OREANDA-NEWS. The Bank of Tokyo Mitsubishi UFJ, Ltd. (BTMU) is pleased to announce that it has entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on 6 February 2014 with the Ministry of Planning and Investment of Lao People's Democratic Republic (MPI), with the purpose of developing collaborative efforts to support investments into Lao People's Democratic Republic (Lao PDR) from Japan.

MPI is a government office that directs foreign investments in the country. As Lao PDR is planning to make the transition to a market economy and to open the country to foreign business, the ministry is of extreme importance in actively promoting the country to foreign investors.

Supported by its mining, power generation and tourism industries, the economy of Lao PDR had been growing at an average rate of 8% annually for the past 5 years till year 2013. Moreover, with the development of its industrial estates and transport infrastructure, more Japanese enterprises are expanding into Lao PDR and the country is gaining attention among investors.

To date, BTMU had been working with MPI in the organizing of investment seminars, as well as other collaborative efforts that would contribute to the economic development of both Japan and Lao PDR. With the signing of this agreement, BTMU strives to provide stronger support to customers exploring possibilities of investing or expanding into Lao PDR by collaborating even more closely with the ministry in events such as the organizing of investment seminars and sending of advanced investment teams.