HAG Group invests in Laos' agriculture
(VOV) -Hoang Anh Gia Lai Group (HAG) of Vietnam will invest US$1.2 billion in projects on planting maize, sugar cane, rubber and oil palm trees, announced HAG Chairman Doan Nguyen Duc.
Duc unveiled the information at an April 13 working session between Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong and Vietnamese investors in Laos.
He revealed that his firm is also intent on engaging in a project on cattle breeding in Laos. HAG will import around 100,000 Australian cows and then raise more dairy cattle for milk.
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At present, the group has an agricultural cultivation area of more than 40,000 in Laos to grow maize, sugar cane, rubber and oil palm trees. About 4,000 ha are now under oil palm trees, and a project on maize planting is due to be discussed and approved at the HAG’s meeting on April 18, Duc said.
Association of Vietnamese Investors in Laos (AVIL) Chairman Tran Bac Ha, reported that by the end of 2013, as many as 440 Vietnamese-invested projects were licensed in Laos, with a total registered investment of US$4.9 billion.
Vietnam is currently among the three largest foreign investors of Laos, which is expected to attract US$6.3 billion from Vietnamese investment by 2015.
The two-way trade turnover is estimated at US$1 billion/year on average, and the figure is predicted to double next year, Ha said.
He suggested both countries create the best possible conditions for Vietnamese businesses in Laos, and stressed the need to open air routes on HCM City - Hanoi – Vientiane - Attapeu to boost bilateral economic ties.
Party leader Trong praised the effective operation of Vietnamese firms in Laos and asked them to pay due attention to social activities to strengthen the ties of traditional friendship with the neighbouring country.
Earlier on March 12, Trong and his Lao counterpart Choummaly Sayasone visited Attapeu international airport, which is being built by HAG Lai Group at a cost of US$36 million, and due to open in June 2014.