Private sector drives up investment in Savannakhet
Private sector drives up investment in Savannakhet
Savannakhet province expects to see private investment from both local and foreign sources rise to about 2.5 trillion kip (US$312 million) this fiscal year.
A provincial Planning and Investment Promotion Department official said on Friday that the figure of 2.5 trillion kip would include local investment of about 550 billion kip while another 2 trillion kip would come from overseas.
Savannakhet boasts investment opportunities in trade, transportation, organic agriculture, food processing, tourism, education, services and the Savan-Seno Special Economic Zone.
The department reported that in the first quarter of this fiscal year (October to December) the province had received 111.61 billion kip (US$13.95 million), or about 4.47 percent of the annual plan for investment.
This figure includes investments from foreign companies worth about 2.64 billion kip for three projects in the Savan-Seno Special Economic Zone.
One project is an orange plantation for export run by an Australian company, another is operated by a Japanese company to import construction equipment, and the third is an export-oriented wig making factory owned by a Thai company.
In fiscal year 2013-14, Savannakhet received about 471.56 billion kip from private investment, down from 1.5 trillion kip in 2012-13.
Total foreign investment in the province in 156 projects amounts to more than 14.29 trillion kip (US$1.78 billion). The Savan-Seno Special Economic Zone houses 36 projects worth over 1.36 trillion kip.
Local investment in the first quarter of this fiscal year amounts to 108.97 billion kip, from 71companies.
Total local investment in the province by 6,640 companies has so far amounted to more than 2.79 trillion kip, including investments in the Savan-Seno Special Economic Zone, where 18 companies have businesses worth over 390.8 billion kip.
To date, total private local and foreign investment stands at about 14.4 trillion kip.
Private investment is driving socio-economic development in Savannakhet, with 36 percent of total investment coming from the private sector.
Investment by local and foreign businesses continues to increase in the Savan-Seno Special Economic Zone.
The zone has progressed strongly since 2007 when the first investor opened up a business there. Officials in charge of the zone said that by the end of last year investment in the zone stood at more than 1.77 trillion kip (US$221.78 million), with registered capital of over 531 billion kip (US$66.37 million).
Private investment still faces significant policy, taxation and administrative hurdles but the government is working with the private sector to reduce barriers to investment in the province.
Many international organisations, in close collaboration with the government, are working to improve conditions for private investment through public consultation.
Savannakhet is located on the East-West Corridor connecting Thailand, Laos and Vietnam via the Lao-Thai Friendship Bridge across the Mekong River and Road No. 9.
The province is also located on the north-south arterial route Road No. 13, which runs from China to Cambodia through Laos.
