Lao businesses back Party policies
Lao businesses back Party policies
Businesses have expressed their wholehearted support for the Party's policies adopted at the 10th Party Congress last week, saying they would foster growth.
Vice President of the Lao National Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Ms Valy Vetsaphong, told Vientiane Times recently “If we can implement the Party's policies adopted at the 10th Party Congress, our country will develop more quickly.”
Ms Valy said one of the most important points to remember was that the public and private sectors must work closely together to realise the goals set by the Party. The congress elected younger and capable Party leaders to direct the implementation of the socio-economic development plan over the next five years.
“The business sector is ready to translate the Party's policies into our own detailed plans and projects and to serve as the nation's economic army,” she said.
“I have talked to several businesspeople and found that they were very enthusiastic about developing the country's economy in this era of economic integration.”
She called on government to do more to help business operators, saying that all promotion policies and laws should reflect the voice of the business community.
Ms Valy said the business sector needed to fully understand the Party's and government's policies and implement them properly, while the public sector also needed to understand the problems faced by business operators.
“This means we have to sit down and talk more about how we can work together more closely. The various bodies working for the government need to work harder to grow the business sector,” she said.
“One of the most important things is that we have to build professional businesspeople so they can fully implement the Party's policies. I agree that the energy and capacity of some of our business leaders must be enhanced to catch up with others in the region.”
Ms Valy said there were some still barriers to the growth of the business sector, which should be addressed in the near future.
The 8th five-year national socio-economic development plan for 2016-20 shifts the country's focus to sustainable economic growth, without overreliance on natural resources.
Laos will concentrate on boosting production and services, which will help the economy to become stronger and more sustainable, as well as more resilient to external impacts.
Over the past five years, despite a global economic recession, the Lao economy has continued to grow at an average of 7.9 percent annually.
The value of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) has reached 102,320 billion kip (US$12.8 billion) with average GDP per capita climbing to 15.8 million kip (US$1,970).
It is projected that the economy will continue to grow at an average of 7.5 percent annually over the next five years with GDP per capita expected to reach US$3,190.
