Singaporean developer CapitaLand and Toong have signed a memorandum of understanding to change the working environment in Viet Nam.

The first-of-its kind bilateral partnership between one of Asia’s leading real estate companies and Viet Nam’s leading developer and operator of co-working space, will provide a more modern, progressive, and conducive working environment for start-ups and small and medium enterprises (SMEs) amid a growing sharing economy trend in Viet Nam.

As the first fruit of this partnership, Toong will open a coworking space, its first in HCM City, in CapitaLand’s newest upcoming mall The Oxygen in District 2, which was announced at the end of last year.

The space will offer convenient access to modern amenities and high-quality value-added services for more than 300 members in one of the most progressive and affluent communities in Viet Nam.

Making workspace more liveable is definitely a growing trending in highly urbanised cities in Asia. “CapitaLand aims to provide real estate of the future, and working closely with sharing economy players and technology start-ups is an important pillar of this strategic thrust,” Lim Ming Yan, president and group CEO of CapitaLand Limited, said.

“In June we launched our first co-working space in Capital Tower in Singapore, as we pilot our concept for the office of the future, where people work in hubs of collaboration, community and creativity.

“We will also be providing co- working spaces in Ascott’s newly-launched Lyf Residences. The retail environment provides a ‘living lab’ for some of the latest innovations undertaken by the start-ups. At the same time it enables us to observe first-hand the latest innovations in action as we continue to enhance our integrated offline-and-online (O&O) offerings.”

Toong is Viet Nam’s largest co-working space developer and operator. After 17 months of operations the company has a total of four locations across Viet Nam in Ha Noi and Da Nang.

Soon after its first site opened in August 2015 Toong received a seven-digit investment from Openasia, a group with more than 20 years of experience in investment and retail spanning seven categories in the country, and famous for bringing Starbucks to Việt Nam besides many luxurious fashion brands (Audi, Hermes, Kenzo, etc).

Last December CapitaLand also signed a strategic partnership with UrWork, China’s leading co-working space operator to bring UrWork space into its current and future malls developed in major cities in China like Beijing, Hangzhou, Shanghai, and Shenzhen.

In Singapore, CapitaLand also worked with Collective Works to incorporate co-working space in its 52-storey Capital Tower project.