Will this decision dangerous for the sustainable development in Laos ?



Laos is welcoming all investment proposals in its bid to exit the list of "least-developed" countries by 2020.

However, Bounthavy Sisouphanthong, deputy minister at the Planning and Investment Ministry, cautioned that while the nation was opening its doors it would also take into account the potential damage to the environment that projects could cause.

"If these projects pose a serious threat to the environment they could be turned down. This is in line with our policy to increase forested areas from 40 per cent of land to 70 per cent in 2020," he said.

Bounthavy said Laos had eased its investment rules to make the country more attractive to foreign investors. It promises to endorse approvals within 15 days of the day that documentation is submitted. Laos does not impose a long list of demands on prospective investors, as long as they truly have the country's best wishes at heart and share the goal of boosting the economy, the minister said.

Laos is ranked 165th out of 181 countries by the World Bank's 2009 report in terms of ease of doing business, against this year's ranking of 162nd. In the 2009 rankings, Laos is at the bottom of the list when it comes to closing a business but ranks 92nd for starting a business.


Bounthavy attributed the low overall ranking to the small number of cases used in the sample. He insisted that Laos had been consistently improving when it came to facilitating foreign investors.

According to the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, Laos attracted US$324 million (Bt11.55 billion) in foreign direct investment (FDI) in 2007, up sharply from $187 million in the previous year.

The minister said that given the rising inflows, Laos had to make sure that the entire nation was benefiting from the increased prosperity that came with FDI. Promoting education and health is the country's top priority. He noted that Laos was among the countries with the highest infant mortality rate.

He added that education would make sure that Laotians upgraded their skills, as human resources were the backbone of every aspect of development.

"Laos's competitive edge lies in resources, but we're poor in terms of skills and management. We need HR development. Out of this recognition, we require all development projects to entail community-development programmes," he said.

"We not only want FDI but also knowledge transfer." Laos targets economic growth of 7.5 to 8 per cent per annum.

Bounthavy is confident that if all the government's strategies work, Laos will achieve its national goal of exiting the list of least-developed countries in about a decade from now.

http://www.nationmultimedia.com/2008/12/08/business/business_30090417.php