--- title: "Ho Chi Minh City vs Manila: Class A office comparison" description: "Side-by-side Class A office comparison for Ho Chi Minh City and Manila — rent, vacancy, talent, tax, lease norms, transit, and top submarkets." canonical: https://classa.info/compare/ho-chi-minh-city-vs-manila pageType: comparison lastUpdated: 2026-04-15T00:00:00.000Z license: "CC BY 4.0 with attribution to Class A Atlas (https://classa.info)." --- > Ho Chi Minh City ($65/sqft, 7.4% vacancy) and Manila ($28/sqft, 22.6% vacancy) compete on different axes: Ho Chi Minh City on rent and tax and Manila on talent depth. ## TL;DR - Class A rent: Ho Chi Minh City $65/sqft vs Manila $28/sqft. - Vacancy: Ho Chi Minh City 7.4% vs Manila 22.6%. - Talent index: Ho Chi Minh City 74 vs Manila 76. - Corporate tax: Ho Chi Minh City 20% vs Manila 25%. - Premium flex/seat/month: Ho Chi Minh City $320 vs Manila $290. # Ho Chi Minh City vs Manila: Class A office comparison **Ho Chi Minh City ($65/sqft, 7.4% vacancy) and Manila ($28/sqft, 22.6% vacancy) compete on different axes: Ho Chi Minh City on rent and tax and Manila on talent depth.** ## TL;DR - [Class A](/glossary/class-a) rent: Ho Chi Minh City $65/sqft vs Manila $28/sqft. - Vacancy: Ho Chi Minh City 7.4% vs Manila 22.6%. - Talent index: Ho Chi Minh City 74 vs Manila 76. - Corporate tax: Ho Chi Minh City 20% vs Manila 25%. - [Premium flex](/topics/lease-vs-flex)/seat/month: Ho Chi Minh City $320 vs Manila $290. ## Market data side-by-side | Metric | Ho Chi Minh City | Manila| | Region | APAC | APAC| | Country | Vietnam | Philippines| | Class A rent (USD/sqft/yr) | $65 | $28| | Class A rent (local) | 1500000 VND | 1500 PHP| | Vacancy | 7.4% | 22.6%| | Trend | rising | softening| | Prime yield | 6.4% | 6.6%| | Premium flex / seat / month (USD) | $320 | $290| | Submarkets covered | 5 | 5| | Corporate tax | 20% | 25%| ## Lease norms | Metric | Ho Chi Minh City | Manila| | Typical term | 3 yrs | 3 yrs| | Typical rent-free | 4 mos | 5 mos| | Lease norms | Net leases. 3-year terms with renewal options. Free rent of 3-6 months and TI of VND 6-12M/sqm typical. | Net leases. 3-5 year terms with renewal options standard. Free rent of 4-9 months on a 5-year deal.| | Tax note | 20% Vietnamese corporate income tax. 10% reduced rate for high-tech and selected sectors. VAT 10%. High-tech zone incentives (4 years tax holiday + 9 years 50% reduction) available in qualifying parks. | 25% Philippine corporate income tax. 20% reduced rate for small companies. PEZA registration provides 4-7 year income tax holiday plus 5% gross income tax in lieu of all national and local taxes for qualifying export-oriented activities.| ## Talent | Metric | Ho Chi Minh City | Manila| | Talent index (0–100) | 74 | 76| | Talent note | Deep manufacturing services, growing tech engineering, and a structurally young workforce. Strong feed from VNU-HCM, RMIT Vietnam, and a deep network of technical universities. Vietnamese-only operating environment for most domestic tenants; English fluency growing in tech and international corporate. | Deepest English-language BPO talent in Asia. Strong feed from University of the Philippines, Ateneo de Manila, De La Salle, and a deep network of universities. Excellent neutral English accent supports North American customer-facing operations.| ## Transit & commute **Ho Chi Minh City:** Metro Line 1 (Ben Thanh-Suoi Tien) opened late 2024. Bus network. Tan Son Nhat Airport (SGN) on the city's edge; new Long Thanh Airport (LTA) under construction (target 2026). **Manila:** LRT-1, LRT-2, MRT-3, plus the new MRT-7 and PNR. Manila Metro Rail Transit System (MMRT) is structurally under-capacity. NAIA airport connected via bus and the future MRT-7 extension. ## Top submarkets — Ho Chi Minh City - [**District 1**](/cities/ho-chi-minh-city/district-1) — [trophy tier](/topics/trophy-asset-selection) · ₫1,700,000/sqm/mo · ≈ $73.9 PSF/yr USD - [**Thu Thiem (District 2)**](/cities/ho-chi-minh-city/thu-thiem-d2) — trophy tier · ₫1,400,000/sqm/mo · ≈ $60.9 PSF/yr USD - [**District 3**](/cities/ho-chi-minh-city/district-3) — prime tier · ₫1,200,000/sqm/mo · ≈ $52.2 PSF/yr USD ## Top submarkets — Manila - [**Bonifacio Global City (BGC)**](/cities/manila/bgc) — trophy tier · ₱1,700/sqm/mo · ≈ $32.2 PSF/yr USD - [**Makati CBD**](/cities/manila/makati-cbd) — trophy tier · ₱1,600/sqm/mo · ≈ $30.3 PSF/yr USD - [**Ortigas Center**](/cities/manila/ortigas) — prime tier · ₱1,200/sqm/mo · ≈ $22.7 PSF/yr USD ## Decision criteria ### Pick by cost Manila is the cheaper Class A market on a USD basis. ### Pick by talent depth Manila has the deeper talent index (76/100 vs 74/100). ### Pick by tax Ho Chi Minh City has the lower headline corporate tax (20% vs 25%). Local incentives can change the effective rate materially. ### Pick by lease optionality Ho Chi Minh City typical term is 3 years with 4 months free; Manila runs 3 years with 5 months free. ### Pick by transit Ho Chi Minh City: Metro Line 1 (Ben Thanh-Suoi Tien) opened late 2024. Bus network. Tan Son Nhat Airport (SGN) on the city's edge; new Long Thanh Airport (LTA) under construction (target 2026). Manila: LRT-1, LRT-2, MRT-3, plus the new MRT-7 and PNR. Manila Metro Rail Transit System (MMRT) is structurally under-capacity. NAIA airport connected via bus and the future MRT-7 extension. ## Run a 4-city comparison Score Ho Chi Minh City, Manila and up to two more markets side-by-side on Class A rent, vacancy, talent, corporate tax, and premium flex pricing — all in USD. [**Run a 4-city comparison →**](/tools/city-comparator) ## Frequently asked questions ****Is Class A office cheaper in Ho Chi Minh City or Manila?**** : Manila is cheaper on a USD basis: $28/sqft vs $65/sqft. ****Which has better talent depth, Ho Chi Minh City or Manila?**** : Manila indexes higher on talent depth (76 vs 74). ****Which has more sublease availability, Ho Chi Minh City or Manila?**** : Manila carries higher vacancy (22.6% vs 7.4%) and therefore typically more [sublease](/topics/sublease-strategy)">sublease overhang. ****What lease term should I expect in Ho Chi Minh City vs Manila?**** : Ho Chi Minh City typical term is 3 years with 4 months rent-free; Manila typical term is 3 years with 5 months rent-free. ****How does transit and commuter access compare?**** : Ho Chi Minh City: Metro Line 1 (Ben Thanh-Suoi Tien) opened late 2024. Bus network. Tan Son Nhat Airport (SGN) on the city's edge; new Long Thanh Airport (LTA) under construction (target 2026). Manila: LRT-1, LRT-2, MRT-3, plus the new MRT-7 and PNR. Manila Metro Rail Transit System (MMRT) is structurally under-capacity. NAIA airport connected via bus and the future MRT-7 extension. ## Editorial provenance Reviewed by [**Kenji Watanabe**](/about/authors/kenji-watanabe) — APAC contributing editor. Last updated 2026-04-15. See our [methodology](/about/methodology) and [editorial standards](/about/editorial-standards). ### Primary sources for this page - [CBRE Marketview reports](https://www.cbre.com/insights) — CBRE - [JLL Office Insight](https://www.jll.com/en/trends-and-insights) — JLL - [Cushman & Wakefield Marketbeat](https://www.cushmanwakefield.com/en/insights) — Cushman & Wakefield - [Savills World Research](https://www.savills.com/research_articles/) — Savills - [Colliers Global Office Outlook](https://www.colliers.com/en/research) — Colliers [Full sources index](/about/sources) · [Submit a correction](/about/corrections) --- Citation: Source: Class A Atlas (https://classa.info/compare/ho-chi-minh-city-vs-manila), updated 2026-04-15T00:00:00.000Z.