The Association of Vietnamese Investors in Myanmar (AVIM) hopes to raise its investment in Myanmar to $1.5 billion by 2015 in making Vietnam one of the five largest foreign investors in that country.
AVIM chairman Tran Bac Ha unveiled the target at a meeting with Speaker of Union of Myanmar Assembly Thura U Shwe Mann in Hanoi, Vietnam News Agency (VNA) reports.
Ha said businesses will work to help enhance two-way trade to $650 million to $700 million, and the number of Vietnamese tourists to Myanmar to 35,000 in the future.
AVIM representatives proposed that Myanmar’s government and parliament develop an “open-door” legal system and improve investment incentives for foreign investors.
They emphasised the need to have agreements on encouraging and protecting investment, and issuance of regulations on ownership of investment assets for Vietnamese firms n Myanmar.
The association hoped Myanmar will accelerate the licensing process for Vietnamese projects in the fields of textile, agriculture, health care, energy, construction material production, finance and banking.
Thura U Shwe Mann said Myanmar is learning from the experiences of other countries to improve its legal framework and to simplify administrative formalities to attract more foreign investment to the country.
Mann called on AVIM to continue acting as a bridge to bring more Vietnamese investment to Myanmar particularly in agriculture, hotel, tourism, finance and banking, and to contribute to deepening bilateral relations between both countries.
Established under an initiative by the Bank for Investment and Development of Vietnam (BIDV), AVIM comprises 76 members including PetroVietnam, Vietnam Airlines, Hoang Anh Gia Lai Group and Song Da Corporation.
At present, Vietnamese investors have seven projects worth $600 million in Myanmar with the biggest being Hoang Anh Gia Lai Group’s complex of hotels, apartments and offices worth $440 million.
Fifty-six Vietnamese businesses have been licensed to operate in Myanmar so far, according to Myanmar Investment Commssion (MIC) data.
