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Virtual offices become popular as economic downturn bites
Virtual-office providers are prospering since many businesses prefer the service to cut rental costs in the rough economic situation prevalent now.
A virtual office involves shared office services, which usually consist of a business address, meeting facilities, receptionist services and phone, mail and fax services, all for US$50-179 a month.
Tran Viet Ha, director of the Ho Chi Minh City-based virtual office service provider Intel Office, said in the last six months his clientele had shot up by 250 percent, an impressive increase considering the service is new in Vietnam.
Huynh Quang Viet, deputy general director of Incomnet, said his company’s virtual office had only 160 clients in the first two years of its operation.
But the figure has doubled in just the last few months, he said.
A company supplying textile equipment said with business dwindling, it would be hard-pressed to pay VND100 million ($5,700) for rent and other expenses.
By using a virtual office for the last four months, the company said it pays less than 20 percent of that amount but has all the advantages of a traditional office.
Pham Quang Hung, director of Hoang Gia Accounting Consultant Company, said his business planned to open an office in the city’s downtown area.
But it calculated it would have to pay several dozens of millions of dong a month for rent, decoration and furnishing, and would still face several problems, he said.
The company then decided to lease a virtual office in District 1 that cost only a fraction but provided the same utility, he added.
Dinh Minh Chinh, director of The Gioi Tim Kiem Company, which specialized in website design and online advertising, and supplies industrial equipment, said since mid-2006, when his company decided to lease a virtual office at Incomnet’s G-Office in District 1, its business has improved.
“At first, many customers were cautious because of the virtual office I used, but they understood later and some even asked me how to rent such an office,” he said.
Incomnet’s Viet said while the service is popular in foreign countries, it is just three years old in Vietnam.
It has excellent potential since only a few companies are in the market yet, mainly in HCMC and Hanoi, while demand for office space remains high.
More than 300,000 businesses are registered in HCMC, he said quoting figures from the city’s Department of Planning and Investment.
Intel’s Ha said since the global economy is expected to be mired in difficulties this year, virtual-office services could develop strongly in Vietnam.
TBKTSG
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