Speaker of the Assembly of the Union of Myanmar Thura U Shwe Mann (left) attends the event. — Photo VTV

HA NOI (Biz Hub) — The Association of Vietnamese Investors in Myanmar (AVIM) hopes to raise their investment in the country to around US$1.5 billion by 2015, placing Viet Nam among the country's five largest foreign investors.

AVIM Chairman Tran Bac Ha unveiled the goal at a meeting in Ha Noi yesterday with Speaker of the Assembly of the Union of Myanmar Thura U Shwe Mann, who is here for an official visit from September 5 at the invitation of National Assembly Chairman Nguyen Sinh Hung.

Ha also said the businesses would work to help raise two-way trade between the two countries to $650-700 million and the number of Vietnamese tourists to Myanmar to 35,000.

To realise these targets, AVIM representatives proposed that Myanmar's government and parliament build an open-door legal system, in addition to setting up investment incentives for foreign investors, signing agreements encouraging and protecting investment and issuing regulations on the ownership of investment assets for Vietnamese firms in Myanmar.

The association voiced hope that Myanmar would accelerate the licensing process for Vietnamese projects in the fields of textiles, agriculture, health care, energy, construction material production, finance and banking.

Myanmar's parliament leader U Shwe Mann appreciated the contributions made by AVIM to his country's socio-economic development, saying that Myanmar and Viet Nam shared many similarities in geography, economy and culture that could be advantageous for promoting trade links and investment.

He noted that Myanmar was focusing on institutional reform and opening its market with the goal of boosting living standards and economic development. During the process, the country was learning from the experiences of other countries in improving its legal framework and simplifying administrative formalities in order to attract more foreign investment to Myanmar.

U Shwe Mann took note of AVIM's requests and asked the association to continue acting as a bridge to bring more investment from Viet Nam to Myanmar, especially in the agriculture, tourism, finance and banking sectors.

Established under an initiative by the Bank for Investment and Development of Vietnam (BIDV), AVIM comprises 76 members, including prestigious businesses such as PetroVietnam, Vietnam Airlines, Hoang Anh Gia Lai Group and Song Da Corporation.

Vietnamese investors currently have seven projects worth $600 million in Myanmar, and 56 Vietnamese businesses have been licensed to operate in the country.

The biggest investment among them is Hoang Anh Gia Lai Group's $440 million hotel, apartment and office complex. — VNS