Thai entrepreneurs eye VITA Park investment

Thai entrepreneurs eye VITA Park investment

Entrepreneurs from Thailand are interested in investing in the Vientiane Industry and Trade Area (VITA Park), with a keen eye on the food and drink industry.

Some 50 entrepreneurs from the northern part of Thailand recently visited the park and expressed their desire to invest in the food and drink sector as most products sold in Laos are currently being imported from Thailand.

The entrepreneurs were given information on Laos' domestic and foreign investment promotion policy, as well as business operations regulations and procedures.

These policies and regulations are crucial to the foreign entrepreneurs' decisions on whether to invest in Laos and VITA Park in the future.

It's highly possible for more Thai entrepreneurs to invest in the park after receiving information on the country's policies, procedures and regulations, the Thai Embassy's Minister Counsellor (Commercial) to Laos Ms Pimol Pongkongkaew said.

She believed that these entrepreneurs would take this information into consideration and possibly invest in VITA Park in the future.

Most entrepreneurs are interested in investing in food and drinks, technical training centres for machinery, spas and construction material businesses, Ms Pimol said.

President of VITA Park Mr Sibounheuang Vienheuangphay told local media that currently 30 companies had already registered for investment at the park.

He said out of 30 companies there were five Thai companies set to invest in food, agriculture machinery and traditional herbs, which sees high demand on the domestic and foreign market.

Special and specific economic zone (SEZs) development and management in Laos was a new initiative that the Party and government created to attract foreign direct investment, a senior official from the Lao National Committee for Special Economic Zone (NCSEZ) Secretariat said.

Deputy Director General of the Secretariat Dr Kheungkham Keonouchanh said the committee had learnt several lessons and gained experience domestically and abroad.

He singled out the special assistance they received from the management of an industrial zone in Thailand, which provided valuable advice on the management of industrial zones to the NCSEZ.

In 2014, VITA Park has attracted 28 companies to register for investment, with the foreign investors being mainly from Demark, Japan, Thailand, Malaysia and China.

The industrial sector accounts for 46.4 percent of businesses operations, the commercial sector 28.6 percent and the service sector 25 percent.

Four companies are currently experimenting with their manufacturing and production, while two companies have already produced and exported their goods.

So far the park has created jobs for 823 people and there is expected to be employment for around 1,500 people in 2014-15.

vientiane times