Vietnam Rubber Set to Develop Cambodia, Laos Estates

Viet Nam Rubber Group, the nation’s largest producer and exporter, plans to plant 200,000 hectares (494,000 acres) of trees in neighboring Laos and Cambodia, betting on a rebound in global demand in the next decade.

“Our plan is to plant 100,000 hectares of trees in each country,” Dinh Van Tien, director of the import-export department at state-owned company, said in an interview. About 10,000 hectares had been planted in Laos and between 3,000 and 4,000 in Cambodia, Tien said late yesterday in Guangzhou, China.

Rubber producers across Asia including Thailand, the biggest producer, are battling slumping demand and prices amid the global recession. Vietnam Rubber Group’s new overseas estates, with trees taking six to seven years to start yielding latex, may become productive after a recovery has restored sales.

“The news about Viet Nam is adding to the cloudy long-term outlook,” said Navarat Kaewpratarn, a senior marketing official at Bangkok-based Future Agri Trade Ltd. Demand “has been thin because of concerns about car sales and the global recession.”

Rubber futures on the Tokyo Commodity Exchange, the regional benchmark, have slumped 51 percent in the past year on the recessions in Japan, the U.S. and Europe, and slowing growth in China. The most-active contract, for August delivery, dropped as much as 1.4 percent to 139.1 yen a kilogram ($1,448 a metric ton) today in Tokyo.

Lower Output

Natural rubber output in Viet Nam may decline to 630,000 tons this year from 660,000 tons in 2008, said Tien, whose company accounts for about half of the nation’s output. Still, Vietnam Rubber Group is “optimistic” about demand in China, which accounted for 200,000 tons of exports last year from the nation’s total shipments of 650,000 tons, he said.

Commodity producers and importers have begun developing plantations and farms, especially for food products, in overseas nations to take advantage of idle or underused land, secure supplies and boost output.

Viet Nam may lease Cambodian land to grow rice, Tuoi Tre reported on Feb. 23, while Kuwait was last year also assessing large-scale investments in rice in the country, a government official said in August. South Korea’s Daewoo Logistics Corp. has leased land in Madagascar to produce corn and palm oil.

Viet Nam is encouraging overseas investment in industries that use natural rubber as a raw material, Tien said. Investors may receive lower taxes and other preferential policies, he said.

Source: Bloomberg

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Vietnam tops list of Laos investors

Vietnam has topped a list of 2008’s biggest investors in Laos, implementing 146 projects with a total investment capital of 758 million USD, local newspaper reports.

The country took first place, followed by China and Thailand , the Socio-Economic newspaper reported on Jan. 14. Vietnam’s projects in Laos are predominantly in the fields of mining, agriculture and forestry product processing, and hydro-power plant construction in Southern Laos.

The newspaper quoted Lao authorities as speaking highly of these Vietnamese-funded projects, that not only help Laos to reduce poverty but also give an impetus to carry out socio-economic development programmes in Laos.

Lao authorities are calling on Vietnamese businesses to increase their investment in Northern Laos, particularly in the five provinces of Phongsaly, Siengkhuang, Luang Prabang, Oudomxay and Huaphanh.

Resource: Vietnam+
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Giant investment project to Laos submitted to Government

The Ministry of Planning and Investment (MoPI) has submitted to the Prime Minister for approval a 1 billion USD project to build a golf course, five-star hotels and hostels in Vientiane , Laos .

If approved, it will be Vietnam ’s ever largest investment project abroad.

The project’s investor, Long Thanh Golf Investment and Business Joint Stock Company, said it plans to mobilise capital from share holders, domestic and foreign partners and bank loans.

According to the MoPI, Vietnam is the largest foreign investor in Laos with 146 projects worth 1.5 billion USD.

In the first 11 months of 2008, Vietnamese businesses invested in 52 projects in Laos with total registered capital of 450 million USD.

Half of the investment (54.7 percent) is poured into hydro-power plants, while 29.9 percent go into industrial tree planting. Mining projects account for 8 percent of the capital, and the remainder is invested in wood processing, industry and pharmaceuticals.

Source: VNA

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EVN to generate power in Laos

The EVN International Joint Stock Co of Viet Nam signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Ministry of Planning and Investment of Laos to invest capital in three hydroelectric plants.

The Nam Et 1, 2 and 3 plants, designed to have a total capacity of 420MW, are located in Muang Et District, Huaphane Province, Laos.

The finished projects, which are part of a commitment on investment co-operation and electricity exchange between Viet Nam and Lao, will provide 20 per cent of its output to the Laos grid and the remaining will be sold to Viet Nam.

CEO of the EVN International Co, Nguyen Duc Tuyen, said the company was also outlining investments in hydroelectric projects in Cambodia, including Ha Sesan 1/ Sesan 5 and Nattarat Kiri, Ha Sesan 2.

Both Ha Sesan projects, which are part of an investment co-operation between Viet Nam and Cambodia, are scheduled to begin construction later this year and be operational in 2014.

EVN International Co will combine the 220kV electrical network of both Ha Sesan projects with the domestic electrical system.

The completed projects will export a remarkable amount of electricity to Viet Nam and help solve the domestic shortage of electricity and ensure the local electrical system will be safer and more reliable.

Source: Viet Nam News
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Vietnam to build hydro power plants in north Laos

Vietnam will build three hydro power plants in Nam Et river, northern Laos ’ Huaphan province with a combined capacity of 420 MW.

A memorandum of understanding to this effect was signed between Laos Deputy Minister of Planning and Investment Thoongmy Phomvisay and Director of EVN International Joint Stock Company Nguyen Thanh Huan in Vientiane on Dec. 31.

Earlier, EVN invested in a 1,400 MW hydro power plant in Luang Prabang.

Source: VNA

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Vietnam to explore iron ore in Laos

Vietnam ’s Company of Economic Cooperation (COECCO) and Lao Government’s representative on December 25 signed a contract of surveying and exploring iron ore in Laos .

Attending the signing ceremony were Lao Deputy Prime Minister-cum-Defence Minister Phonthay Douangchai Phichit and Minister of Planning and Investment Thoongmy Phomvisay.

For Vietnamese side, there were representatives of Vietnamese embassy, Vietnam trade office in Laos , COECCO and some Vietnamese companies operating in Laos .

Under the agreement, COECCO will have 48 months to explore, survey and formulate a feasibility study report on the 44 sq.km area in Vientiane province with an initial capital of 3 million USD.

The company will submit the report to the Lao government for further negotiations.

Source: VNA

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Golf developer invests 1 bln USD in Laos

The Lao Ministry of Planning and Investment signed an agreement with Vietnam-based company Long Thanh on Dec 26, permitting it to invest one billion USD in a recreation development project in Laos .

The project, which includes a golf course, a five-star hotel and luxury villas, will cover 557 hectares in the Lao capital of Vientiane, with a business period of 50 years and another 25 years at the investor’s discretion.
The ministry handed the project’s licence to the company’s representative at the signing ceremony, which was attended by several officials from the two countries.

Long Thanh Golf Investment and Trading Joint Stock Co., operates in the golf and hotel industries with a golf club and several golf courses in southern Vietnam.

Source: VNA

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Vietnamese paper mill makes debut in Laos

An inaugurating ceremony of a paper and pulp production factory was held in Huaphanh province in Laos on December 24 with the participation of representatives from the provincial authorities and the Vietnamese embassy in Laos.

The US$2 million mill, the first of its kind in Laos, has an annual capacity of 36,000 tonnes of pulp. It is expected to generate jobs for 300 Lao and 60 Vietnamese labourers and pay around US$2 million tax each year to the province.

This is the second project funded by Bac Ninh-based Long Van private company, after a joint venture to process agro-forestry products for export in Lao province of Sam Nua in December 2000.

Source: VNA

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Vietnam leads foreign investors in Laos

Vietnam is now the largest foreign investor in Laos , according to a recent survey conducted by the Overseas Investment Department under the Ministry of Planning and Investment.

The department’s statistics showed that in the first 11 months of this year, Vietnamese businesses invested in 52 projects with a total registered capital of 450 million USD in Laos , raising the total number of Vietnam ’s projects in the neighbouring country to 146, capitalised at 1.5 billion USD.
The hydropower sector drew the largest share of Vietnamese investment with 54.7 percent of the total registered capital. It was followed by industrial trees planting with 29 percent and mineral exploration with 8 percent.

Vietnam is now the largest foreign investor in Laos , according to a recent survey conducted by the Overseas Investment Department under the Ministry of Planning and Investment.

The department’s statistics showed that in the first 11 months of this year, Vietnamese businesses invested in 52 projects with a total registered capital of 450 million USD in Laos , raising the total number of Vietnam ’s projects in the neighbouring country to 146, capitalised at 1.5 billion USD.
The hydropower sector drew the largest share of Vietnamese investment with 54.7 percent of the total registered capital. It was followed by industrial trees planting with 29 percent and mineral exploration with 8 percent.

Source: VNA

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Quang Tri to provide more electricity for Laos

Central Quang Tri province will sell more electricity to the neighbouring Lao districts, the provincial electricity company said.

The company plans to install more transmission lines and equipments ensure supply capacity of 11 MW to the four Lao districts, in line with a joint commitment between the Electricity 3 Company under Electricity of Vietnam (EVN) and the Electricity of Laos (EDL) company.

Quang Tri has been providing electricity through two transformer stations at Lao Bao international border gate and La Lay national border gate for Laos over the past 10 years. Power sales in the first 11 months of 2008 reached 10.45 million KWh, a twofold increase as compared with previous years’ average figure.

Source: vnbusinessnews

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Thep Viet steel plant set for construction in Cambodia

Thep Viet steel manufacturer based in Ho Chi Minh City is set to invest US$70 million in a steel plant in Cambodia.

"We want the steel factory to begin production in two or three years," Tran Totu, chairman of the Thep Viet Steel Corp, told last week, adding that the investment would help fill a vital need for the Kingdom's rapidly developing infrastructure.

Thep Viet Steel exports 5,000 tonnes of steel per month to Cambodia.

Cambodia is reported to have large iron deposits, and Vietnamese companies have been granted concessions to explore for the mineral - a major feedstock for steel production.

Trinh Ba Cam, spokesman for the Vietnamese embassy in Phnom Penh, said Vietnamese companies could play a major role in future development in Cambodia.

"Vietnamese investment will help fill a need in Cambodian markets because the country is badly in need of steel," he said.

Tann Kin Vin, secretary of state for the Ministry of Industry, Mines and Energy, said he had no information about the plant.

"We know nothing about the plan, but we think it could not be implemented that quickly because no evaluation study on the availability of iron ore has been conducted," he told the Post on Tuesday.

"If they do their research, they will be able obtain ore and earn a lot of profit," he said.

He said that Japan is providing technical training on ore extraction.

"Iron ore will be a big source of income if the country is able to utilise this natural resource," Tann Kin Vin said.

Prime Minister Hun Sen last year called on foreign investment to take advantage of Cambodia's iron resources.

"I think Cambodia may have enough iron ore to sustain operations in a number of provinces in the centre and in the north of the country," said Mom Sambath, executive director of Development and Parntership in Action, an organisation that conducts research on mining operations in Ratanakkiri and Mondulkiri provinces.

He added that Cambodia could also support large-scale bauxite production.

Source: vnbusinessnews

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Song Da Corp Plans 2 More Hydropower Projects In Laos

Song Da Corp. has signed a memorandum of understanding with the Laotian government to build two more hydropower plants in the country, a company executive said Tuesday.

The company plans to start construction of the 50-megawatt Xe Bang Hieng 1 Plant and the 52-megawatt Xe Bang Hieng 2 Plant in Attapu province in mid-2010, said Mai Van Luc, deputy head of the company's investment department.

The total investment needed for the construction of the two plants will be $ 400 million. "It will take two to three years to build the plants," Luc said.

Song Da earlier started the construction of two other hydropower plants in Laos, including the 322-megawatt Xekaman 1 and the 250-megawatt Xekaman 3 Plant.

The $312-million Xekaman 3 is scheduled to start generating power in April 2011, with 90% of the output to be exported to Viet Nam.

The Xekaman 1 is scheduled to start commercial operations in 2013.
Source: vnbusinessnews
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