♦ Good morning Hannes. On this occasion of the upcoming Christmas season and the New Year, I would like to offer you and your family my best wishes. And, thinking of Christmas, is this a busy Christmas season for you?

   Thank you. We certainly are very busy at this time. However, this is a great business. A Christmas and New Year of Work! The best gift we could get is seeing Melinh PLAZA being built day by day.

♦ Anyone who drives along the Thang Long – Noi Bai Highway has to look over at the huge Melinh PLAZA construction site. A lot of newspapers have printed articles about the plaza and its new mode of professional business, Is it coming along smoothly?

   Yes, everything is going smoothly, and major parts of the building are up. The main building is being completed and the foundations of three satellite buildings are going in. We are also preparing for an office building, apartments for lease, and a restaurant. 

    Melinh PLAZA will include a main building with three satellites, all on 67,000sq.m. There we’ll be displaying and selling construction materials and interior furniture. Next to them will be an office building and apartments for lease that will stand on almost 15,000sq.m. There will also be a 1,000sq.m restaurant and a 30,000sq.m general warehouse. 

    Melinh PLAZA will have banking and transport services and host events at the Business Center with a more than 200-seat conference hall. The complex will be well-furnishes with Trane air conditioners (UK), KONE elevators (Finland), Schindler escalators (Switzerland), and international-standard security cameras, communication, fire-alert and fire-hoist systems.

♦ Will world-class names in construction materials and interior furniture will be represented at Melinh PLAZA? 

    Products of most domestic and foreign reputable companies will be showcased at Melinh PLAZA allowing consumers to have a comprehensive understanding of models, quality, price and related services. A large number of world famous construction material and furniture producers have registered to lease booths at Melinh PLAZA, and we expect to be signing contracts with them.

♦ I’ve heard that several domestic producers are not really interested in doing business at the plaza. Do you think that they’re scared away by the high rent or competition from the foreign giants? 

    I’m sure that the lease rates for Melinh PLAZA will be 30-50 percent lower than those in the inner city. The least rates will average US$10-12 per sq.m. In addition, we have a policy to sort out domestic and foreign products to create comfort for consumers and fair competition among traders at the plaza. We also have discount and preference policies for domestic and foreign producers and traders that are to initially help them get established at the plaza.

♦ Why would shoppers want to drive all the way out to Melinh PLAZA? I mean it will be rather far for most people, won’t it? 
    
    It will take 25-30 minutes to go from the city center to Melinh PLAZA where they will be able to buy everything they need. 

    At the plaza they will have the opportunity to choose among a huge array of products and services. There will be genuine producers, traders, and official distribution agents at Melinh PLAZA. Strict control of product quality and product origin will help eliminate the risk of counterfeit and sub-standard products. Products will be exhibited systematically, and price tags will be current. Best of all, people will be able to buy products things never seen before or sold in Vietnam.