The Ministry of Planning and Investment, the Vietnam Association of Foreign Investment Enterprises, and the Cambodia-Laos-Vietnam Association for Economic Cooperation Development jointly held the Mekong Sub-region Investment Cooperation Forum with the theme of Cambodia-Laos-Vietnam Development Triangle before the New Challenges and Opportunities in Buon Ma Thuot City, Dak Lak Province.
This annual event is held alternately by three member countries and this time by Vietnam to exchange information, seek solutions to promote investment and economic development objectives in the Mekong Subregion, the economic corridors in the Subregion, and the Cambodia-Laos-Vietnam development triangle.
Located in the Mekong Subregion, the Cambodia-Laos-Vietnam development triangle is attracting attention from three governments and they are taking appropriate actions to promote mutual economic growth, attract investment, and enhance economic cooperation among three member countries and other countries in the whole region.
According to the Ministry of Planning and Investment's Foreign Investment Department, Vietnam has made 120 investment projects in Cambodia, with total investment capital of US$2.64 billion; of which, 25 projects worth of US$1.44 billion were made in the Cambodia-Laos-Vietnam development triangle.
In Laos, Vietnam has made 50 investment projects worth of US$1.65 billion in the Cambodia-Laos-Vietnam development triangle, accounting for 22.9 percent of the country's total projects and 47.5 percent of the total investment capital.
In general, Vietnam's investment projects were mainly made in the field of extraction and processing of natural resources. These projects were labor intensive, long-lasting, large-scale, and mainly involved with rubber plantation and mining.
Vietnam's five provinces located in the development triangle including Kon Tum, Gia Lai, Dak Lak, Dak Nong and Binh Phuoc already attracted 129 foreign direct investment projects from 19 countries and territories worldwide, with a total investment of US$1 billion, including five Laotian projects with total registered capital of US$77.2 million and two Cambodian projects with total registered capital of US$18.2 million.
However, Vietnamese businesses agreed that the investment environment in the development triangle was not as favorable as before, with newly arising difficulties such as reduced foreign labor rates, increased taxes and transportation fees.
Foreign Investment Deputy Director Dang Xuan Quang said, "To encourage investment in the Cambodia-Laos-Vietnam development triangle, the Government of Vietnam has made preferential policies regarding investors in the area of socio-economic difficulties". He also recommended Cambodia and Lao prioritize the investment certificate granting regarding Vietnamese investment projects, especially large-scale investment projects in hydropower, mineral mining and processing, industrial planting.
In addition, to remove barriers and promote economic cooperation, three member countries need to have investment incentives for the areas of socio-economic difficulties in the Cambodia-Laos-Vietnam development triangle. Currently, Vietnamese investors in Cambodia and Laos (including the development triangle) are subject to common policies on foreign investment and benefit from no specific investment regulations. So, three governments need to have specific policies regarding investors in the development triangle to attract more investors in the future.
Three governments should collaborate to develop mechanisms and policies to promote the internal resources of each member country and the development triangle, and attract official development assistance (ODA) and direct investment (FDI). Raw material areas for large-scale production should be shaped up and the Subregional road system should be built and upgraded so as to favor the production, trading, and export activities of enterprises in the development triangle/.