In June 2005, Prime Minister Phan Van Khai made a historic visit to the United States after 10 years of normalization between the two countries. Many Vietnamese businesses accompanied the Prime Minister to promote strong relations with American partners. The idea of setting up a joint venture investment management company was born during that week-long trip. Over the next several months, BIDV and Vietnam Partners developed the investment strategy and laid the foundation for the Company, which was licensed in January 2006 by the Ministry of Finance.