Deputy Prime Minister Somsavat Lengsavad has urged the Lao National Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LNCCI) to look more deeply into the directions and targets it intends to pursue.
“The Chamber has to carry out further studies on its goals because the government has said that we must achieve these goals,” Mr Somsavat said at the LNCCI’s annual meeting for 2011 held yesterday in Vientiane.
Mr Somsavat Lengsavad. Photo Khamphanh
“The Chamber must know its targets and identify the difficulties encountered that hinder business operations,” Mr Somsavat said.
He stressed that the Chamber should look at the role played by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry in conjunction with its own functions.
If the situation is not clarified, many business units and companies won’t want to be members of the Chamber, Mr Somsavat said. “What benefits will they get if they are members?” he asked.
“If we don’t solve the issues we face, when we are a member of the World Trade Organisation, they will say we’re not complying with international market mechanisms.”
“So the LNCCI and its members must identify their targets and solutions now.”
LNCCI President Kissana Vongsay said that currently 28 business associations and groups with a total of about 1,100 members have registered at the headquarters in Vientiane since the Chamber was established in 1989.
Some 3,000 companies nationwide are members of the association, registered at the headquarters and in the provinces. “But this figure amounts to less than 10 percent of all companies in Laos,” Mr Kissana said.
He said the LNCCI is now preparing to open a Vientiane office as well as offices in the provinces of Phongsaly, Xekong and Attapeu. At present the Chamber has offices in 13 provinces.
At the meeting, Mr Somsavat praised the LNCCI for its contribution to social and economic development over the past year, including its coordination with government agencies on developing facilities to assist Lao and foreign business operators.
The Chamber often holds training courses for businesses relating to preparations for closer economic integration regionally and globally, including improvements to production and competition capacity.
“The Chamber has played an important role in implementing the government’s foreign policy by participating in various international events,” Mr Somsavat said.
“This has given Lao businesses much-needed experience and has helped them to grow. Many business units have become stronger and are now able to compete internationally.”
The LNCCI is an independent body which represents the business community in Laos.
It is the link between state and private enterprises and represents employers, groups and joint ventures across all agencies that have been established under the laws of Laos.
The LNCCI represents the business community in negotiations and in dealing with trade and labour issues both regionally and internationally, with a view to expanding trade and investment.
As economic development requires a pool of knowledge and skills, the LNCCI seeks to build capacity through seminars, business meetings and exhibitions where views can be exchanged and experiences and skills shared.
