The signing ceremony between Vietnam-Oman Investments JSC, Manila Water Company and SII. — Photo VOI

HCM CITY (Biz Hub) — Oman plans to increase investment in highway and water supply projects in Viet Nam, the Middle Eastern emirate's sovereign wealth fund said.

The State General Reserve Fund of Oman signed an agreement of strategic co-operation for water infrastructure investment in Viet Nam on August 31 between the fund's Vietnam-Oman Investments JSC (VOI), Manila Water Company (MWC) and Saigon Water Infrastructure Corporation (SII) – a subsidiary of HCM City Infrastructure Investment JSC (CII).

Most of the projects will be in or around HCM City.

Under the agreements, VOI is committed to invest in a number of SII's joint projects such as highway projects or safe water supply projects.

Meanwhile, the Manila Water Company, a leading private company of the Philippines with a total capital of around US$10 billion, committed to support SII in technical areas and management, particularly in water supply network management.

VOI Chairman Abdullah Al-Harthy said: "The State Government Reserve Fund of Oman is very keen to enhance and extract value from sectors that play a vital role in Viet Nam's growth story."

"We have been confidently working with CII on a number of projects with high impact on the economic and social development of Viet Nam. In particular, CII, MWC and we all find that there is an urgent need and a huge economic value for the new water network development in areas that the people of Vietnam have limited access to clean water", he said.

VOI was founded in 2009 as a joint venture between the two sovereign wealth funds of Oman and Viet Nam: the State General Reserve Fund of Oman (SGRF) and the State Capital Investment Corporation of Viet Nam (SCIC).

VOI mainly focuses in long term and value investments in growth sectors such as power plants, toll roads, water supply, ports and logistics, consumer goods, health care, agriculture, and manufacturing.

The HCM City Infrastructure Investment JSC (CII) is the leading infrastructure developer and operator in HCMC and in the south of Vietnam with market capitalization of $220 million and a portfolio of strategic infrastructure assets of around $1.5 billion diversified in bridges and roads, water supply and distribution, industrial zones and property development. — VNS