KPI, the overseas arm of Kuwait Petroleum Corporation (KPC), and Idemitsu Kosan will each own a 35.1 per cent stake in the venture, with Vietnam’s state-run Petrovietnam Corporation holding 25.1 per cent and Japan’s Mitsui Chemicals the remaining 4.7 per cent.

A signing ceremony will take place in Hanoi on 7 April, according to Kuwait’s official Kuna news agency.

A Vietnamese firm, Nghi Son Refinery and Petrochemical, is to conduct a two-year preliminary study to determine the viability of building the plant.

The four respective partners aim to secure about 70 per cent of the construction costs through project financing led by the government-affiliated Japan Bank for International Co-operation.