by RentsBuy Property Land on the Don Chanh Mekong riverfront in central Vientiane will soon be transformed into a major shopping centre, along with various dining and entertainment venues.
CAMCE Investment (Lao) Co., LTD, a joint venture between the Chinese state-owned enterprise CAMCE Engineering and Lao Krittaphong Group, began constructing the US$800 million shopping plaza last month and hopes to finish at the end of 2015.
Speaking in an exclusive interview with Vientiane Times on Friday, Mr Luke Lee said the development near Annouvong Park in central Vientiane was the second phase of the Vientiane New World Project.
The plaza will consist of a shopping mall, department stores, a supermarket, Lao-style shopping streets, local and international restaurants and an entertainment venue, Mr Lee said.
He explained that the new facilities were aimed at meeting the demand of the growing Lao economy.
“We have conducted a study and we found that Vientiane needs modern shopping and tourism facilities to attract the customers,” he said.
“Vientiane people spent more than US$1 billion a year on shopping in Thailand, where there is more modern shopping.
“When I heard about the amount that Lao people spend in Thailand I was very excited.”
Mr Lee said he expected most of the customers who will visit the shopping plaza will be Lao people, who have increasingly high purchasing power as the country’s economy grows.
He said there were also many foreigners living in Laos who need access to more modern shopping facilities.
The Lao economy has grown by at least 7.5 percent annually over the past several years thanks to investment in the natural resources sector, including mining and hydropower.
The country has the potential to become a major exporter of electricity to neighbouring Thailand.
Laos also plans to become a major production base in the region and has opened more than 10 special and specific economic zones.
Mr Lee, who has more than 20 years of experience in commercial property development projects, said Laos had huge investment potential in the shopping mall businesses as Vientiane has no big and modern shopping malls like other capital cities do.
He also said Laos had begun to open its doors to the international community, welcoming foreign investment to boost socio-economic development.
Laos, which now has a population of six million, has been a member of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) since the end of last year, making foreign investors feel more confident in the country’s legal system and business opportunities.
At the end of 2015 Laos will become part of the Asean Economic Community, which will make the region a single market and a unified production base.
Mr Lee said Laos has a clean environment and no pollution, unlike other major Asian cities. He said Lao people were friendly and kind, which made the country one of the most attractive investment destinations in the region .
“I had been working in Malaysia for six years before I decided to come to work in Laos with CAMCE. I think Laos is a good place to live, the same as Malaysia,” he said.
Mr Lee said the decision of CAMCE Investment (Lao) Co., LTD to continue with the second phase of Vientiane New World was based on the success of the construction of the ASEM Villas, which were used as the official mansion for world leaders attending the ninth Asia-Europe Summit in Vientiane in 2012.
The third phase of the Vientiane New World Project will be a real estate development project to build an International Business Centre where local and foreign companies can locate their offices.
One of the main reasons the company decided to invest in Laos was that it saw a bright future for the country.
Located in the middle of the Mekong region, Laos will become a logistics centre and transit point between neighbouring countries.
A large number of international tourists will come to Laos in coming years. Compared to other South-East Asian countries, Laos has significant tourism potential.
With its rapid economic progress and developing transport system, enormous growth can be expected.
By Advertorial Desk, Vientianetimes
(Latest Update March 25, 2014)
