Korean construction firm eyes Lao housing market
Korean construction firm eyes Lao housing market
Major Korean construction firm Booyoung Group has begun paving the way to enter the Lao housing market, looking to capitalise on growth potential in the landlocked country.
“We'll take part in the housing development market in Laos if there is a chance,” Booyoung Group Chairman, Mr Lee Joong-keun, told Korean Times last weekend.
The Korean construction mogul made the comment while visiting Lao President Choummaly Sayasone in Seoul last Sunday to discuss socio-economic development and investment opportunities in Laos.
According to the Korean digital publication, Booyoung Group said the Lao leader had requested the company's support in providing houses for people in his country.
The request came after Booyoung Group, Korea's 22nd largest construction business conglomerate, undertook a series of corporate social responsibility activities in Laos.
According to the firm, it spent US$7.8 million between 2007 and 2010 to build 300 elementary schools in remote areas in Laos. About 150 students can study at each six-classroom school. In 2007, Mr Lee became the first foreign person to receive the First Medal for Development from the Lao government for his contribution to improving the country's educational environment and enhancing friendship between Korea and Laos. The company said it set up Booyoung Lao Bank in Vientiane in 2009 to provide housing loans for Lao people.
Construction businesses in Laos have undergone rapid growth in Laos in recent years thanks to a Lao government policy to turn land into capital. The policy allows foreign investors to gain land concession from the state for up to 99 years to develop land into residential or business and commercial centres.
At present, a number of Chinese, Vietnamese and Korean construction firms have been preparing to develop land. Rising foreign investment is tipped to help Vientiane become a modern and developed city in the next five to 10 years.
Booyoung Group is one of the foreign firms that sees the growth potential of Laos. The country has become a member of the World Trade Organisation and will be a part of the Asean Economic Community (AEC) in 2015, which will allow the freer flow of goods, capital and labour in region of 600 million people.
Laos expects to gain benefits from the regional integration, in particular from increased foreign investment in agriculture and the resources sector. Increased foreign investment will result in high demand for houses and offices.
vientiane times
