Krittaphong Group’s Businesses Growing In Laos

Source: Vientiane Times

One of the biggest local investors in the region, Krittaphong Group Co., Ltd. is pouring capital into various mega projects to build stronger business capacities in Laos, a developing nation in Asean and the world.

Its investment mainly focuses on commercial centres, residences, hospitality, finance, agriculture and construction.

Mr Wu Xinghua stands in front of the Landmark Mekong Riverside Hotel.

In Vientiane, major properties belonging to it include the Landmark Mekong Riverside Hotel, the five-star Don Chan Palace hotel, Vientiane Center, a modernised shopping centre, as well as Vientiane New World, an international shopping street, ASEM Villa, a top luxury villa village which has served the ASEM Summit and ASEAN Summit for top diplomats, and the AVIC Townhouse, a townhouse project.

The group is also building a five-star hotel in That Luang village, Xaysettha district, where work is currently 60 percent complete.

In Luang Prabang province, the group has a golf course and a planned five-star hotel in process to accommodate the rising number of tourists.

All these projects are paving the way for strong economic fundamentals in the country’s capital city and making Vientiane more beautiful. Some of them are serving the needs of people and business units.

The Group’s Deputy Managing Director, Mr Wu Xinghua, gave an interview to Vientiane Times on Tuesday, noting that the group is continuing to invest in many businesses and projects for long term return. It is anticipating benefits in the future when the country’s economy and population have grown further.

Mr Wu, who is also Executive Vice Chairman of the Chinese (Laos) Chamber of Commerce, said “Building hotels or other businesses here is for the country’s benefit because we, the investors, cannot move all your properties with us when we return home. All our investments are for aspects of Laos.”

“We have decided to invest in Laos because we think the country is like our hometown. The group chairman and I are both married to Lao women and our children and families will continue to live here for centuries,” Mr Wu said.

Coming from Guangdong, Group Chairman Boulapha Santikhongkha came to Laos to start import and export trading in 1990. In 1999, the Krittaphong Construction Company was established and later on Krittaphong Group Co., Ltd. was formed in 2009.

Now, there are many companies that are 100 percent subsidiaries or joint venture s under the management of the group such as Camce Investment (Lao) Co., Ltd., AVIC Investment Co., Ltd., North Nongchan Complex Development Co., Ltd. and Rising Investment & Development (Lao) Co., Ltd., Landmark Mekong Riverside hotel, Don Chan Palace hotel and the Vientiane Center.

The group has also assisted some cooperation projects between the Lao and Chinese governments such as the Lao Satellite I and Lao-Chinese Railway Project, he said.

Investing in the condominium project, the group realised that this scheme will help to improve people’s living conditions and meet the needs of residents with the growth of the economy and the population.

Mr Wu quoted official statistics, noting that the number of vehicles in Vientiane is continuing to increase and this is an obstacle for travelling to work. So people have to think about townhouses and good location condominiums where transportation is more convenient.

The condominium project will change the living conditions of people choosing to live there. When living in the city, they will also visit their hometowns to experience the atmosphere there.

Many factors saw the group make the decision to invest in Lao real estate. It foresaw the traffic difficulties for people coming to work in the city, as well as the expectation of the fast growth of the Lao economy and the population in the country in the future. These conditions will increase the demand for quality residences in the future. The investment in residential properties will add more charm to Vientiane as the capital of Laos.

Agriculture

The Krittaphong Group is interested in investment in the agricultural sector because it has seen many positive factors such as the fertile land while the quality of water resources is also good. It differs from some neighbouring countries.

China has a high demand for rice and imports a lot from Thailand every year because of the growth of the population.

Currently, the project is carrying out a feasibility study to build a rice factory in Vientiane province. The objective of the project is to process rice supplied by farmers for export to Chinese markets.

Mr Wu said that when the feasibility study is complete, the company will submit this project proposal to the government for consideration and approval.

Finance

The group studied the economic situation in Laos and located foreign banks to provide financial support for their projects. At the same time, local banks are facing limited funds.

Mr Wu said the group’s financial business will supply loans to every good project.

The company projected that the return from all its investments can be recouped within the next five years.

Krittaphong Group Co., Ltd. also plans to list on the local stock market next year and on the Hong Kong stock market within the next three years.