Investment soars in Vientiane
Investment soars in Vientiane
The Vientiane Planning and Investment Department reports that the value of local and foreign investment in Vientiane in the first six months of this fiscal year, 2014-15, was much larger than expected.
The department reported yesterday that it had approved investments of more than 9.72 trillion kip in 154 projects over the six month period.
“The figure of 9.72 trillion kip almost fulfils the department's investment target for the year of 12 trillion kip,” the report noted.
The 154 projects consist of general investment projects worth around 9.54 trillion kip, while five others involve land concessions on 48.3 hectares worth 180.24 billion kip.
The general investment projects are in the fields of trade and services, while the land concessions were awarded for real estate development and shopping centres.
The 48.3 hectares of land were conceded to three local companies, one Lao-Chinese company, and one French company.
Two other projects are under consideration, one involving a concession area of about 50 hectares while another involving an area of 26.7 hectares has reached the concession agreement negotiation stage. It is thought these parcels of land will be used for a commercial centre, real estate development, water supply system and mining.
One of the most recent property developments is the Vientiane Centre at Nongchanh in Sisattanak district, which opened in March with an investment of about 600 billion kip (US$75 million).
The shopping centre is a three-phase joint development project owned by the Yunnan Construction Engineering Group Company Limited and Krittaphong Group Company Limited. They have a concession period of 50 years and the option to extend for a further 20 years.
Another major development is That Luang Square, which opened last month in Xaysettha district. It cost more than 98.4 billion kip (US$12.3 million) and was backed by local investors.
Other developments are also in the pipeline now that the Planning and Investment Department has approved land concessions for both local and foreign investors to build golf courses, five star hotels, shopping centres, urban precincts, commercial centres, offices, apartments and car parks.
Some investors have signed a Memorandum of Understanding and are now carrying out project feasibility studies.
Investors are also buying into real estate, property, mining, construction, telecommunications and energy distribution.
The department also reported that banks have disbursed loans worth more than 14.32 trillion kip, which exceeds the expectation of 1.86 trillion kip.
The department reported that Vientiane's socio-economic development plan is set to have an investment value of about 14.7 trillion kip this year, including government investments of about 134 billion kip. Local and foreign investment will be around 12 trillion kip, grants and loans from international organisations will contribute about 700 billion kip and bank loans will account for about 1.86 trillion kip.
Vientiane is the largest centre of economic growth in Laos, thanks to its status as the capital and proximity to Thailand.
