Vietnamese investors pour over $3.3b in Laos

Six investment projects capitalized at $410 million were signed at the Vietnam-Laos Investment Cooperation Conference held in Vientiane capital, Laos on September 10. The conference was co-chaired by Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung, and the prime minister of the host country, Thongsing Thammavong.
At the conference, five projects of Vietnamese enterprises have been granted investment licenses, including Nam Kong 2 and 3 hydropower plants of Hoang Anh Gia Lai Group, Petrolimex Laos project of Vietnam National Petroleum Corp (Petrolimex), complex project of Vientiane – Complex 5-star hotel and a project to increase chartered capital of Vietnam-Laos Joint Venture Bank from $15 million to over $35 million.

Also within the framework of the conference, six projects of enterprises of the two countries have been signed with a total value of $410 million. In addition, two credit contracts with a total investment value of $114 million were signed between Bank for Investment and Development of Vietnam (Bidv) and Vietnam-Laos Joint Venture Bank (LaoVietBank) and enterprises.

At the conference, Association of Vietnamese Investors in Laos also officially received the establishment decision.

According to the minister of planning and investment, Bui Quang Vinh, investment capital inflows of Vietnamese enterprises in Laos have been continuously growing. Vietnam continued to be amongst biggest foreign investors in Laos. So far, Vietnamese enterprises have invested some $3.3 billion in 203 projects in Laos, marking the highest figures in 55 countries and territories where Vietnamese firms have had investment activities. In the first eight months of this year, the registered investment capital of Vietnamese enterprises in Laos reached $469 million, higher than the figure of the whole year 2010.

Deputy minister of planning and investment of Laos, Thongmy Phomvisay, said that Vietnam’s investments in Laos mainly focused on service sector with a total investment of $1.07 billion, notably Vientiane Long Thanh Golf project and real estate project in Dong Pho Xi area with a total investment of nearly $1 billion, and followed by electricity sector with a total investment of over $867 million and agriculture ($791 million).

Currently, Laos also has eight investment projects worth over $66 million in Vietnam.

Speaking at the conference, Prime Minister of Laos emphasized Vietnam’s investment projects in Laos have contributed actively to the socio-economic development of Laos. Thongsing Thammavong Prime Minister also said that Vietnam is a typical of foreign investment in Laos.

The two partners have signed many legal documents on bilateral cooperation, and at the same time established the necessary coordination mechanisms, consistent with the special friendship between the two countries.

Tags: invest in Vietnam, Vietnam FDI, Vietnam FDI 2011, Vietnam investment