Malaysia is currently ranked 4th in the list of foreign investors after China, Thailand and Vietnam, with investments of US$795 million in 99 projects.

Electricity generation is the dominant sector for investment trends, followed by the timber industry, construction, and hotels and restaurants, the Deputy Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Planning and Investment, Mr Fongsamout Khamvarnvongsa, said during a recent briefing in Vientiane for the Selangor International Business Summit 2018.

Laos has high investment potential in the hydropower sector and Malaysian investors have made good progress in this field. For instance, construction of Don Sahong hydropower plant, with a generation capacity of 260 MW, started in late 2015 and it is expected to start operating in 2019 and supply all the electricity generated to the domestic market.

“In connection with that, we would like Malaysian investors to invest in other infrastructure projects, such as roads and bridges in the form of build-own-transfer (BOT) or public and private partnerships (PPP),” he said.

In the field of tourism and related services such as hotels and resorts, Malaysian entrepreneurs have invested in several projects across the country, such as Sun Park Hotel in Vientiane, Champasak resort in Champasak province and Riveria Hotel in Khammuan province.

“Our two countries both have world heritage sites such as Malacca city of Malaysia and Luang Prabang city of Laos. Moreover, we also have direct flights, which includes three flights weekly between Vientiane and Kuala Lumpur and four flights weekly between Luang Prabang and Kuala Lumpur,” Mr Fongsamout said.

“We would like to encourage Malaysian investors to further develop tourism sites and other tourism-related services.”

He pointed out that by the end of 2021, Yunnan province of China will be connected to Vientiane by a railway link and more Chinese visitors are expected to travel to Laos.

“Over 1,900 existing tourist sites and more new ones would attract tourists not only from Laos, but also from neighbouring countries, especially from the north-eastern part of Thailand or Isaan,” he added.

Noting Malaysia’s success in agro-business, especially the palm oil industry, Mr Fongsamout said: “Laos has quite similar tropical weather and abundant arable land. Given your expertise in agriculture and our land resource, the Lao government would also like to invite your investment in this sector.”

“Last but not the least, we would like to introduce investment opportunities in special economic zones, where investors can benefit from the low cost of labour. Even with low skilled labour, investors can still benefit from the minimum wage in Laos, which is relatively low compared to neighbouring countries at only US$100 per month,” he said.

Land leases for setting up factories in the SEZs are only US$0.50 per square metre per year.

“One of the highlights is the dry port, which facilitates and speeds up custom clearances and reduces the cost of transportation between Laos and international markets,” he said.

Currently, there are 12 SEZs across the country. One of them, Savanh Park, has attracted investments from Malaysian investors, he said.

Source: http://annx.asianews.network/content/laos-keen-more-malaysian-investment-71129