SBF Website
Section: Media Centre
Level 2: Singapore Businesses See Opportunities in Laos
Remarks of H.E. Somdy DOUANGDY, Minister of Planning and Investment at the Singapore Business Federation Roundtable Conclave on February 2014, Singapore
Mr Tony Chew, Chairman of the Singapore Business Federation
My Singaporean business friends
Distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen
It is a great pleasure and privilege for me to be here this afternoon to meet Singaporean entrepreneurs in this beautiful city state of Singapore. The forum today provides an excellent opportunity to exchange information on promoting investments, particularly on the subject of investment policy and the further expansion of business opportunities.
I would like to express my warmest gratitude to the Singapore Business Federation who organized and hosted today’s event, and for the ongoing cooperation to promote investments between Lao PDR and Singapore. A special thank is also given to the business community for your interest in this Roundtable Conclave and your valuable time to participate at this event.
Distinguished guests
Lao PDR provides excellent opportunities for business development. This statement is based on the fact that Lao PDR provides a stable macro economy, is surrounded by large economies, namely China, Vietnam and Thailand and therefore close proximity to markets. Combined this with a warm open culture, a high level of safety, the limited extent of natural disasters and great natural beauty, it is no surprise Lao’s continues to have one of the highest GDP growth rates in S.E. Asia.
We are not stopping here. Nor are we becoming complacent. We want to see even greater growth. The government of Lao sees regional integration as one of the main catalysts for continued high levels of economic growth and there is strong political will to open Lao’s even further. This is being driven through Lao’s engagement in the ASEAN Economic Community, or more specifically, the adoption of the free trade agreement. Once effective, the end result will be a proliferation of investment opportunities and the free movement of labor in the region. A direct offshoot of this will be more competitive exports from Lao PDR. Lao has been given GSP for exporting to over 40 countries and following membership to WTO in February 2013, further market access to 158 WTO member countries. Needless to say, our cost effective workforce, large neighboring markets of approximately 600 million people that have growing expendable incomes and a preference for quality products, will be a major draw card for eyeful entrepreneurs.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Lao is becoming land linked, not land locked. In this regards, our land linked policy is making good progress. The 4th friendship bridge connecting northern provinces of Laos and Thailand has opened for public use since December 2013. Furthermore, we plan to construct the 5th friendship bridge connecting central province of Laos and northeastern province of Thailand. The high-speed railway that will connect Laos’s capital with Kunming of China is of high priority to the government. These all will become part of the ASEAN Connectivity.
Distinguished guests
We are also continuing efforts to strengthen the business environment to ensure business conditions are transparent, fair and competitive. As part of this process, investment approval procedures and processes have been revised in the law in order to shorten approval times, clearly define incentives and identify those responsible for approving different types of investments. According to the revised law, the Ministry of Planning and Investment approves concessionary projects, MoIC general business, and the Lao National Committee on Special and Specific Economic Zone is responsible for developing Special Economic Zones.
The One Stop Service of the Ministry of Planning and Investment provides various services such as screening and issuing business licenses for concession projects as well as visa and information resources for investors. There is also One Stop Services in the special and specific economic zones that provide an express investment approval service.
Distinguished guests
There are currently 70 Singaporean capitalised investment projects in Laos totaling 175 million US dollars. Of this total 33 projects worth 97 million dollars are 100% foreign owned with the remaining 37 projects comprising of joint ventures.
Base on the volume of investments, Singapore ranks 11th out of 52 countries. The top 5 investment sectors include: Industry and handicraft 12 projects; Services 11 projects; Consulting 11 projects; and Trading 10 projects.
Some outstanding investment projects include, among others:
· Parkview Executive Suite by Gateway Enterprise Co. Limited
· Morning Market Shopping Mall by Excalibor
· Beer Factory by Asia Pacific Brewery: Producing Tiger Beer
· Coffee Plantation for Export in Pak Xong by Outspan Boliven Company Limited
· Lao Singapore Business College
· Dominant Semiconductors Factory in Vientiane Capital
Distinguished guests,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
I would like to conclude my remarks by inviting you to explore business opportunities in Laos and I would also like to invite you to visit Laos, our beautiful country, which was awarded the World’s best tourism destination in 2013 from the European Council on Tourism and Trade, and 3.3 million visitors visited Laos last year.
Last but not least, I would like to close by wishing all distinguished participants the very best in their endeavors. The Lao government looks forward to welcoming all of you in the very near future.
Thank you.
About Singapore Business Federation (SBF)
As the apex business chamber, the Singapore Business Federation (SBF) champions the interests of the business community in Singapore, in trade, investment and industrial relations. Nationally, SBF acts as the bridge between the government and businesses in Singapore to create a conducive business environment. Internationally, SBF represents the business community in bilateral, regional and multilateral fora for the purpose of trade expansion and business networking. For more information, please visit our website: www.sbf.org.sg
Page 2 of 2