Vietnam an extremely attractive investment destination: KKR

David Petraeus, a partner at leading global investment firm KKR, says political stability, rapidly improving infrastructure, and friendly relations with other countries make Vietnam an extremely attractive investment destination.

In a talk with Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh on Tuesday, he added that the country considering education and training as a top priority and teaching English as a second language are competitive edges over its neighboring countries.

Many investors have recognized these factors, and more and more U.S investors will come to Vietnam, Petraeus, also chairman of the KKR Global Institute, was quoted by the Vietnamese government’s news portal as saying.

Petraeus praised Vietnam for impressive development achievements, its relationship with the United States, and the new agreement between the Vietnamese government and tech giant Nvidia to build important infrastructure for the future of technology.

Citing Vietnam is on the right track in relations with the U.S., Petraeus said KKR will continue to expand investment in Vietnam. He affirmed KKR and he personally actively and strongly support cooperation with the Southeast Asian country.

Vietnam is a country where KKR needs to act more and will act more, he emphasized.

KKR has spent more than $2 billion in Vietnam through investments in Vietnamese corporations such as Masan, Vinhomes, Equest, KiotViet and Saigon Medical Group (MSG).

This is the second time Petraeus has visited Vietnam and met Prime Minister Chinh.

The U.S. is Vietnam’s largest export market, while Vietnam is the seventh largest trading partner of the U.S. and the biggest trading partner of the powerhouse in the ASEAN region.

Registered U.S. direct investment in Vietnam has reached about $11.94 billion with over 1,400 projects, ranking 11th among countries and territories investing in Vietnam, Vietnamese government data shows.

At the meeting, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh proposed that KKR continue to expand investment and cooperation with Vietnamese businesses, especially in emerging fields such as artificial intelligence, semiconductors, innovative startup ecosystems, digital transformation, and renewable energy, and connect Vietnam with corporations and partners of KKR around the world.

Chinh also asked Petraeus to speak up for the U.S. government to continue strengthening the sustainable bilateral economic cooperation, including a more balanced trade relation, and for the U.S. side to soon recognize Vietnam as a market economy and abolish restrictions on high-tech exports to Vietnam.