform basic maintenance on their vehicles, resulting in a smokescreen behind them due to burning oil or screeching brakes when stopping–so these sort of initiatives are imperative to keep the products functioning properly on the roads. Nine complimentary oil changes are included in the sticker price and every Yamaha product that is sold has a three-year warranty or coverage for up to 30,000 kilometers—whichever comes first.

All of Yamaha Motors Vietnam’s production is in northern Vietnam. Yamaha Motors Vietnam has about 7,000 factory workers spread across three factories in the surrounding areas of Hanoi. One factory produces spare parts and two are dedicated to the assembly of Yamaha Motors products. Additionally, about 200 marketing staff work out of an office in Hanoi.

A 15 Year Legacy and Positioning for the Future

When Yamaha entered the Vietnamese market, it initially made a big push in Saigon because the surrounding cities would and did end up following the trendsetting Saigonese. In Vietnam, Yamaha Motors Vietnam is positioned as sporty brand, targeting the young males consumer segment. Since Yamaha entered the Vietnamese market in 1999, it has used its sporty designs, sporty engines, and key local influencers to attract and maintain the attention of young Vietnamese men. Its tagline: “Revs your heart” and its byline on advertising, “Fun injected” (a play on words for “fuel injected” or the primary way fuel is delivered into engines), reflect this sporty and playful brand positioning.

Other foreign motorcycle/scooter brands have an easier time to target Vietnamese consumers because of consumer perceptions of higher-quality foreign products. For example, Piaggio is a go-to brand for women interested in scooters because Vietnamese consumers prefer American and European brands over even some foreign Asian brands.

Since Yamaha is not viewed as a luxury brand in the Vietnam market, it needs to focus specifically on certain motorcycle segments and leverage its competitive advantages. In part, this foreign preference is due to a desire for larger engines and models—which can present some challenges for operators with smaller bodies who are essentially sacrificing vehicle control for image. This example is one key difference that distinguishes the Vietnam market from even other markets in Asia.

In fact, Vietnamese consumers are so different compared to other consumers in Asia-Pacific region that Yamaha launched a product specifically for the Vietnam market, the Yamaha Grande. Previously, it had tested some Indonesian models in Vietnam but they were not that successful with consumers. Between markets, several elements can be changed such as the engine timing, shift points, throttle sensitivity, etc. For example, in other markets such as Malaysia, drivers like to go (and can go) faster on roads (partly due to better infrastructure).

The Yamaha Grande is specifically designed for women who like scooters. It took two years to develop the Grande, which was released over the summer. With the Grande, Yamaha now offers nine models to serve the Vietnamese market. For its Yamaha Grande marketing campaign, Yamaha enlisted prominent celebrities such as Ho Ngoc Ha to target and connect with women. In its message, there is a clear Paris influence (promoting foreign luxury elements) that is evident from its video promotion to the outfit on its Yamaha Grande girl riders—all of which is done in-house.

We were surprised to find out that the company puts on over 200 events per year—and it’s usually closer to 300 events per year with about 20 big events such as the grand opening of the showroom. Recently, Yamaha teamed up with Elite Model Look Vietnam 2014 in a quest to find the best model talent in Vietnam. During a “Thanks Party” held in Hanoi, the Yamaha Grande was prominently featured in the event, including a $20,000 version outfitted with Swarovski crystals.

The exposure from Elite Model and Fashion TV (who had correspondents at the party) will positively impact Vietnam’s image on local, national, and international levels by instilling national pride in Vietnamese and exposing new people around the world to the beauty and potential of Vietnam. If Yamaha continues these clever kinds of cross-promotional events then it will surely be able to capture the hearts of women in addition to its success of attracting thrill-seeking men in Vietnam and beyond.

Lotte Center Hanoi

Lotte Center Hanoi

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A few weeks ago we had the opportunity to check out Lotte Center Hanoi which is in its final stages of construction. Lotte Center Hanoi is located at 54 Lieu Giai in Ba Dinh District and has been under construction since October 2009. The building is about a 30 minute drive from the Noi Bai International Airport and is nearby the Australian, Korean, Spanish, and US embassies. Its grand opening is currently scheduled for September 2, 2014.

Along with the workers, we had to pass through security turnstiles in order to access the site and then proceeded to head down into the parking area to reach the elevators that would bring us up into the office space. Since it was an active construction site (with three around-the-clock shifts), we donned safety hardhats and were escorted by a Lotte representative at all times.

From the beginning of our tour it was clear that safety was a major priority for the management of Lotte Center Hanoi. This focus on safe working conditions was especially refreshing to see since safety sometimes seems like an afterthought for many construction projects in Vietnam. It’s not uncommon to visit any construction site in Vietnam and see workers walking around barefoot, not using ear protection when operating loud machinery or not utilizing eye protection when welding, and not properly utilizing climbing harnesses when scaling scaffolding. In Vietnam, sometimes hardhats are worn more to protect workers from the sun’s rays than to protect their heads from falling debris.

However, at Lotte Center Hanoi we saw workers in neon safety vests, we saw portable and regularly-interspersed fire extinguishers, and there were clear evacuation route notices everywhere we went so we were impressed by Lotte’s commitment to safety. Restricted areas were clearly marked off and hallways were generally free of clutter (preventing a fire hazard). Floors were protected with thin sheets of wood and giant cloth sheets were even draped over the massive openings in the lobby to try to contain the air conditioned cool air from blowing out into Kim Ma or Lieu Giai streets. According to Lotte Coralis Vietnam, from October 2009 to June 2014 the site has undergone 14,000,000 man hours without an accident. It’s a great example of how a construction site should be managed and we hope that in the future safety will be a higher priority for more general contractors and developers in Vietnam.

Defining the Hanoi Skyline

As a major part of the Hanoi skyline, the building is immediately noticeable from Tay Ho District and appears to tower over the taller Keangnam Hanoi Landmark Tower (which is farther away from the city center than Lotte Center Hanoi) from the north side of West Lake. The building’s exterior shape is in reference to the ao dai, the traditional Vietnamese dress and the building is actually separated into two towers: Tower A and Tower B which are connected via Sky Garden. At night, the façade at base of the building lights up in a spectacular array of changing colors to match the ever-changing color of the “Lotte” sign.

Throughout the building, First Grade building systems are used and the building uses some advanced techniques, which makes it a pioneering project for Vietnam. For those worried about tectonic plates, the building can withstand a 7.0 magnitude earthquake due to the two-layer outrigger system which enhances its structural stability. Low-carbon dioxide concrete was used to construct Vietnam’s largest support base structure and the building features rainwater harvesting and gray water systems, which makes it a truly eco-friendly project.

World Class Interior Features

Overall, the feel of the space is quite nice even with ongoing construction and unfinished areas. The building is divided into four main spaces: Serviced Residences, Hotel, Office, and Commercial. The Observation Area is on the 65th floor and will feature a Sky Deck like the one in Chicago. The Serviced Residences and Hotel are from the 33rd to 64th floors flanking both sides of the Sky Garden that occupies the center of the building. The hotel will have 318 rooms of which 83 will be suites and 235 will be Deluxe Rooms. The 32nd floor is the Technical Floor and the Offices are located on the 8th through 31st floors. On the 7th floor, there will be an outdoor swimming pool, a basketball court, separate male and female saunas, an indoor golf range, a yoga room, a gym, a jacuzzi, and an outdoor BBQ grill area. Starting on Ground Floor and continuing to the 6th floor will be the Lotte Department Store and Lotte Mart. There will be five levels below-grade which will contain the parking area for the building.

One of the unique features about Lotte Center Hanoi is the Sky Garden, which is a series of atria inside the building that occupy the middle space between Tower A and Tower B. They are four-story (office floors) and five-story (residential floors) areas for communal activities such as meetings, private events, or just a place to relax. For the office spaces, the tenant on the ground level of each atrium is able to modify the atrium to reflect a company’s culture (within Lotte specifications). The office space also features one of four raised floors in Hanoi, making it easier for the tenant to outfit the space to meet specific technology needs.

There are one, two, three, and four bedroom Serviced Residence layouts to choose from with the one bedroom (64-84 m²) pricing around $2,700 per month and four bedroom (175 m²) available for around $7,000 per month. If you do end up moving in, make sure to ask for permission before hanging any paintings. All the serviced apartments we saw had a beautiful view of West Lake but most serviced apartments should have a view of the north, west, or east due to the building space distribution. Double Low-E multi-layer glass are used in the Saint Gobaint windows, which are imported from France. Some bedrooms might have a Sky Garden view as opposed to a skyline view depending on how many bedrooms a unit has. All apartments are equipped with WiFi and wired internet connections.

The bedrooms all have different styles, themes, and layouts, ranging from lighter woods to darker tones with complementary appliances. Regardless, each apartment is fitted with a single downlight near the entrance that is motion activated to provide light as soon as you enter the apartment, and which will turn off automatically once you leave. It’s a great and rather simple feature than can be helpful in any residence.

For private events there will be three banquet halls (Crystal Ball, Charlotte, and Emerald) to choose from plus a Wedding Center on the 6th floor. Depending on which banquet hall, it can accommodate anywhere from 100 to 900 people. A wedding celebration in the Crystal Ball banquet hall might be the new standard for Hanoi’s elite.

Perhaps the most-anticipated feature of Lotte Center Hanoi will be the rooftop restaurant on the 68th floor called “Top of Hanoi.” It will be an open-air restaurant with a surrounding view of Hanoi—something that does not yet exist in Vietnam at or near that height. Additionally, there will be six other food and beverage (F&B) outlets to choose from, featuring a variety of cuisines and flavors.

A New Level of Luxury in Vietnam and in Asia

If you end up living in one of the Serviced Residences in Lotte Center Hanoi, then you might never have to leave the building for most of your activities, provided that your office is downstairs, you shop at Lotte Mart or Lotte Department Store, and any visitors you might have stay in the five-star hotel. It’s truly an amazing vision that has been realized in Hanoi and we look forward to what the Lotte Group has in store next for Vietnam.

Lotte Group has the Lotte Legend Hotel in Saigon so this is its second hotel in Vietnam. It’s built by Lotte Group, a conglomerate that has over 60 business units and employs over 60,000 people with headquarters in Japan, but significant business divisions located in South Korea.

Lotte Group is currently building Lotte World Tower in Seoul, Korea. It will be almost twice the size of Lotte Center Hanoi but currently about 70 of 123 floors are complete. When it will be finished in 2016 (scheduled), it will be the sixth tallest building in the world.

The Lotte Group is named after Goethe’s work of art, “Charlotte.”

For more information about Lotte Center Hanoi please contact Nguyen Thi Hien (Ms. Hien) in the Marketing Department via email at hien.nguyen@lotte.net or via telephone at +84 97-925-9190.