Foreign developers dominate modern warehouse market in Vietnam

Despite the global economic downturn, Vietnam's warehousing sector continues to expand. This growth is driven by increasing demand for cold storage, especially from the seafood and fresh food processing industry, which accounts for 70-80% of the cold storage demand in Vietnam.

According to a new report from FiinGroup Vietnam titled 'Vietnam Logistics: Aggressive expansion of Foreign Investors,' warehousing remains the most attractive logistics segment in Vietnam thanks to strong commercial, manufacturing and retail activities, including modern trade and food services.

By the end of 2023, Vietnam's modern logistics industry was using nearly 3.9 million square metres of floor space. The annual growth rate from 2020 to 2023 was 23% and is expected to remain high in the next few years. Warehousing remains the most important field in Vietnam's promising logistics segment, attracting both local and foreign investors.

The report noted that in recent years, Vietnam’s modern warehousing market has recorded active participation of both domestic and foreign investors, with the development of large-scale logistics. The country’s top five players include Mapletree, SLP, JD Property, Gemadept and Transimex.

However, foreign investors are dominating the modern warehouse market in Vietnam, accounting for over 75% of the market share of warehouse and factory floor space for rent by 2023.

The top three foreign-invested players alone, including Mapletree, BW Industrial and SLP, account for 46% of the total modern warehouse rental area of the market.

Currently, domestic enterprises account for more than 25% of the market share. The top three local leading players, namely ICD ST, NPL Logistics and Gemadept, account for 10.6% of the total modern warehouse rental area.

According to FiinGroup, there are about 25 warehouse projects that will be developed from now through 2027, with a total additional area of 1.87 trillion square metres. The annual growth rate of the modern logistics area is forecast to remain at 7% during this period.

BW Industrial will deploy a large project in Dong Nai province in 2026, with an estimated effective floor area of 243,000 square metres. Mapletree will also deploy a project in Bac Ninh province in 2025, with an estimated effective area of 198,000 square metres.

Modern logistics are concentrated in production/logistics centres in the top five major provinces, including Binh Duong, Long An, Bac Ninh, Hung Yen and Dong Nai.

Currently, both domestic and foreign investors are pouring strong investments into logistics development. Mapletree is actively expanding its warehouse portfolio in Vietnam with major logistics centres in Bac Ninh, Hung Yen and Binh Duong provinces. Each centre has 12-24 warehouses. Two 'rising stars' in Vietnam's modern warehouse market, BW Industrial and NPL Logistics, are holding 22 new warehouses in both northern and southern Vietnam.

Infrastructure development, along with the increase in modern warehouses in Vietnam, is encouraging the growing demand for giant manufacturers and modern retail chains globally. This demand is supported by the positive development of e-commerce trends and global supply chain restructuring.

Localities are planning to expand industrial park land to attract investment, including in Long An, Dong Nai and Bac Giang provinces.

Strong growth in global e-commerce is further driving increased demand for storage systems that seamlessly integrate existing functions, with key logistics components. Key focus areas will include expanding cold storage capacity, enhancing technological infrastructure and ensuring compliance with international standards.