Such growth rate, while remaining lower compared to the 12.7% recorded the previous year, was an encouraging sign for the business community amid global retail market suffering plunge in revenue during the pandemic.

The country’s retail network could be modernized thanks to European investment, technologies and high standard governance.

As the occupancy rate dropped due to impacts of the pandemic, landlords rolled out supportive measures.

In the next five years, Vietnam's contribution will rise to 25% from the current 17% to revenue of Central Retail, said the company’s CEO.

The additional supply drives up Hanoi's retail space to roughly 1.2 million square meters in the fourth quarter 2019.

Vietnam is on track to become one of the biggest consumer markets in the world, said Japan’s richest man and CEO of Fast Retailing Tadashi Yanai.

For a population of nearly 100 million, of which the majority is at young age and with steady growth of income per capita, Vietnam is considered a potential market for fashion retailers.