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Over 1 billion U.S. dollars has been disbursed in various business activities and the development of special and specific economic zones (SEZs) in Laos, local daily Vientiane Times reported on Monday.
Almost 300 companies from Laos and overseas are now investing in the SEZs, with a total registered capital of almost 8 billion U. S. dollars, of which 1.62 billion U.S. dollars has been spent, said the report.
The Lao National Committee for Special Economic Zones (NCSEZ) unveiled its latest report recently, showing that SEZs in Laos have become increasingly attractive to foreign investors due to tax incentives and infrastructure improvement.
While SEZs have seen a lot of progress, some are still in the initial stages of development since they are building and installing the necessary infrastructure to accommodate local and foreign entrepreneurs, such as roads, water supplies, electricity and other facilities.
Over the past decade, SEZs in Laos have been developing continuously, contributing to the urbanization of remote regions, boosting economic growth, and generating job opportunities for local people.
Currently Laos has 12 SEZs (four special economic zones and eight specific economic zones), covering an area of almost 20,000 hectares.
About 294 companies (56 Lao companies, 217 foreign companies and the rest joint venture companies) are investing in the zones, generating 15,544 jobs (of which 7,180 are held by Lao nationals and 8,364 by foreign workers).
The value of goods exported from these zones amounted to over 352 million U.S. dollars and the value of products imported to the zones was worth over 1.15 billion U.S. dollars.
If proposed railways are built to connect Laos to its neighbors, this could create even more favorable conditions for people to do business in Laos, said the report.
SEZs have become the main driver of growth in the industrial and service sectors in Laos, laying the foundation for diversifying the nation's economy into the future.
The development of SEZs is part of Lao government's policy to boost economic growth and generate job opportunities through increased modernization and industrialization.
(APD)
