VIFC-HCMC facilitates $325 million in international capital for Vietnam’s education development

On September 23 in New York, EQuest Education Group, EQuest Capital, and Standard Chartered Bank’s New York branch signed an MoU during the official visit of General Secretary and President To Lam to the US. The signing ceremony was witnessed by President Lam and Richard Dean McClellan, CEO of VIFC-HCMC.

Image courtesy of VIFC-HCMC

The agreement was executed by senior executives from both sides, including Mandy DeFilippo, CEO of Standard Chartered for the United States and Europe, Americas, Middle East and Africa; Nguyen Quoc Toan, chairman of EQuest Education Group; and Truong Hoang Nam, deputy CEO in charge of Finance at EQuest Education Group and director of EQuest Capital.

Standard Chartered will act as a strategic partner to structure and participate in arranging financing packages. The mobilised capital will be disbursed through EQuest Capital before being deployed into education infrastructure and quality initiatives across Vietnam, with Ho Chi Minh City serving as the central hub.

EQuest Capital operates as a member of VIFC-HCMC, established under Resolution No.222/2025/QH15 of the National Assembly and Decree No.323/2025/ND-CP of the government.

Through VIFC-HCMC’s financial ecosystem, preferential tax policies, foreign exchange management mechanisms, and internationally aligned legal framework, EQuest Capital will receive, structure, and deploy investment capital directly into key projects.

The funds will be allocated across five core strategic priorities. These include building a technology-focused university campus offering undergraduate and postgraduate courses in AI, cybersecurity, data science, robotics, semiconductors, industrial systems engineering, nursing, and healthcare.

The group will also expand international university partnerships across Asia and the United States, develop a multi-level international K-12 school network for local and expatriate families, scale existing private K-12 school brands, and advance education technology platforms in Vietnam and globally.

In addition to capital mobilisation, Standard Chartered plans to explore credit products and foreign exchange management solutions for EQuest’s global network of faculty members and experts.

Truong Hoang Nam, deputy CEO in charge of finance at EQuest, highlighted that the agreement represents a critical milestone in the group’s strategy of sourcing international resources.

“Through the partnership with Standard Chartered and the connecting role of VIFC-HCMC, EQuest expects to progressively expand its access to long-term capital,” Nam said. “This will allow us to invest in infrastructure, develop new training programmes, and elevate overall educational quality in Vietnam.”

Highlighting the broader economic impact, Richard Dean McClellan, CEO of VIFC-HCMC, noted that the deal reflects the financial centre’s fundamental purpose.

“The partnership embodies the very role VIFC-HCMC aspires to play, which is bringing international financial institutions to long-term investment projects in Vietnam,” McClellan said.

He added that directing global capital into concrete education development projects enables domestic firms to integrate into international financial networks, while supporting national policies to attract private funding and build high-quality human resources.

Following the signing, all parties will evaluate project feasibility, determine financing structures, and develop implementation roadmaps, with disbursement subject to project progress and regulatory approvals.

EQuest Education Group is one of Vietnam’s largest private education outfits, operating across K-12, higher and vocational education, and EdTech.

As of September, EQuest manages more than 25 institutions nationwide, serving nearly 20,000 K-12 students and 10,000 higher education students, alongside 180,000 global users on its EdTech platforms. The group has previously raised capital from international financial backers, including Vietnam Oman Investment, TAEL Partners, and KKR.

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