Vietnam’s growth potential key to Fusion deal

INTERNATIONAL REPORT — While Vietnam’s hotel industry is still relatively young, Suchad Chiaranussati sees explosive growth potential in the country.

It was that insight and potential that informed his acquisition of Fusion Hotel Group last month. Chiaranussati, founder and chairman of Singapore-based SC Capital Partners, acquired the wellness-inspired hospitality brand and company in mid-March for an undisclosed amount.

When Vietnam is compared to Japan, where SC Capital Partners has the majority of its hotel investments right now, Chiaranussati said it is still way behind the more developed market.

Vietnam, in my opinion, is 10 to 20 years behind compared to Japan. But the growth will be faster in Vietnam in terms of percentage growth.

Suchad Chiaranussati

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“Vietnam’s hotel industry is still relatively young… if you're comparing the size of the number of hotel rooms and also the maturity in terms of the business structure, sectorial diversification, various other things, Vietnam is still probably two or three steps behind,” he said. “Vietnam, in my opinion, is 10 to 20 years behind compared to Japan. But the growth will be faster in Vietnam in terms of percentage growth.”

However, Chiaranussati sees strong possibilities in the country.

“Vietnam is in its infancy but has great potential,” he said.

Fusion Hotel Group CEO Christopher Hur, who will remain CEO following the acquisition, said Fusion’s objective is to double in the next five years, both in hotel and room count. But not all growth is created equal.

“We've been doing a lot of thought about this, and we feel like our brand is quite well set up,” he said. “We were already on a very good trajectory… but now, with the backing (of Chiaranussati), we're going to continue to hopefully look for capital, talent and platform support.”

Hur said Fusion is also exploring expansion outside Vietnam.

“We're actually actively looking at something in Seoul, and we’ll hopefully decide within a month or so,” he said. “This is something even six months ago, I couldn't really dream of. It’s the power of having a sponsor like Suchad and the broader SC Capital platform. We have a very strong foothold in Vietnam, and we want to, obviously, take advantage of that abroad.”

Fusion Hotel Group CEO Christopher Hur

Hur mentioned that while Fusion is primarily based in Vietnam right now, its top customers actually come from Korea, China and Japan.

“We have a strong baseline for brand recognition, and obviously, we want to try to grow that regionally — in other markets within Asia,” he said. “The key is to try to grow regionally without losing sight of the ball here (in Vietnam), because we don't want to miss the opportunity that's going on in Vietnam, which is quite strong.”

SC Capital Partners also owns Hotel Management Japan (HMJ), one of Japan’s largest hotel operators and Indonesian hotel operator Topotels Hotels & Resorts.

In November 2024, Singapore’s CapitaLand Investment Limited acquired a 40% stake in SC Capital Partners for $214 million (S$280 million) and planned to acquire the remaining stake in phases over the next five years, giving it full ownership by 2030. CapitaLand Investment said it would also invest at least $400 million to support SC Capital Partners' growth. A big reason for the acquisition was that it gave CapitaLand Investment a maiden entry into Japan’s REIT market. At the time, SC Capital Partners’ Japan Hotel REIT was the second-largest hospitality REIT listed in Japan.

Chiaranussati said CapitaLand’s investment has been positive so far.

“The way we are set up has always been very institutional,” he said. “I don't see much changing with CapitaLand coming in… I think they appreciate that we are quite entrepreneurial. So with the agreement we have in place, we continue to operate pretty much the way we've been operating.”