Journey of Phuc Khang & Mitsubishi - A hunger to generate sustainable values

The strategic partnership between the Phuc Khang Corporation and the Mitsubishi Corporation was established in 2017, via a “million-dollar handshake” between the two to set up the Phuc Khang Mitsubishi Corporation Holding (PKMC) joint venture.

The partnership with Mitsubishi not only represents the desire of Phuc Khang’s founder for building “genuine green” apartments of Japanese quality in Vietnam, but also expresses her determination to take Vietnamese brands to the global level by laying a foundation of international thinking.

Desire to build genuine green living spaces of Japanese quality

Going back in history, the Vietnam - Japan partnership was first initiated many centuries ago, creating valuable legacies and great potential for investment and development for today’s generation. Over time, along with efforts of the governments of the two countries, the business investment relationship has become ever stronger. In the field of real estate, businesses from the two countries possess the foundations to cooperate and create common values.

With such a favorable basis, when deciding to enter into the field of high-end housing about ten years ago, Ms. Luu Thi Thanh Mau, CEO of the Phuc Khang Corporation, visited Japan to seek opportunities for her business. With a mindset that “new results can’t be obtained by maintaining old ways”, the female CEO brought with her a desire to improve Vietnam’s real estate sector, and researched, cultivated, and sought investment opportunities from the “land of cherry blossoms”. After a period of serious research, she recognized that “Sustainable development is about passing on social responsibility to the next generation while not losing their benefits. Green buildings are a solution for sustainable development that will help us achieve this.”

The journey not only helped the female CEO find a new way regarding “product intellectualization” via developing green buildings, but also initiated the relationship between a Vietnamese real estate corporation and a leading Japanese enterprise. The Mitsubishi Corporation is a globally-integrated business, and has profound experience in developing real estate projects in Japan, the US, China, and many countries in Southeast Asia.

On December 24, 2017, the Phuc Khang Construction and Investment Corporation and the Mitsubishi Corporation held a ceremony to announce their strategic cooperation and the signing of a joint venture on developing housing projects meeting green building standards in Vietnam. This was also a step marking Mitsubishi’s participation in Ho Chi Minh City’s real estate market, and at the same time began the journey to create the Phuc Khang - Mitsubishi sustainable value system.

 

At that time, the two corporations decided to establish the PKMC joint venture, with the Mitsubishi Corporation holding 49 per cent and the Phuc Khang Corporation 51 per cent. The Diamond Lotus product line was the first residential project in Vietnam to be built, managed, and operated under LEED standards - a prestigious and popular green building standard in 150 countries around the world. The birth of PKMC is a source of pride for Ms. Mau, in terms of successfully seeking investment promotion and partners with the same goal of creating green and sustainable values for the community.

Upon the announcement of the partnership between Phuc Khang and Mitsubishi, many analysts confirmed that it had substantial potential and would open up valuable opportunities to bring world-class legacies to Vietnamese brands. Among those attending the signing ceremony, the Chairman of the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry at that time, Dr. Vu Tien Loc, said: “Mitsubishi is one of the leading corporations in the world, while Phuc Khang has only been established for nine years. This partnership will help Phuc Khang ‘stand on the shoulders of giants’ to spread its success to other businesses.” In fact, after five years, the “marriage” between the two has become even more solid with the introduction of typical green buildings.

The pride of “Diamond Lotus Riverside”

There is no better proof of the sustainable value system the Phuc Khang - Mitsubishi journey has been pursuing than its green buildings built under Japanese quality and technology standards, with its first “fruit” being the luxury Diamond Lotus Riverside apartment complex.

Located on Le Quang Kim in District 8, Ho Chi Minh City, Diamond Lotus Riverside stands out as a “green symbol in the heart of the city”. The project is not only invested in and built under both LEED standards from the American Green Building Council (USGBC) and LOTUS standards from the Vietnam Green Building Council (VGBC), but is also registered at the Gold level of such standards.

As a reliable partner of Phuc Khang for many years, Mr. Kyosuke Nakagawa, General Director of the Urban Development Department, on behalf of the Mitsubishi Corporation in Vietnam, said: “We are a strategic partner in jointly developing the Diamond Lotus Riverside project, which is a ‘green’ apartment project aiming to achieve international green standards for the first time in Vietnam. I greatly appreciate Phuc Khang’s concept of ‘green developer’ in responding to global trends such as ESG and the SDGs. Phuc Khang is a dedicated company, maintaining its keen focus on the Community, Environment, and Quality of Life.”

 

At the end of 2021, Diamond Lotus Riverside was awarded a LOTUS Provisional Certificate by the VGBC, certifying that the project is on track to reach the Gold level in the full certification stage. Most recently, at the beginning of 2022, Diamond Lotus Riverside was honored to be among the Top 5 best smart green building projects in 2021. Ms. Phan Thu Hang, Chairman of the VGBC, affirmed that Diamond Lotus Riverside has achieved three important benefits in terms of Environment - Economy and Society. “By means of applying strict standards methodically and professionally to Diamond Lotus Riverside, it has demonstrated its commitment to corporate social responsibility towards the community and the environment through the mitigation of its carbon footprint and the environmental footprint of the building, thereby opening up a better living environment and allowing residents to have an effective and energy-saving lifestyle,” she said.

With such proud achievements, Diamond Lotus Riverside is worthy of its role as “witness” to the cooperative journey between Phuc Khang and Mitsubishi, and deserves to be the successful result of the big-thinking and sincere actions of both corporations in creating sustainable values.
During the joint venture signing ceremony with Mitsubishi in 2017, Ms. Mau said she expects this will not just be a three-year or five-year joint venture, but instead a ten-year, 50-year or even longer-term joint venture.

“Phuc Khang commits to stand with Mitsubishi as well as other Japanese businesses to strive for more and more green buildings and green communities that are residences for global citizens and global families towards sustainable and responsible development,” she said.

The cooperative relationship between Phuc Khang and Mitsubishi has lasted more than half a decade. During a farewell ceremony for Mitsubishi Corporation Vietnam President and CEO Tetsu Funayama and welcoming ceremony for his successor, Hidetoshi Suzuki, Ms. Mau again expressed her confidence in the cooperative relationship between the two groups in the future. She committed to maintaining efforts to create more quality green buildings with Mitsubishi, continuing the pride of Diamond Lotus Riverside.