RMIT University Vietnam to expand HCMC campus with $166 mln fund

RMIT University Vietnam plans to expand its Saigon South campus in Ho Chi Minh City through a strategic investment fund of AUD250 million ($165.5 million).

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese released the information in his speech on Saturday while visiting RMIT University Vietnam’s Hanoi campus as part of his two-day official visit to the Southeast Asian country.

Within the fund, RMIT Vietnam will also invest in education, research, partnerships and campus infrastructure, as Vietnam’s leading international university, contributing to the country’s social and economic goals.

During the PM visit, the university launched its Industry and Innovation Hub in Hanoi. The hub, RMIT’s first in Southeast Asia, will help RMIT continue as an innovator in the country and serve as a gateway to international expertise, Albanese emphasized.

The hub will collaborate with the community, government, and enterprises to find innovative ways to tackle local and shared priorities, such as sustainable cities or emerging technologies, according to Albanese.

“This is a vote of confidence in Vietnam’s future and in the strength and the potential we see in joining forces on education,” he added.

In addition to RMIT’s investments, the PM announced Western Sydney University’s new Whitlam Scholarships for 60 students to study business, communications and data science in Vietnam or Australia.

RMIT University Vietnam, the Vietnamese branch of the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (RMIT), was established in 2000. It now has three facilities in HCMC, Hanoi, and Danang, three economic hubs in southern, northern, and central Vietnam.

Australia is the 20th-biggest foreign investor in Vietnam with 599 valid projects and total registered capital of $1.99 billion to date, according to Vietnam's Ministry of Planning and Investment. The top investors are South Korea with valid 9,666 projects worth $81.56 billion, Singapore with 3,240 projects worth $73.38 billion, and Japan with 5,091 projects worth $69.63 billion.

Australia was Vietnam’s seventh-largest trade partner in 2022. The Southeast Asian country’s export turnover to Australia reached $5.6 billion while its import spending for Australian goods and services reached $10.1 billion, up 26.2% and 27.3% against 2021, respectively, according to Vietnam Customs.

Vietnam and Australia should work more closely in new areas such as innovation, renewable energy, the circular economy, and high-tech agriculture, culture, and tourism, Vietnamese Minister of Planning and Investment Nguyen Chi Dung said at the third ministerial-level Vietnam-Australia Economic Partnership Meeting held in Hanoi last month.