BCEL loans to drive economic growth in Xekong
BCEL loans to drive economic growth in Xekong
Banque pour le Commerce Exterieur Lao Public's (BCEL) Xekong Branch expects to increase its loan disbursements to about 168 billion kip over the next three years from 2015 -2017, according to management.
This represents a significant increase on the 120.28 billion kip that the branch disbursed over the previous three years from 2012-2014.
The branch's Acting Manager, Mr Lethsamone Xaybuangeun said yesterday the plan of 168 billion kip will be mainly disbursed to businesses in the trades and services sector (including tourism), which shall represent about 40 percent of loans disbursed. This will be followed by the construction sector with about 30 percent while the remainder will go to the production sector.
Over the period from 2012-2014, the majority of the loans went to the construction sector, totalling about 89.7 billion kip, followed by trade at round 19.4 billion kip, services at 5.3 billion kip, agriculture at 4.6 billion kip and industry at 1.65 billion kip.
Mr Lethsamone said the loans for the construction sector, mainly for infrastructure development, will also be large over the period from 2015-17 because infrastructure is required to facilitate trade, investment, services and tourism sector in the years ahead.
“The loans for production, trade, services and tourism will be large in the future due to the completion of infrastructure development,” he added.
“There are many tourism sites in Xekong, however few of them are developed due to the incompletion of the infrastructure; this means visitors cannot reach the sites.”
In the trades, services and tourism sector, Xekong also links to Da Nang of Vietnam.
Works on the Japanese backed project to build a bridge over the Xekong River in Xekong commenced last month, with the bridge to provide a key transport link from Thailand and Laos to Vietnam.
The completion of the Xekong Bridge on Road No 16B is a key part of upgrades to the route which will become an Asean Highway (AH) in the future, once all sections meet the required standard.
National Road No 16B also links to National Road No 16 in Champassak province from where it connects to Thailand and Cambodia.
Xekong also expects to increase its agricultural exports each year. Its agricultural produce is mainly exported to the Vietnamese, Thai and Chinese markets.
A recent report noted that socio economic development growth will be more than 14 percent in the next fiscal year, 2014-15.
The provincial Gross Domestic Product (GDP) will reach a value of about 1,758 billion kip and income per capita will be an average of about US$1,910 per year.
The 1,758 billion kip will include about 36.8 percent from the agricultural sector which will be about a nine percent increase from 2013-14.
The industrial and handicraft sector will cover about 26.5 percent of GDP, and the trades and services sector will provide the balance of 36.7 percent.
