A shopping center where traders can rent a stall for zero dong for half a century was inaugurated in Hanoi on Saturday.
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Hoa Binh Co. Ltd. said thousands of booths at its five-story V+ shopping mall in Hai Ba Trung District are now available for free with a 50-year term.
Businesses have to pay only one percent of profit to cover power, water, and cleaning costs, according to company chairman and general director Nguyen Huu Duong.
“As for those that have yet to make a profit, we will exempt them from such fees,” he added.
The total exempted leasing fee is estimated at more than VND500 billion (US$23.3 million).
The first floor of the 25,000-square-meter venue was filled with new stalls on the opening day, most of which are fashion stores.
As of the end of Saturday, many booths managed to empty their stocks thanks to the competitive selling prices, according to Lao Dong (Labor) newspaper.
V+ is only open to Vietnamese businesses that sell locally manufactured products. Foreign firms or local businesses that sell imported goods are not allowed to open a stall there.
Duong told a press conference in Hanoi on January 28 that he wanted to set up a pure Vietnamese shopping mall to encourage the production, sale, and consumption of Vietnamese products.
A major supermarket chain in Hanoi had asked to acquire a large area at the shopping center for VND300 billion ($13.98 million), but Duong turned down the proposal, he said.
With a zero leasing fee, products on sale at V+ will be 30-50 percent cheaper than at other venues, he said.
Duong expressed his hope that more V+ shopping centers will be opened across Vietnam to support more local businesses.
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