VRG says adheres to Cambodian and Laotian investment laws

“Hence, Global Witness’s accusation that we have destroyed the environment and claimed land plots from locals is groundless,” Tran Ngoc Thuan said.

VRG and Hoang Anh Gia Lai (HAGL) were accused by London-based environment watchdog Global Witness of being involved in deforestation in Laos and Cambodia, an allegation that both companies protested and deemed illogical.

Thuan said the VRG’s rubber plantations are located in land plots zoned for industrial plant production approved by the Laotian and Cambodian governments

VRG had to pass a strict procedure in order to obtain the land plots, and no areas of forest or agricultural land have been destroyed to make room for the rubber plantations, he said.

In mid-May, HAGL chairman Doan Nguyen Duc also voiced his protests against the Global Witness allegation, saying his company did not destroy a single log of wood in either country.

Meanwhile, local authorities of Laos and Cambodia have also voiced their support for the Vietnamese companies.

During a reception of Vietnamese Ambassador to Cambodia Ngo Anh Dung on June 7, Cambodian Deputy Prime Minister Yim Chhay Ly said he completely rejected the false information of Global Witness and Radio Free Asia claiming that the VRG and HAGL have destroyed the environment and claimed land plots from locals in Cambodia.

Vietnamese investors in Cambodia, including the rubber firms, have contributed greatly to the economic development of the country, he said.

The Global Witness accusation is also deemed illogical by Laotian authorities, according to the June 3 report by the Vietnam News Agency.

“[Global Witness]’s allegation is a groundless argument made towards the VRG and HAGL -- enterprises that have hugely invested in Laos,” Sithong Chitnhothinh, head of the Press Department under the Lao Foreign Ministry told reporters at a press briefing on June 3.

A story in the Pathet Lao newspaper on May 21 also said that the Vietnamese firms have greatly contributed to socio-economic development in Laos by generating jobs and enhancing living conditions for local people.