Vietnamese investment in Laos was one of the main topics of discussion at a summit meeting between representatives of the Lao and Vietnamese capital cities last Thursday. President of the Hanoi People’s Committee, Mr Phan The Thao, offered a suggestion to Vientiane Mayor Mr Sombat Yialiher on creating better conditions for Vietnamese investors in Laos. There are nearly 250 Vietnamese companies operating in Laos, with a total investment capital of cover US$ 2 billion. Trade between the two countries is expected to reach US$ 1 billion in 2010 and US$ 2 billion in 2015. However, according to Mr Thao, the current conditions for investment are not good enough to compare to close relationship between Vietnam and Laos in general and the two capitals in particular. Vientiane does not have concrete incentive policies to promote Vietnamese investment in the capital and help Vietnamese companies to develop their businesses in Vientiane, he said. The high-level delegation from Hanoi visited Vientiane from July 22-25 to hand over an additional US$ 1.2 million towards the construction of an administration and politics school in Vientiane. Last week’s donation took the total amount of funding for the school from Vietnam to US$ million.
Source: Vientiane Times
