 |
| Viettel’s Unitel accompanies and stands side by side with the Lao Government and people. (Source: Viettel) |
According to the Ministry of Planning and Investment, investment cooperation between Vietnam and Laos has grown continuously over the past time. Laos always ranks first among the 78 countries and territories where Vietnam invests abroad, with 209 projects and a total registered capital of USD5.1 billion.
Vietnam’s investment projects are present in almost all regions of Laos, in many fields such as finance and banking, telecommunications, services, agriculture and forestry. Typically projects like Viettel’s Unitel; Vinamilk's super project worth USD500 million; a series of projects to grow rubber and oil palm, and build an airport of Hoang Anh Gia Lai Group, or Xekaman 1 Hydropower Project.
Statistics from the Foreign Investment Agency under the Ministry of Planning and Investment also show that, in the first eight months of 2022, there are 24 countries and territories receiving investment from Vietnam. Laos led the list with 4 new investment projects and 3 capital adjustment projects, with total registered investment capital of USD66.42 million, accounting for 16.8% of total investment capital.
Vietnamese Ambassador to Laos Nguyen Ba Hung assessed that, in Laos, Vietnamese investors focus on important fields such as finance-banking, electric energy, telecommunications, agriculture-forestry and mining.
Currently, investment projects of Vietnamese enterprises have been contributing to promoting the sustainable development of the Lao economy, maintaining national security and creating jobs and income for the people.
For example, Hoang Anh Gia Lai’s projects create jobs for about 20,000 people in Laos, Viettel’s Unitel project creates jobs for more than 25,000 Lao workers. Total investment capital for social security that Vietnamese businesses have deployed in Laos so far has reached approximately USD71 million, focusing mainly on health care, education, and building of houses for poor people in remote areas.
In addition, Vietnamese technology enterprises, such as Viettel, are not only an investor but also a leader supporting the Lao Government in digital transformation and building e-government.
Specifically, Vietnam’s Unitel has supported the Lao Government in building digital transformation and e-Government infrastructure with a total value of over USD3.3 million; sponsoring more than USD27 million in free Internet for nearly 1,000 schools, training hundreds of high-quality information and telecommunications technology personnel for Laos, supporting the construction of schools and health stations, and supporting people to overcome the effects of floods and natural disasters.
At the Vietnam-Laos business seminar held in March 2022, Minister of Planning and Investment Nguyen Chi Dung said that economic cooperation is the main pillar and one of the top priorities in the two countries’ comprehensive cooperation, which also requires higher goals and innovative ways to make economic and investment cooperation between the two countries more and more real and effective./.