Vietnamese projects get thumbs up in Cambodia

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The commitment was made via seven memorandum of understandings signed between Cambodian and Vietnamese government agencies at the second Investment Promotion to Cambodia Conference held in Phnom Penh on April 24.  

The projects comprise Lower SeSan II hydro-electronic project developed by the EVN International, an iron ore exploration project developed by Hoang Anh Ratanakiri Company, a cassava flavour production factory, a refined sugar production factory developed by International Star Company and a plantation developed by Hoang Anh Oyadav Company.

There were around 165 enterprises participating in the conference including 94 Vietnamese enterprises. According to a report from Vietnam’s Foreign Investment Agency, Cambodia ranked the second investment destination of Vietnamese investors with 87 projects and $1.9 billion as of February 28, this year.

The first Investment Promotion to Cambodia Conference was held in Ho Chi Minh City in December 2009, raising Vietnamese investors’ interest in Cambodia. At that time, Cambodian and Vietnamese government agencies signed a memorandum of understanding on cooperation to support exploration and exploitation of a bauxite mine in MoldulKiri, next to Vietnam’s Central Highlands’ Dak Nong province, home to Vietnam’s first alumina project. The Cambodia’s Ministry of Industry, Mines and Energy also signed an agreement on exploration and exploitation and granting licence to the joint venture of alumina exploitation (Cambodia - Vietnam) in December, 2009.

The memorandum paved the way for Vinacomin and Cambodia’s Nadaco in cooperation with BIDV to produce 1.5 million tonnes of alumina in the first stage with total investment capital of $2.5 billion and 2.5 million tonnes in the second stage with investment capital of $3.5 billion.

BIDV chairman Tran Bac Ha said Vietnam’s large corporations wereng implementing their investment in Cambodia in sectors such as finance, banks and insurance, telecom, air carriers, agriculture, energy and mines.