KKR has invested over $2 billion in Vietnam through investments in Vietnamese corporations such as Masan, Vinhomes, Equest, KiotViet, and most recently in Saigon Medical Group (MSG).

On the afternoon of December 10, at the Government Headquarters, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh met with Mr. David Petraeus, one of the co-owners of KKR, a leading investment fund in the United States with a total asset value of $528 billion, who is visiting and working in Vietnam.

KKR has invested over $2 billion in Vietnam through investments in Vietnamese corporations such as Masan, Vinhomes, Equest, KiotViet, and most recently in Saigon Medical Group (MSG).

During his second visit to Vietnam and meeting with the Prime Minister, Mr. David Petraeus expressed his desire to continue promoting cooperation between the two sides.

Welcoming Mr. David Petraeus back to Vietnam; congratulating and appreciating the successes of the KKR Investment Fund globally in recent times and the fact that the KKR Fund has invested more than 2 billion USD in Vietnam, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh said that with the spirit of “putting aside the past, overcoming differences, promoting similarities, looking towards the future”, with great efforts from both sides, the Vietnam-US relationship has been continuously consolidated and better developed.

After Vietnam and the US became Comprehensive Strategic Partners, bilateral economic and trade relations continued to develop sustainably. Currently, over the past 20 years, the US has been Vietnam’s largest export market and Vietnam has become the 7th largest trading partner of the US, as well as the largest partner in the ASEAN region. US direct investment in Vietnam is estimated at 11.94 billion USD with over 1,400 projects, ranking 11th among countries and territories with foreign investment in Vietnam.

Assessing the potential for economic cooperation, trade and investment between the two sides is still very large, especially US investment in Vietnam has much room to continue to grow, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh expects US investors to continue to increase new investments and expand investment in Vietnam.

Providing information on Vietnam’s policies and guidelines, the Prime Minister said that Vietnam continues to maintain macroeconomic stability, a peaceful environment, maintain independence, sovereignty, ensure national defense, security, social order and safety; at the same time, promote three strategic breakthroughs in institutions, infrastructure (especially transport infrastructure, digital infrastructure) and human resources, reform administrative procedures, improve the investment and business environment to create new development space, reduce time, reduce costs, facilitate and meet the needs of investors, increase the competitiveness of goods, help investors feel secure in long-term, sustainable and effective cooperation with Vietnam.

In the spirit of win-win, “harmonizing benefits and sharing risks”, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh suggested that KKR Investment Fund continue to expand investment and cooperation with Vietnamese enterprises, especially in emerging fields such as artificial intelligence, semiconductors, building an innovative startup ecosystem, digital transformation, renewable energy, etc.; connect Vietnam with corporations and partners of KKR Fund around the world to seek opportunities, expand cooperation and investment in Vietnam, turn opportunities into specific projects; provide policy advice to help Vietnam take advantage of development opportunities, promote national strength and the strength of the times, support Vietnam in building an independent and self-reliant economy associated with proactive, active international integration, deeply, substantially and effectively.

On this occasion, the Prime Minister asked Mr. David Petraeus to speak up to the US government to continue supporting the enhancement of sustainable economic-trade-investment cooperation between the two countries, including more balanced trade cooperation, the US side to soon recognize Vietnam as a market economy and remove restrictions related to high-tech exports to Vietnam.

For his part, Mr. David Petraeus highly appreciated the factors that make Vietnam an “extremely attractive” place for investment, such as political stability, good security and order, rapidly improving infrastructure, peaceful relations, friendship, cooperation with other countries, valuing education and training, teaching English as a second language, having many comparative advantages with neighboring countries. Many investors have recognized these factors and more and more US investors will come to Vietnam.

Appreciating Vietnam’s impressive development achievements as well as the bilateral relationship between Vietnam and the United States, he warmly shared about his father-in-law who participated in the war in Vietnam and when he heard that he had returned to Vietnam for the second time, his wife said that “35 years ago, no one could have imagined this”.

Congratulating Vietnam on the very positive agreement with NVIDIA to build important infrastructures in the future of technology, and assessing that Vietnam is on the right track in its relations with the United States, Mr. David Petraeus said that the KKR Investment Fund will continue to expand its investment in Vietnam, affirming that KKR and he actively and strongly support cooperation with Vietnam, especially the contents mentioned by the Prime Minister. “Vietnam is a country where KKR needs to do more and will do more,” Mr. David Petraeus emphasized.