More Japanese firms eye investment in Laos
More Japanese firms eye investment in Laos
A number of Japanese firms have expressed interest in moving their production bases from neighbouring Thailand to Laos after learning of the better investment climate in the landlocked country, according to a Lao diplomat.
Lao Ambassador to Japan, Mr Kenthong Nouanthasing made the statement earlier this week after meeting with a delegation of Japanese businesspeople at the Aichi Nagoya Network and International Exchange, held in Nag oya, Japan from February 6-7.
A number of Japanese businesspeople from Aichi, Nagoya, one of the major and modern industrial bases in Japan, and diplomats from Asean nations attended the two day business forum, which ran under the theme: “Great Expe ctations for Aichi Nagoya”.
According to the ambassador, representatives from three Japanese firms met with Lao diplomats in Japan to discuss the investment potential in Laos and informed them that they would lead a group of 20 to 30 Japanese businesspeople from Aichi, Nagoya to seek investment opportunities in Laos in the near future.
There are 2,127 firms from Aichi, Nagoya investing overseas; some 608 of them are doing businesses in Asean, accounting for just over a quarter of the total number. Currently, there a re 235 Japanese firms from Aichi investing in Thailand.
Some 117 firms from the Japanese city are doing business in Indonesia, 107 firms are investing in Vietnam, 58 in Singapore, 51 firms in Malaysia, 33 firms in the Philippines, five in Myanmar and two in Cambodia. None of the Japanese firms from Aichi are investing in Laos or Brunei.
International media reported earlier this week that Japanese firms are considering moving their production bases from developed nations to developing countries including China and Australia, after facing rising labour and business operations costs.
Political turm oil and flooding in Thailand is also causing some Japanese firms to consider relocating some of their production bases to other Asean members, including Laos, to avoid investment risks.
The fact is that Asean will become a single market and production base in 2015, therefore investing in Laos would be not much different from investing in any other Asean country as investors can move their goods freely throughout the entire region. The country also became a member of the WTO recently.
Laos has now established more than 10 special economic zones, aiming to attract foreign investment to the country as part of efforts to create more jobs and generate income for local people. The country also enjoys political stability and has a policy to improve the business climate as it considers the private sector as a main driver of economic growth.
The country has considerable investment potential in agriculture due to its abundance of fertile land and resource based industry. However one of the main challenges which Laos needs to address is the shortage of skilled labour, and infrastructure such as roads, electricity and water supplies.
Laos is a major electricity production base but most of the power i s exported to Thailand. There is a need for Laos to produce power for domestic consumption if it wants to attract more foreign investment to the country.
vientiane times
