Laos remains attractive for Vietnamese investors
Laos remains attractive for Vietnamese investors
Laos remains an attractive destination for Vietnamese business people seeking to explore investment opportunities in the neighbouring country, according to a Vietnamese official.
The Ho Chi Minh City Investment and Trade Promotion Centre Director, Mr Pho Nam Phuong said at a seminar held in the city last week that between 30-40 Vietnamese companies are set to promote their products at the HCM City Show 2013 to be held in Laos's Champassak province on July 22-26.
The sho w will introduce Vietnamese products such as processed food, plastics, products for the agricultural sector, furniture, textiles and garments, cosmetics, electronics, electricity and construction materials, he said as quoted in the online publication Vietnam Net.
There will also be a seminar promoting HCM City investment, trade and tourism in Champassak, as well as a business trip to survey the market in the southern part of Laos from July 22-25 with more than 100 businesses from Vietnam and Laos taking part.
Mr Southideth Phommalat, Laos's consul general in HCM City, said the Lao government had exempted land rental costs for investors so they could build schools, hospitals and infrastructure projects. The government has also offered many incentives for foreign businesses to invest in remote areas in Laos.
Trade relations between Vietnam and Laos have improved in recent years, with bilateral trade reaching US$900 million last year. It is expected to rise to US$2 billion by 2015 and US$5 billion by 2020.
Vietnam is one of the top investors in Laos in many sectors, including energy, banking, insurance, plantations of industrial crops, commercial services and urban development.
Laos' Champassak province, known as a tourism, social and economic hub, has attracted the most Vietnamese investors.
The province has developed many industrial parks with a total area of 2,660ha and three special economic zones. At least 679 domestic and foreign pr ojects with total investment capital of 5,884 billion kip have begun in the province.
HCM City currently has 37 projects in Champassak with a total capital of more than US$217.7 million.
“Vietnamese businesses need to thoroughly understand Lao law and investment policies to avoid trade disputes and help contribute to cooperative ties between the two countries,” Phommalat said.
He said that some Vietnamese projects had been suspended because they had not been implemented. As a result, they had affected Laos' development process.He urged Vietnamese investors to learn more about their competitors in Thailand and China as well.
Developing trade and economic activities at borders and border gates was also important, he said, pointing out that Laos bordered 10 Vietnamese provinces with a total border length of more than 2,000 km.
A mountainous and landlocked country, Laos shares borders with Cambodia, Myanmar, China, Thailand and Vietnam. It has plentiful natural and mineral resources as well as many rivers and flat land appropriate for developing agriculture.
vientiane times