28-12-2009
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| Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung (centre) and Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen at the conference promoting Vietnamese investment in Cambodia. — VNA/VNS Photo Duc Tam |
HCM CITY — Viet Nam and Cambodia signed deals worth US$6 billion at a conference held in HCM City last Saturday to promote Vietnamese investment in Cambodia.
Held by the Cambodian Development Council and Viet Nam’s Ministry of Planning and Investment, the conference brought together 500 policymakers and business executives from the two countries under the chairmanship of Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung and his Cambodian counterpart, Hun Sen.
Under the various agreements signed at the conference, Viet Nam will invest in electric generation, food processing, fertiliser production, rubber plantation and bauxite mining in Cambodia.
"This is a huge investment from the Vietnamese side," said Dung, noting that the country’s total investment in 50 countries was just $7 billion.
"The Vietnamese Government is committed to creating favourable conditions for domestic businesses to invest in Cambodia," Dung said.
Vietnamese businesses have invested in over 60 projects in Cambodia with a total capital of nearly $900 million, making Viet Nam among the top three foreign investors in Cambodia.
Doan Nguyen Duc, chairman of Hoang Anh Gia Lai Corporation, vowed to further step up investment there, noting that his corporation was currently farming 20,000ha of rubber in Rattanakiri Province and mining ore at a total investment of $100 million.
"We have also built villages, roads, and schools in areas that we invest in apart from providing $4 million to set up a soccer academy."
Hun Sen said Cambodia was calling for foreign investment in its areas of strength, such as agriculture, forestry, industry, infrastructure, processing, mining and tourism.
Cambodia would create a favourable investment environment for Vietnamese businesses to operate in the country, Hun Sen vowed.
"On behalf of the Royal Government of Cambodia, I guarantee Vietnamese investors lots of preferences," he said, noting that Cambodia allows investment even in some sensitive sectors like banking, insurance, and media not yet fully open in other countries.
Dung hailed the efficiency of Vietnamese-invested projects in Cambodia but said that the results have not yet matched the potential of both countries nor lived up to people’s expectations.
At the conference, the Vietnamese Ministry of Planning and Investment and the Cambodian Development Council signed a memorandum of understanding on investment promotion.
The Vietnamese Minister of Industry and Trade and the Cambodian Minister of Industry, Mining and Energy also signed the minutes of their meeting regarding bauxite exploration and exploitation in the Cambodian province of Mondulkiri.
The Bank for Investment and Development of Cambodia (BIDC), which opened its HCM City branch over the weekend in the presence of Dung and Hun Sen, also signed commitments to provide financial services to Vietnamese businesses investing in Cambodia.
The branch was part of BIDC’s strategy to expand into a major financial source for Vietnamese investors and businesses operating in Cambodia.
The Phnom Penh-headquartered bank was launched last July with charter capital invested by the Bank for Investment and Development of Viet Nam.
BIDC president Tran Thanh Van said at the opening ceremony that the new branch was expected to serve as a payment channel connecting the economies and banking systems of the two countries. — VNS
Held by the Cambodian Development Council and Viet Nam’s Ministry of Planning and Investment, the conference brought together 500 policymakers and business executives from the two countries under the chairmanship of Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung and his Cambodian counterpart, Hun Sen.
Under the various agreements signed at the conference, Viet Nam will invest in electric generation, food processing, fertiliser production, rubber plantation and bauxite mining in Cambodia.
"This is a huge investment from the Vietnamese side," said Dung, noting that the country’s total investment in 50 countries was just $7 billion.
"The Vietnamese Government is committed to creating favourable conditions for domestic businesses to invest in Cambodia," Dung said.
Vietnamese businesses have invested in over 60 projects in Cambodia with a total capital of nearly $900 million, making Viet Nam among the top three foreign investors in Cambodia.
Doan Nguyen Duc, chairman of Hoang Anh Gia Lai Corporation, vowed to further step up investment there, noting that his corporation was currently farming 20,000ha of rubber in Rattanakiri Province and mining ore at a total investment of $100 million.
"We have also built villages, roads, and schools in areas that we invest in apart from providing $4 million to set up a soccer academy."
Hun Sen said Cambodia was calling for foreign investment in its areas of strength, such as agriculture, forestry, industry, infrastructure, processing, mining and tourism.
Cambodia would create a favourable investment environment for Vietnamese businesses to operate in the country, Hun Sen vowed.
"On behalf of the Royal Government of Cambodia, I guarantee Vietnamese investors lots of preferences," he said, noting that Cambodia allows investment even in some sensitive sectors like banking, insurance, and media not yet fully open in other countries.
Dung hailed the efficiency of Vietnamese-invested projects in Cambodia but said that the results have not yet matched the potential of both countries nor lived up to people’s expectations.
At the conference, the Vietnamese Ministry of Planning and Investment and the Cambodian Development Council signed a memorandum of understanding on investment promotion.
The Vietnamese Minister of Industry and Trade and the Cambodian Minister of Industry, Mining and Energy also signed the minutes of their meeting regarding bauxite exploration and exploitation in the Cambodian province of Mondulkiri.
The Bank for Investment and Development of Cambodia (BIDC), which opened its HCM City branch over the weekend in the presence of Dung and Hun Sen, also signed commitments to provide financial services to Vietnamese businesses investing in Cambodia.
The branch was part of BIDC’s strategy to expand into a major financial source for Vietnamese investors and businesses operating in Cambodia.
The Phnom Penh-headquartered bank was launched last July with charter capital invested by the Bank for Investment and Development of Viet Nam.
BIDC president Tran Thanh Van said at the opening ceremony that the new branch was expected to serve as a payment channel connecting the economies and banking systems of the two countries. — VNS
2 comments:
Any country that can attract investors is better than none. It doesn't matter which country comes in Cambodia. Look at the situation in Australia, China is the newcomer who put hand on al kinds of investment, in particular the mining sector. It is about time that all political parties in Cambodia try to work together for the benefit of Cambodia by debating and amending (if necessary) the investment law to protect investors and the people of Cambodia instead of nagging and walking out from parliament whensoever to suit themselves. That is not politic.
7:35 AM, I agree that investments from any country is better than none. But what concerns me is that the investments in Cambodia is not transparent and probably only benefits the corrupt government officials. People don't know how much the foreign companies paid for the concessions or where the money goes, to the state coffers or to the pockets of corrupt officials.
What concerns me the most about Vietnamese investments is the mineral explorations and rubber plantations. The locations of these investments are on the Khmer-Vietnamese borders where demarcations have not yet been properly done.
Hundreds of thousands of hectares of border lands had been given as concessions to Vietnamese companies to use in the developments of rubber plantations and for mineral explorations. These lands/areas are located right on the borders with Vietnam, are forbidden areas and mostly inaccessible by Khmer officials. And the concessions are mostly 99 year lease. I'm afraid that after 99 years, the areas would become Vietnamese territories.
It would be better if the lands given as concessions to Vietnamese companies are located in the areas far way from the borders- may be 100 kilometers away for example.
I agree that Cambodian political parties should work together. But you must agree with me that the CPP, with its overwhelming majority, never listen to the opposition proposals and suggestions. So, how can the oppositions have inputs in terms of enacting laws etc.
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