Vietnamese education firm EQuest and property developer Phu My Hung have entered into a strategic partnership to develop a K-12 education complex in Hong Hac City, at a total investment of approximately $40 million.
With this, the KKR-backed education group expands its footprint in northern Vietnam.
The project will comprise a kindergarten and an integrated primary-to-high school campus with a student capacity of around 2,500 upon completion.
The education complex spans more than 22,000 square metres and will be developed in two phases. The first phase, covering nearly 11,000 square metres, will include a three-storey kindergarten and a five-storey K-12 school, with operations and the first student intake targeted for the 2028-2029 academic year.
The campus will combine Vietnam’s national curriculum with the Cambridge pathway while integrating STEM, artificial intelligence, robotics, arts, life skills and other holistic development programmes.
EQuest’s Chief Financial Officer, Truong Hoang Nam, told DealStreetAsia in an interview that the investment for both development phases is estimated at around VND 1 trillion ($40 million).
The partnership extends an existing relationship between the two groups. EQuest currently operates the Canadian International School (CIS) and Sedbergh Vietnam in Phu My Hung’s flagship township in southern Ho Chi Minh City. The Hong Hac City project marks the expansion of that collaboration into northern Vietnam.
Next growth phase
The project comes at a time when EQuest prepares for its next growth phase. KKR’s first investment in EQuest in June 2021 was said to be in the region of $100 million. In May 2023, it pumped another $120 million into the company in a debt and equity round.
Truong said EQuest is actively seeking additional strategic investors to prepare for its next investment cycle.
“KKR first invested in 2021, and we are now five years into KKR’s investment cycle,” he said. “We will work together with KKR to bring in new sources of capital to support continued investment into EQuest.”
In June this year, EQuest secured an inaugural offshore syndicated loan of $115.5 million, according to Standard Chartered Bank, which is one of the transaction arrangers. The financing was provided primarily by Taiwanese banks, with CTBC Bank as another arranger.
In January 2025, DealStreetAsia first reported that KKR-backed EQuest was understood to have roped in Southeast Asian financial advisor Rippledot Capital to run a sale process for its stake in the Vietnam-based education group.
The company is targeting raising $200 million through a combination of primary and secondary transactions. The company is said to be engaged in preliminary talks with nearly eight financial and strategic partners, such as TPG and CPP Investments-backed Nord Anglia.
In March this year, DealStreetAsia also reported that KKR is seeking around $500-600 million in financing to fund the acquisition of Singapore’s XCL Education Holdings.
The development came after the group agreed to purchase the majority stake in the Southeast Asia K-12 school group from TPG in a $1.3 billion deal in February.
Singapore’s XCL Education Holdings is the parent company of the Vietnam Australia International School (VAS) system in Vietnam.
Truong of EQuest believes that the transaction underscores international investors’ long-term confidence in Vietnam’s education sector, as the country’s efforts to attract investment capital and skilled professionals from both home and abroad are expected to drive growing demand for high-quality education, reinforcing the sector’s appeal as a long-term investment opportunity.
