Kuwait, Qatar Want to Boost Investment into Vietnam

Investment cooperation between Vietnam and Kuwait as well as between Vietnam and Qatar is predicted to be further enhanced following a trip by Vietnamese Minister of Planning and Investment Vo Hong Phuc to the oil rich states from June 22-27, a report from the Government’s website said.

 

Minister Phuc visited Kuwait and Qatar at the invitation of the Kuwaiti Finance Minister and the Qatari Minister of Economy and Finance. The visit aimed to carry out agreements signed by the Vietnamese Prime Minister and the Kuwaiti Prime Minister and the Qatari Deputy Prime Minister during their recent Vietnam visits.

 

In Kuwait, Phuc and his entourages visited the King and the Prime Minister, met with the Finance Minister, the General Director of the Kuwait Fund, General Director of the Kuwaiti investment corporation, the President of the Kuwait Chamber of Commerce and Industry and leaders of a number of major Kuwaiti groups.

The Kuwaiti officials said the country would provide an additional US$20 million for a transport development project in Vietnam's northern mountainous Bac Kan province and double its development assistance for Vietnam this year.

 

The Kuwaiti government wants to invest into Vietnam’s state-owned companies that are to be privatized and into the country’s real estate market. More delegations from Kuwait will arrive in Vietnam to investigate the country's real estate development, tourism projects, major infrastructure projects and the possibility of becoming strategic shareholders in joint stock companies, the Kuwaiti officials added.

In addition, Kuwaiti firms are also interested in Thanh Hoa province-based Nghi Son Oil Refinery project and in a US$15-million steel building components factory in Vietnam.

The host also expressed a hope to boost comprehensive cooperation with Vietnam. Kuwait will set up a Kuwaiti embassy in Hanoi and a Consulate General in Ho Chi Minh City by September.

While in Qatar, the Vietnamese delegation met with the Minister of Finance and Economy and the General Director of the Qatar Investment Agency, who expressed that Qatar is keen on purchasing stocks in Vietnamese State-owned firms to be equitized and on Vietnam’s real estate market and tourism sector.

 

The Qatari Investment Agency will also send a delegation to Vietnam early next month to inquire into projects on urban development and tourist sites and luxury resorts. (Youth, Website of CPV)