Oleh/By		:	DATO' SERI DR. MAHATHIR BIN MOHAMAD 
Tempat/Venue 	: 	HO CHI MINH CITY, VIETNAM 
Tarikh/Date 	: 	23/04/92 
Tajuk/Title  	: 	THE EQUATORIAL HOTEL FOUNDATION 
			STONE LAYING CEREMONY 




 Your Excellencies;
Distinguished Guests;
Ladies and Gentlemen,
    I  am  honoured  to be given this opportunity of laying
the foundation stone of this hotel,  an  investment  project
initiated by Malaysians.
2.   This  ceremony is significant particularly for Malaysia
as it marks yet another step in Malaysia's  efforts  at  en-
hancing  bilateral trade and economic ties with Vietnam.  As
Malaysia benefited from trade and foreign investment, so  we
believe  Vietnam will gain and develop through trade and in-
vestment.  This hotel project  represents  Malaysia's  small
contribution  towards the process of rehabilitating the war-
ravaged economy of Vietnam.   We believe that  a  prosperous
Vietnam  will contribute towards the economic well-being and
political stability of the region.   It will  make  possible
the  Zone  of  Peace,  Freedom and Neutrality the South East
Asia seeks.
3.   The economic reforms under the theme of "doi moi" (eco-
nomic reform) and "mo cua" (openness)  introduced  in  1986,
have  caused  Vietnam to develop rapidly.  With trade incen-
tives and the generous terms offered to foreign investors, I
am confident that  more  Malaysian  businessmen  and  corpo-
rations will be able to play an effective and mutually bene-
ficial role in the Vietnamese economy.
5.   I  am  pleased  to  say that this hotel, symbolises the
spirit and resourcefulness of ASEAN entrepreneurs in ventur-
ing overseas.  The hotel project is intended,  in  part,  to
meet  the  upsurge  in  tourist  and  business  traffic that
Vietnam is currently experiencing.  There is a dire need,  I
am  told,  of suitable good quality accommodation in Vietnam
and Ho Chi Minh City will not be able to cope with  the  ex-
pected increase if this problem is not addressed now.
6.   The  influx  of  foreign  investors and travellers into
Vietnam is inevitable as Vietnam, like Malaysia in  the  be-
ginning, needs a great deal of professional expertise in the
fields  of  construction,  technology and manufacturing.  In
some of these areas Malaysia  can  contribute  as  over  the
years we have developed certain expertise.  In fact our area
of  expertise  would  be  more relevant as we have only just
gone through the experience that Vietnam  is  going  through
now.
7.   Intra-regional trade in the East Asian region has grown
more rapdily than interregional trade.  As Vietnam is a part
of  this region, we hope that trade between it and the coun-
tries of East and South East Asia would grow as rapidly.  It
will contribute towards the dynamism of the region.
Distinguished Guests,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
8.   In Malaysia we have a Look East policy which enjoins us
to Look at Eastern countries for work  ethics,  organisation
and  management  know-how.   In investing in Vietnam we have
carried the Look East policy one stage further.  As we  have
benefited from the initial stage of the Look East policy, so
also will we and our partners benefit from this new stage of
the policy.
9.   I  would  like  to commend the parties involved in this
project namely Hotel Equatorial (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd and Arab-
Malaysian Development Berhad, Hoang Viet  Company,  Lim  Kah
Ngam (Investment) Pte Ltd and Natsteel Propeties1
Pte  Ltd  for  their initiative and entrepreneurship in this
new venture.
10.  This 308-room hotel costing US$25 million is one of the
biggest hotel projects undertaken in Ho Chi Minh  City  thus
far and I would like to take this opportunity of wishing the
parties concerned every success in their business venture in
Vietnam.   I am confident the Malaysian-Vietnamese bilateral
relationship will go from strength to strength in the  years
to  come  and that we hope to see many more such ventures in
the future.
11.  To cement this relationship, I  now  have  pleasure  in
laying the foundation stone of this hotel.