L. Joseph
Phone:  (202) 473-7700
Fax:  (202) 974-4384
E-mail:  ljoseph@ifc.org


Hanoi, Vietnam, November 29, 2001 – Peter Woicke—Executive Vice President of the International Finance Corporation and Managing Director of the World Bank Group for private sector development—will travel to Vietnam from November 30 to December 3, 2001, to look at IFC’s investment and advisory work and consult with government and industry leaders.  This is Mr. Woicke’s first official visit to Vietnam and underlines the importance that IFC attaches to its work in that country.

During his visit to Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC), Mr. Woicke will discuss ways in which IFC can support the government's efforts to deepen economic reforms and privatization; meet with private sector representatives, including existing IFC clients and donors to encourage them to make long-term investments in the country; and attend the opening of the Vietnam Business Forum in Hanoi.  In HCMC, Mr. Woicke will sign several new deals demonstrating IFC’s continuing commitment to Vietnam, including the VEIL fund and the Franco-Vietnamese Hospital.

IFC will strengthen Vietnam’s capital markets and its institutional investor base with an investment of up to US$12 million in Vietnam Enterprise Investment Limited (VEIL)—a Vietnam-dedicated closed-end fund with a paid-in capital of nearly $50 million—which will invest in a balanced portfolio of Vietnamese-run and owned companies.  In addition, IFC is planning to invest in Dragon Capital Group, an offshore merchant bank and the fund manager of VEIL, with the objective of introducing best practices in Vietnam's fledging merchant banking industry.

IFC will invest in Vietnam’s health care sector with a $8 million investment to support the establishment of the Franco-Vietnamese Hospital—the first modern, western-style, wholly foreign-owned hospital in HCMC.  The 190-bed secondary care hospital will provide a full range of surgical and diagnostic services for the treatment of non-communicable diseases such as heart problems, cancer, and accidental injuries; help reduce the shortage of high-quality hospital care; and help transfer know-how to Vietnamese medical professionals.


Mr. Woicke will inaugurate the Bank Training Center (BTC), an initiative sponsored by the Mekong Project Development Facility (MPDF) to provide training and technical assistance to local private commercial banks.  He will sign a Memoradum of Understanding on behalf of MPDF outlining the scope and terms of assistance to BTC and attend a roundtable discussion with the heads of the banks on the main issues and concerns of the local banking sector.


Mr. Woicke will also visit Tan Binh—an industrial park outside HCMC where MPDF has assisted six projects—and hold discussions with the park management and industrial tenants.

IFC has been active in Vietnam since 1992.  Its total committed portfolio as of fiscal year 2001 was $99.3 million in 10 projects.  IFC’s strategic priorities aimed at stimulating the private sector include building domestic financial markets and institutions, developing infrastructure through privatization and investment (physical infrastructure as well as health and education projects); reforming state-owned enterprises, promoting indigenous entrepreneurship through SME support, encouraging corporate governance, and boosting foreign investment.

IFC is expanding its support to SMEs by providing technical assistance through a broad array of programs sponsored by MPDF—a multi-donor funded operation managed by IFC and the World Bank—which promotes the establishment and expansion of SMEs in Vietnam, Cambodia, and Lao PDR by working with local companies to help them develop projects and providing business advisory services and training programs.  During 2000, MPDF successfully completed 25 projects in Vietnam involving project costs of $22.53 million.

In addition to their contribution to MPDF, the donors have supported 28 technical assistance projects (total of $3.6 million) in Vietnam through their trust funds program at IFC in an effort to develop the environment for private sector growth.

IFC is also helping to improve Vietnam’s business climate through the Vietnam Business Forum—in coordination with the World Bank, other donors, and through MPDF—which convenes businessmen, policymakers, and donors to discuss policies and has fostered a dialogue between the government and business community.

Mr. Woicke will be accompanied by Mr. Javed Hamid, Director, East Asia & the Pacific, Joint Bank-IFC; Mr. Karl Voltaire, Director, Global Financial Markets Group, IFC; and Mr. Guy Ellena, Director, Health and Education, IFC.  He will be joined in Vietnam by World Bank Country Director Mr. Andrew Steer and by IFC Country Manager Mr. Deepak Khanna.  In addition to IFC and World Bank offices in Hanoi, MPDF has offices in Hanoi and HCMC.


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, IFC has 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.