Permanent Committees>COFIT
Chairman of Permanent Committee on Cooperation in Finance, Investment and Trade (COFIT)
Mr Frank Choo
Report of the Permanent Committee on COFIT to the 39th Asean Banking Council Meeting
Project Finance and Investment Opportunities in Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam (CLMV)
(2nd Seminar)
The 2nd Seminar on Project Finance and Investment Opportunities in Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam (CLMV) was held on 2nd and 3rd April 2009 in Hanoi. This seminar was jointly undertaken by The ASEAN Secretariat, VNBA and ABA. This was a follow-up of the first seminar that was conducted in Phnom Penh in 2007 following strong interests and requests by some participants then.
It was an honour to have Mr Nguyen Van Giau, Governor of the State Bank of Vietnam to give the keynote address. Governor Giau expressed his appreciation to The ASEAN Secretariat and ABA for organizing the seminar.
The objectives of the seminar were as follows:
The above objectives are in line with “ASEAN assist ASEAN” principle and as ABA’s contribution to help “narrow the economic gap” between the older and the newer ASEAN member countries.
The seminar was attended by more than eighty participants, representing commercial banks, both domestic and foreign operating in ASEAN, businessmen and government officials from the various ASEAN countries.
The seminar comprised of three segments:
At the end of the first day’s Seminar, there was an inaugural workshop meeting for the infrastructure financing initiative as per the 38th ASEAN Banking Council Meeting held on 7th November 2008 in Brunei.
It was an honour to have Mr Nguyen Van Giau, Governor of the State Bank of Vietnam to give the keynote address. Governor Giau expressed his appreciation to The ASEAN Secretariat and ABA for organizing the seminar.
The objectives of the seminar were as follows:
1. To familiarize banks operating in the more established ASEAN countries with the economic, investment and banking situation of the newer ASEAN countries [Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar & Vietnam (CLMV)] and in the process, raise their understanding and interests to service these markets;
2. To identify a selected number of commercially viable projects in CLMV for joint financing potential and in the process help develop the economies of these countries; and
3. To serve as a “catalyst” for further investments and / or financing in projects in CLMV.
The above objectives are in line with “ASEAN assist ASEAN” principle and as ABA’s contribution to help “narrow the economic gap” between the older and the newer ASEAN member countries.
The seminar was attended by more than eighty participants, representing commercial banks, both domestic and foreign operating in ASEAN, businessmen and government officials from the various ASEAN countries.
The seminar comprised of three segments:
The first segment was devoted to briefing participants on the Vietnamese Economy and Investment Promotion Policies and Procedures. This segment was presented by officials from The Foreign Investment Agency, Ministry of Planning & Investment, Vietnam. Participants were also provided a List of National Projects that call for foreign investments (2006-2010).
The second segment showcased projects in Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam. These projects include: the Phnom Penh Special Economic Zone Project (Cambodia), the Namlong Hydro Power Project and the Iron Ore Mining and Dressing Project in Vientane Province (Laos), the Investment & Development in National Electricity Transmission System, Van Ho Hydroelectricity Project and Service Road and Vocational Training College in Dai An Industrial Zone (Vietnam).
The third segment was a site visit to Dai An Industrial Zone in Hai Duong Province. Dai An, 50 km from Hanoi, occupies a land area of 174.22 hectares and has attracted thirty three overseas investors.
At the end of the first day’s Seminar, there was an inaugural workshop meeting for the infrastructure financing initiative as per the 38th ASEAN Banking Council Meeting held on 7th November 2008 in Brunei.
Report of the ASEAN Infrastructure Financing (AIF) Workshop 2nd April 2009
The inaugural meeting of the ASEAN Infrastructure Financing (AIF) Workshop took place in Hanoi on 2nd April 2009. Representatives from Cambodia, Laos, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam were represented. We were also honoured to have Ms Goh Mui Hong, President & CEO of ST Asset Management Ltd to be our advisor.
The agenda of the workshop were :
The Team recognized that there were certainly opportunities for an ASEAN solution for certain projects. It will be worthwhile to look at the projects available and see if member banks can work together with equity investors to identify some of these opportunities. The Team would start by working on a few small and shorter term projects in three countries – Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam. In the longer term and as this Team garners more experience, then work can be expanded to cover other countries in ASEAN.
Collaborative Model
Ms Goh Mui Hong and the Secretary General had earlier put together a template for the projects to be submitted for the working Group’s consideration. Areas such as key risk(s), project tenure, technical specifications, counterparties involved (cross border expected), legal infrastructure, government support (implicit through tax and other concessions and / or explicit) and currency were discussed by the Team.
Chosen Sectors
There were discussions on the sectors to prioritize. Both the investors’ / financiers’ interests and project needs were also highlighted. The Team identified energy, transportation, water treatment/sanitation, industrial zones and mining as key needs of the CLMV.
Timeline
An aggressive timeline was also drawn to receive the information required in the template by 2nd half of April 2009 followed by a conference call by all the working group members in early May 2009.
Extracted from Ms Linda Goh’s COFIT report
The agenda of the workshop were :
1. Confirmation of the names of the two representatives from each member countryTeam Objective
2. Validate the objective articulated at the 38th ASEAN Banking Council (ABC) meeting: “Identify if there may be opportunities for member banks to work towards an ASEAN solution to meet the infrastructure financing needs of member countries”
3. Discuss the model for collaboration that was proposed following the 38th ABC meeting and validate/endorse the model
4. Confirmation of the sectors for the initiatives – ie energy especially power generation and infrastructure including water, telecommunications and sanitation
5. Setting timeline for the submission of priority projects by the different member countries
6. Determine the number of meetings required this year and set the dates for these meetings
The Team recognized that there were certainly opportunities for an ASEAN solution for certain projects. It will be worthwhile to look at the projects available and see if member banks can work together with equity investors to identify some of these opportunities. The Team would start by working on a few small and shorter term projects in three countries – Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam. In the longer term and as this Team garners more experience, then work can be expanded to cover other countries in ASEAN.
Collaborative Model
Ms Goh Mui Hong and the Secretary General had earlier put together a template for the projects to be submitted for the working Group’s consideration. Areas such as key risk(s), project tenure, technical specifications, counterparties involved (cross border expected), legal infrastructure, government support (implicit through tax and other concessions and / or explicit) and currency were discussed by the Team.
Chosen Sectors
There were discussions on the sectors to prioritize. Both the investors’ / financiers’ interests and project needs were also highlighted. The Team identified energy, transportation, water treatment/sanitation, industrial zones and mining as key needs of the CLMV.
Timeline
An aggressive timeline was also drawn to receive the information required in the template by 2nd half of April 2009 followed by a conference call by all the working group members in early May 2009.
Extracted from Ms Linda Goh’s COFIT report