Vietnam – Laos still has a lot of room for trade and investment cooperation, especially Laos will be a potential investment destination in the fields of agriculture, tourism and logistics for Vietnamese businesses in the coming time.
This is the opinion of the delegates at the Vietnam-Laos Trade and Investment Forum organized by the People’s Committee of Ho Chi Minh City in collaboration with the Consulate General of the Lao People’s Democratic Republic in Ho Chi Minh City on December 13.
Mr. Nguyen Van Nen, Member of the Politburo, Secretary of the Ho Chi Minh City Party Committee, said that in the 60 years of establishing diplomatic relations, the good traditional relationship between the two peoples of Vietnam and Laos has overcome many difficulties and challenges, becoming an exemplary relationship. rare loyalty. In particular, after the two countries signed the Treaty of Friendship and Cooperation (1977), the great friendship, special solidarity and comprehensive cooperation between Laos and Vietnam continued to be cultivated and promoted, bringing more and more practical benefits to the people of the two countries.
According to Mr. Nguyen Van Nen, good political and emotional relations are a solid foundation for the two countries to implement economic cooperation activities. Laos is currently the largest outbound investment market for Vietnamese enterprises, ranking first among 78 countries and territories that Vietnam invests abroad, with 238 projects, with a total registered capital of 5.34 billion USD; in which, investors from Ho Chi Minh City have 44 projects with a total registered capital of about 496 million USD. So far, Vietnam’s investment projects are present in almost all regions of Laos, in many fields such as finance, banking, telecommunications, services, agriculture and forestry, etc. Many projects have been put into operation with good efficiency, contributing to the socio-economic development of Laos in many aspects and have been recognized and appreciated by the Lao Government.
Mr. Sonsay Siphandone, Deputy Prime Minister of Laos spoke at the forum.
Deputy Prime Minister of Laos Sonexay Siphandone affirmed that Vietnam’s investment in Laos makes an important contribution to the implementation of the task of protecting and building the development of Laos. Vietnam is currently the 3rd largest investor out of a total of 53 countries and territories investing in Laos. However, the current results are still not commensurate with the potential and need for cooperation between the two countries.
According to Deputy Prime Minister of Laos Sonexay Siphandone, after a difficult period due to the impact of the COVID-19 epidemic, Laos is now making efforts to implement measures for businesses and people to adapt to the new situation; at the same time, focus on developing and taking advantage of potential strengths to attract and mobilize domestic and foreign economic sectors to be interested in investing in Laos. The Lao government also tries to improve the conditions of transport infrastructure, strengthen connectivity with countries in the region, strengthen freight services, promote related industries such as services, tourism, attract more investors to do business, etc business further.
“The Vietnam-Laos Trade and Investment Forum is a good opportunity for the Lao state and businesses to listen to and acknowledge the opinions of Vietnamese enterprises that are investing in Laos and intend to invest in Laos in the near future. The Lao Government is committed to supporting Vietnamese businesses to invest in Laos more conveniently; at the same time, he hopes to welcome many Vietnamese businesses to Laos to invest in improving the efficiency of economic cooperation commensurate with the relationship between the two countries. Deputy Prime Minister of Laos Sonexay Siphandone emphasized.
Ms. Phimpha Keomixay, Consul General of Laos in Ho Chi Minh City informed about Laos’ investment attraction policy at the forum.
Ms. Phimpha Keomixay, Consul General of the Lao People’s Democratic Republic in Ho Chi Minh City, said that Laos and Vietnam have signed bilateral trade and border trade agreements since 2015. Over the past time, Laos has always strengthened the promotion and development of border trade and trade services connected to transit logistics with Vietnam.
In addition, the two countries have coordinated to implement import tax incentives for goods originating from the two countries as well as the list of goods exempted from 0% tax, showing that the trade turnover between Laos and Vietnam has a remarkable growth. The success of many Vietnamese small and medium-sized enterprises in the field of business in Laos has been stimulating large Vietnamese enterprises in the fields of banking, telecommunications, aviation, etc. redirecting investment to Laos more and more.
According to Ms. Phimpha Keomixay, Vietnam’s investment activities in Laos have been in most important economic sectors and fields such as: agriculture, energy, production and distribution of essential goods such as electricity, petroleum, consumer goods; providing important services such as banking, tourism, hotels, commercial centers, etc. On the one hand, investment activities expand the market for Vietnamese enterprises but also help create a foundation for the establishment of future industries of Laos.
In the future, Laos will continue to be a potential market for foreign businesses, especially Vietnam, thanks to its stable and young population (50% under 25 years old and 60% under 35 years old); GDP grew well; disposable income is increasing, the middle class is expanding; The Lao government also aims to become an “energy source for Southeast Asia” through activities to exploit sustainable renewable energy sources.
Sharing her experience in investment survey in Laos, Ms. Hua Thi Bich Thu, General Director of Indochina Holdings Trade Promotion Joint Stock Company said: Laos has many advantages to attract investment such as leaders and people are very friendly; while the large land fund and good climate are suitable for the development of agricultural production combined with the tourism epidemic. However, it is still quite difficult to move between regions of Laos due to the limited transportation network.
According to Ms. Hua Thi Bich Thu, in order to attract Lao investors, it is necessary to increase information about policies and projects prioritized for investment; at the same time, focus on improving the transport network, connecting routes between different regions and between Laos and neighboring countries in the region.
The ceremony of awarding the Memorandum of Understanding on cooperation and economic contracts between Vietnamese and Laotian enterprises at the forum.
At the Forum, Vietnamese enterprises signed 17 memorandums of understanding (MOU) and 1 economic contract with ministries, sectors and localities of Laos to implement cooperation projects in the fields of agriculture such as: development of plant varieties, bio-products, animal feed; hydropower, commercial minerals, information technology, tourism.
