Vietnam targets Laos, East Timor, Africa
The two communist-led nations of Vietnam and Laos are forging closer economic ties, while Vietnam also discovers East Timor and Africa as investment destinations.
In an agreement signed on August 12 in the Lao capital of Vientiane, both nations comitted to launch negotiations of a new investment encouragement and protection agreement and further implement their 2008-2015 bilateral trade development project, news agency VietNamNet reported.
The Lao government licensed an additional four Vietnamese-invested projects with a total value of $73 million. Vietnam has so far invested in 435 projects totalling $5.2 billion in Laos, placing it among the largest foreign investors in the neighbouring country.
They two nations also signed a contract on mineral ore exploitation in Xieng Khouang province between the Laos government and Vietnam’s Chien Thang Mining and Industry Company, and also discussed the possibility of establishing a border economic cooperation zone between Ha Tinh and Bolikhamxay provinces.
Bilateral trade between Laos and Vietnam rose 33 per cent to $465.7 million in the first half of 2012, and is expected to increase to $1 billion by the year-end. The two countries have agreed to raise bilateral trade to $2 billion by 2015.
Expansion drive
In another move, Vietnam is also reaching out to East Timor for investment. Viettel Telecom, one of the largest telecom companies in Asia by number of subscribers, has recently established a subsidiary in East Timor and said it will invest $15 million to improve the small nation’s inadequate telephone networks.
Viettel lately has embarked on a global expansion drive. The company has already set up operations in Laos, Cambodia, Haiti and Peru, plans to introduce its services in El Salvador and has participated in a tender offer in Argentina. It also went to Mozambique, has recently confirmed that it will enter the Kenyan mobile market and is eyeing to invest in Ethiopia and other Sub-Saharan countries.
[caption id="attachment_4180" align="alignleft" width="300"] Viettel, one of the fastest growing telecom operators worldwide, is working on a fiber optic network in Mozambique as part of its expansion focus on Africa[/caption] The two communist-led nations of Vietnam and Laos are forging closer economic ties, while Vietnam also discovers East Timor and Africa as investment destinations. In an agreement signed on August 12 in the Lao capital of Vientiane, both nations comitted to launch negotiations of a new investment encouragement and protection agreement and further implement their 2008-2015 bilateral trade development project, news agency VietNamNet reported. The Lao government licensed an additional...
The two communist-led nations of Vietnam and Laos are forging closer economic ties, while Vietnam also discovers East Timor and Africa as investment destinations.
In an agreement signed on August 12 in the Lao capital of Vientiane, both nations comitted to launch negotiations of a new investment encouragement and protection agreement and further implement their 2008-2015 bilateral trade development project, news agency VietNamNet reported.
The Lao government licensed an additional four Vietnamese-invested projects with a total value of $73 million. Vietnam has so far invested in 435 projects totalling $5.2 billion in Laos, placing it among the largest foreign investors in the neighbouring country.
They two nations also signed a contract on mineral ore exploitation in Xieng Khouang province between the Laos government and Vietnam’s Chien Thang Mining and Industry Company, and also discussed the possibility of establishing a border economic cooperation zone between Ha Tinh and Bolikhamxay provinces.
Bilateral trade between Laos and Vietnam rose 33 per cent to $465.7 million in the first half of 2012, and is expected to increase to $1 billion by the year-end. The two countries have agreed to raise bilateral trade to $2 billion by 2015.
Expansion drive
In another move, Vietnam is also reaching out to East Timor for investment. Viettel Telecom, one of the largest telecom companies in Asia by number of subscribers, has recently established a subsidiary in East Timor and said it will invest $15 million to improve the small nation’s inadequate telephone networks.
Viettel lately has embarked on a global expansion drive. The company has already set up operations in Laos, Cambodia, Haiti and Peru, plans to introduce its services in El Salvador and has participated in a tender offer in Argentina. It also went to Mozambique, has recently confirmed that it will enter the Kenyan mobile market and is eyeing to invest in Ethiopia and other Sub-Saharan countries.
