Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, March 19, 2002
—The International Finance Corporation announced a US$7.25 million investment in RMIT International University Vietnam, the first foreign-owned university in Vietnam. The Asian Development Bank will also provide a loan of $7.25 million in support of the project.
The university will offer undergraduate and graduate degree programs, English and other foreign language training, corporate training, and continuing education programs. It will be wholly owned by Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (RMIT) of Australia. RMIT plans to develop the Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC)-based university in several phases. IFC’s investment supports the first phase, which is estimated to cost $33.6 million.
This is the first education project under the Government of Vietnam’s new law to promote foreign private investment in the areas of health, education, science, and research.
IFC’s financing will help the university construct and operate a new campus in the South Saigon New Urban Development Area in HCMC. RMIT will introduce Australian standards for quality assurance of higher education, which is expected to become benchmarks for development of the quality assurance framework for higher education institutions in Vietnam. RMIT will introduce a new teaching and learning framework which will combine classroom lectures and multimedia-based learning materials.
In addition, technical assistance was provided to assist RMIT to prepare a Resettlement Action Plan (RAP)—posted for public information in Ho Chi Min City in April, 2001—with funding from AusAID through IFC’s Technical Assistance Trust Fund Program.
Mr. Guy Ellena, Director of IFC’s Health and Education Department, said, “This project will enable thousands of Vietnamese students to obtain modern, high quality college education without having to go overseas. It will also contribute to making the Vietnamese workforce become globally competitive and promote private sector participation in the provision and financing of education services.”
Professor David Wilmoth, Executive Director, Major Projects, RMIT, said “The goal of RMIT Vietnam is to provide professional and vocational education, training programs, outcome related research and consultancy services that address real world issues appropriate to Vietnam’s economic and social development and to its environmental sustainability. We are delighted that IFC has supported us in achieving this goal and hope that the partnership between RMIT and IFC will continue in Vietnam and elsewhere.”
IFC’s mission is to promote sustainable private sector investment in developing countries, helping to reduce poverty and improve people’s lives. IFC finances private sector investments in the developing world, mobilizes capital in the international financial markets, and provides technical assistance and advice to governments and businesses. Since its founding in 1956 through the close of the last fiscal year on June 30, 2001, IFC committed more than $31 billion of its own funds and arranged $20 billion in syndications for 2,636 companies in 140 developing countries. IFC’s committed portfolio at the end of FY01 was $14.3 billion.
