Greater Mekong Subregion

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GMS Sector Activities
Investment

Read the Subregional Investment Working Group Terms of Reference [ PDF: 26kb | 2 pages ].

For more information on the GMS Business Forum, visit www.gmsbizforum.com.

Investment Archive

View other GMS sectors

Information on the GMS Cross-Border Transport Agreement is separately available with latest events.

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Fifth Meeting of the Subregional Investment Working Group (SIWG-5) (Phnom Penh, Cambodia, 13-14 October 2005)

The Fifth Meeting of the Subregional Investment Working Group (SIWG-5) held on 13-14 October 2005 at Phnom Penh, Cambodia reviewed the progress of cooperation initiatives in the investment sector, exchanged information and new ideas to facilitate increased investments in the GMS, and discussed the medium term directions and priorities of the SIWG.

SIWG-5 was co-chaired Mr. Chea Vuthy, Director of Public Relations and Promotion Office of the Cambodian Investment Board, and Mr. Robert Boumphrey, Director, Governance, Finance and Trade Division, Mekong Department, Asian Development Bank (ADB). Participants to the Meeting included officials from the GMS countries investment policy and promotion agencies, representatives from the GMS Business Forum and the GMS national chambers of commerce, and development partners in the private and public sectors including multilateral and bilateral donor agencies.

The GMS countries reports’ indicated that foreign direct investment (FDI) will continue to be a significant source of development and a key growth stimulus for the region. As such, GMS Governments are strongly pursuing FDIs by undertaking reforms in the legal and regulatory environments, and implementing competitive and market-oriented investment policies and incentives. While adopting different approaches to the reform process, GMS Governments reform agenda are commonly focused on improving physical infrastructure, reducing the cost of doing business, and promoting political stability and credibility as well as the transparency and predictability of the legal and regulatory frameworks.

Private sector participants expressed strong support for the Governments’ efforts to establish an enabling environment more conducive to investing in the GMS. Governments were encouraged to complement policy reforms with institutional strengthening and capacity building to ensure that government agencies are well prepared to implement the reforms. The private sector also exhorted the official development agencies (ODA) to broaden their scope of their respective capacity building technical assistance to include sectors outside of infrastructure. Building the capacity of the GMS countries for trade and investment promotion and facilitation will ensure that investments in physical infrastructure are optimized.

Participants to the Meeting reached consensus on the following key points:

1. trade and investment are critical to the continued and sustained growth of individual GMS countries and the GMS as a region
2. since trade and investment are very closely linked together, stronger working relations between TFWG and SIWG should be encouraged
3. in order to foster closer relations, TFWG and SIWG meetings will initially hold back-to-back meetings that include a one day joint meeting
4. SIWG will engage the private sector more strongly and encourage greater private sector participation during meetings; and (v) the implementation of the current initiatives as identified under the Plan of Action should continue.

The Meeting considered the following future directions of the SIWG:

1. strengthening the focus of the SIWG agenda by identifying specific sectors to promote or issues to address, which sectors and issues should be common to all the GMS countries; and
2. further strengthening of private sector consultations and participation in meetings.

It was agreed that further discussions on the updated SIWG TOR will be made in the next meeting to be held in mid-2006 to be hosted by Lao PDR.

For more details, please view entire proceedings [ PDF: 320kb | 20 pages ].

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Special TFWG-Action Plan for Trade and Investment Facilitation (Manila, Philippines, 25-26 April 2005)

The Special Meeting of the Trade Facilitation Working Group (TWFG) was held at ADB Headquarters, Manila, Philippines on 25-26 April 2005. The meeting was chaired by Mr. Robert Boumphrey, Director of the Governance, Finance and Trade Division of ADB’s Mekong Department. Seventeen officials from the commerce, trade, customs, immigration and quarantine agencies of the six GMS countries as well as ADB staff participated in the Meeting.

The objective of the meeting was to discuss and reach consensus on the key elements, guiding principles, strategic objectives and principal actions of the proposed Strategic Framework for Action on Trade Facilitation and Investment (SFA-TFI) in the GMS.

For more details, please view entire proceedings.

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Fourth Meeting of the Subregional Investment Working Group (SIWG-4) (Bangkok, Thailand, 6-7 July 2004)

The Fourth Meeting of the Subregional Investment Working Group (SIWG-4) was held on 6-7 July 2004 at the Sofitel Central Plaza Hotel in Bangkok, Thailand.

The objectives of SIWG-4 are to:

• review investment trends and policy developments affecting the subregion, including developments in the GMS Program
• review the status of and developments regarding the six priority projects that were identified and agreed upon in the last two meetings of the SIWG
• discuss and increase the awareness of participants regarding the GMS Development Matrix, the main planning tool in the GMS Program, and focus in particular on two flagship initiatives in the Matrix, namely, Cross-Border Trade and Investment and Private Sector Development
• brief the participants on developments in two important topics in investment, namely, global value chains and risk management in FDI
• set medium-term thrusts and work priorities for the SIWG, including the review of the SIWG Terms of Reference, and the role of the GMS Business Forum as well as preparations for the Private-Public Sector Consultation Meeting to be held in Bangkok from 9-11 September 2004.

The Meeting was co-chaired by Dr. Atchaka Brimble, Acting Executive Investment Advisor, Office of the Board of Investment, Thailand and Mr. Robert Boumphrey, Director, Governance, Finance and Trade Division, Mekong Department, Asian Development Bank (ADB). Participants to the Meeting included officials in the GMS countries responsible for investment policy and promotion, representatives from the GMS Business Forum, representatives from international organizations and donor institutions, and ADB staff.

For more details, please view entire proceedings.

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