Dec. 18 – South Korea's top retailer, Lotte Mart, said it would invest US$5 billion in the next 15 years to develop a chain of 30 shopping malls in Vietnam.
The company's first outlet opened in Ho Chi Minh City last Wednesday spanning 31,000 square meters making it the largest mall in the country.
Lee Sang Woo, general director of the Lotte Vietnam Shopping Company, told Xinhua that Lotte Mart would develop a chain of 15 shopping malls in Ho Chi Minh and 15 more malls in the cities of Hanoi, Haiphong, Danangand Can Tho.
By early next year, Vietnam will open its retail market to foreign businesses in compliance with the requirements needed as a member of the World Trade Organization.
