Lao Prime Minister Thongloun Sisoulith has pledged to create favourable conditions for Vietnamese firms to continue investing in agricultural development in Laos.

At a reception in Vientiane on Thursday for chairman of Truong Hai Auto Corporation (THACO) Tran Ba Duong and chairman of Hoang Anh Gia Lai Group Doan Nguyen Duc, the Lao PM appreciated the two companies’ strategy on sustainable investment in agriculture in Laos.

He urged Hoang Anh Gia Lai and THACO to transfer technology to local people, helping them to access modern agricultural production methods.

He also praised the companies’ commitment to complete and hand over Nongkhang Airport in Houaphanh Province on the occasion of Laos’ National Day on December 2 this year.

The Hoang Anh Gia Lai executive reported to the Lao PM that the group’s investment in Laos had been affected by the steep fall in the prices of rubber latex in the global market, which made the group unable to fulfill its commitment to building Nongkhang Airport.

He added that his group had signed a strategic deal with THACO in August last year, under which THACO provided financial support for Hoang Anh Gia Lai to restructure and pay its debts. Thanks to the assistance, Hoang Anh Gia Lai had overcome its most difficult period, stabilised its finance capacity, and continued to invest in agriculture.

THACO Chairman Duong said his firm would supply agricultural machinery for Hoang Anh Gia Lai’s farm in the southern Lao province of Attapeu.

The company will also open a transportation route from Attapeu to the THACO agro-forestry-industry park and Chu Lai Port in Quang Nam Province through the Bo Y Border Gate in Kon Tum Province.

Duong said THACO and Hoang Anh Gia Lai would work for the common target of developing fruit tree cultivation in Laos. THACO would build a closed value chain in the field, expand large-scale cultivation models and transfer technology to Lao farmers with the goal of developing sustainable and high-value agriculture in Laos.

According to Duong, THACO would advance US$12 million to Hoang Anh Gia Lai to complete Nongkhang Airport. It would assign its subsidiary Dai Quang Minh to help with the management and supervision of construction so the airport would be completed on schedule as committed by Hoang Anh Gia Lai to the Lao PM. — VNS