January 13, 2017.
Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
“OPIC is excited about this opportunity to support Fulbright University Vietnam and see the transformative impact of expanding higher education for students,” said Elizabeth L. Littlefield, OPIC President and CEO. “To date, OPIC projects have supported educating over 25,000 students in higher education throughout the developing world, and this project is a potential opportunity to add to that.”
“Fulbright University Vietnam believes deeply in the importance of building a campus that creates spaces that facilitate learning as a 24/7 activity. We’re delighted to begin working with OPIC to consider opportunities for financing our campus,” said FUV President Dam Bich Thuy.
The presentation took place at Ho Chi Minh University of Technology and Education, near the future site of the university’s campus in Saigon High Tech. OPIC was represented by Managing Director for Asia-Pacific Geoffrey Tan. Also in attendance were U.S. Ambassador to Vietnam Ted Osius, U.S. Consul General Mary Tarnowka, Chairman of Saigon High Tech Park Le Hoai Quoc, Trust for University Innovation in Vietnam Board Members Thomas Vallely and Ben Wilkinson, and Fulbright University Vietnam Head of Graduate Studies Nguyen Xuan Thanh. Ms. Dam Bich Thuy, founding president of Fulbright University Vietnam, received the signed letter on behalf of the university.
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About OPIC
OPIC is the U.S. Government’s development finance institution. It mobilizes private capital to help address critical development challenges and in doing so, advances U.S. foreign policy and national security priorities. Because OPIC works with the U.S. private sector, it helps U.S. businesses gain footholds in emerging markets, catalyzing revenues, jobs and growth opportunities both at home and abroad. OPIC achieves its mission by providing investors with financing, political risk insurance, and support for private equity investment funds, when commercial funding cannot be obtained elsewhere. Established as an agency of the U.S. Government in 1971, OPIC operates on a self-sustaining basis at no net cost to American taxpayers.
All OPIC projects adhere to high environmental and social standards and respect human rights, including worker’s rights. By mandating high standards, OPIC aims to raise the industry and regional standards of the countries where it funds projects. OPIC services are available for new and expanding business enterprises in more than 160 countries worldwide.
About Fulbright University Vietnam
Fulbright University Vietnam (FUV) is a private, nonprofit Vietnamese university inspired by the American liberal education tradition and dedicated to serving Vietnamese society through innovation in teaching, learning, and discovery. FUV emerged from a two-decades long initiative of the Harvard Kennedy School to create Vietnam’s first center of public policy teaching and research, the Fulbright Economics Teaching Program.
FUV’s first two academic programs are a graduate program in public policy and management and an undergraduate program in engineering and the liberal arts and sciences. FUV was officially announced by former President Barack Obama in May 2016. FUV receives core financial support from the United States Department of State and a number of private supporters. FUV’s founding sponsor is the Trust for University Innovation in Vietnam, a US nonprofit organization.
