Lao-Korean joint venture invests US$ 15 m to grow and process cassava

Lao-Korean joint venture invests US$ 15 m to grow and process cassava

(KPL) A Lao businessman combined with a Republic of Korea investor to grow the cassava plant and also to construct a cassava-processing factory in Laos.
A Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) was signed between Mr Khamkeo Keobounphanh, Managing Director of Borkeo Army Development Enterprise and Service Export-Import and Mr Hong Jong O, Chairman of SM Co. Ltd., in Vientiane on12 September.
With a total investment of US$ 15 million, the Lao partner held 30 per cent of the shares and the Korean investor held the rest, 70 per cent of the shares of their corporation, Agriculture Development Completed Circularity Lao-Korea Company.
This joint venture company is planning to grow the cassava plant on 10,000 hectares of land but initially, in the year 2008-09 it would grow only 1,000 hectares of cassava and after this date it would expand to eventually reach its target size.
Mr Khamkeo said that it is part of the government’s policy to grow and to export surplus agricultural products and that this would have the effect of reducing poverty.
“We are planning to plant the cassava throughout the country but first would be planted in the Nayae and Meuang Noi Thin villages of Vangvieng district.
These two villages were made up of 35 resettled families and they were affected by the construction of the Nam Ngeum Two project. Our offer would enable the villages to earn money from agriculture. We would be giving to the local people the cassava hybrid for cultivation and on its maturity we would buy the cassava from them,” said Mr Khamkeo.
The company would construct a cassava-processing factory to produce cassava flour and it would be exported to the Republic of Korea.