Agri-business under watch in Laos
LAOS’ MINISTRY of Agriculture and Forestry will this year closely monitor domestic and foreign investment in the sector as it believes that many companies have not implemented the agreements made or complied with stipulated feasibility study methods.
The ministry will strictly apply management measures to investors and companies that failed to make progress with their proposed projects or had an adverse impact on local communities and the environment.
However, the ministry has not revealed the numbers and names of the companies concerned, the ministry reported at its annual meeting in Vientiane at the end of last year.
Last year, 733 domestic and foreign companies agreed to invest in the agriculture and forestry sector in Laos with total investment of US$3.55 billion (Bt124 billion) while $1.74 billion of registered funding was allocated to land concessions on about 467,980 hectares.
Some 107 companies invested in livestock projects with funding of $338.88 million, 345 companies invested in agriculture with funding of about $1.22 billion, 232 companies invested in tree plantations with funding of about $1.96 billion, and 49 companies ploughed $34 million into service sector projects.
Many projects made good progress and benefited local people, making an important contribution to socio-economic development, especially the growth of agriculture and forestry.
