CBF company’s Lao pharmacists practise at BIDIPHAR.

* From BIDIPHAR…

 Binh Dinh Pharmaceutical And Medical Equipment Company (BIDIPHAR) is the first Vietnamese business that has started cooperated projects with the Pharmaceutical joint-venture enterprise (CBF) in Lao’s twinned Champassak province. CBF has now become a strong trademark nationwide in Lao. In recent years, BIDIPHAR has promoted the cooperation with CBF and expanded invested fields. BIDIPHAR has invested in reclaiming and planting nearly 300 ha of coffee crops in Champassak since 2003, and harvested coffee for 2 years so far.

According to two sides’ cooperation programmes, BIDIPHAR and CBF have continued to form the Laos-Vietnam Rubber friendly joint-venture company. Laos had granted the license for this joint-venture to rent 8,000 ha of land within 50 years. The US$10 mil-project will be conducted for six years. In 2006, 1,000 ha of land were reclaimed and rubber crops were planted. It is proposed to grow more 1,500 ha of rubber trees this year. A fertilizer factory has been built to provide fertilizer for the project of industrial crops, according to vice-director of BIDIPHAR Nguyen Van Qua. At raw material areas, roads, the irrigation system and the electricity has been built. The BIDIPHAR’s invested capital has been over US$2 mil so far.

* …to BIDINA

Mr. Nguyen An Diem, general director of PISICO Corp.-parent Company of Binh Dinh Agriculture and Industry company (BIDINA), which has been investing in southern provinces of Laos, said that in 2006 BIDINA had reclaimed 700 ha of land and planted nearly 700 ha of rubber trees. The number of rubber trees planted has well grown. BIDINA had invested there almost $2 mil for 2 years, and in next 4 years BIDINA is to continue to receive land for reclaiming and investing in planting rubber trees and other industrial crops (Laos granted the license for the company to rent 9,485 ha of land within 50 years). It is planned that the number of rubber trees planted in 2006 will be harvested in 5 years and after that a rubber processing company will be built in Sekong province with the invested capital of $10 mil.

Binh Dinh Agriculture and Rural Development Department’s leaders visit a farm in the South of Lao.

In the Attapeu province, according to the two sides’ cooperation programme, PISICO Corp. was offered 4,000 ha of land for growing cassava trees and building a starch and alcohol processing factory with the investment capital of roughly $4 mil. Two sides have currently finished all formalities, and the project is proposes to work next year. PISICO is able to choose parterns for joint-venture and plans for investing. Apart from this, PISICO is preparing for receiving 5,000 ha of land in Sekong province (near Quang Nam province) to plant forests providing raw material for the paper processing and some Corp.’s members in Quang Nam. Alongside rubber trees, PISICO will also grow such industrial crops as corn, coffee, and teak wood, etc.

According to two businesses investing in southern provinces of Laos, they were heartened to receive the effective support from local authorities and residents for the reclamation and planting. Local workforces were employed to work in two businesses with high income. Out of employees, many will then become workers taking the latex from rubber trees and those who work at processing factories. They are now very excited.

• Written by Cat Hung
• Translated by Hong Quang