Nhan Dan – Dak Lak Rubber Company has invested over US$23 million to put over 9,000 hectares under industrial plants in the Champasak, Salavan and Atopu provinces in the neighbouring country of Laos in the past four years.

These include 8,000 hectares of rubber, 700 hectares of cashew, 230 hectares of coffee and 80 hectares of material forests.

Local Lao households have signed contracts with the company to take care of the plants. The company has also organized short-term training courses on the techniques to grow and take care of the plants to the local people.

Next year, the company targets to expand the growing area to 1,500 more hectares. In the longer term, the company will build a rubber processing factory which is scheduled to be operational in 2011. It will also get involved in other projects to build small and medium hydro-electric power plants, an ecological tourism area and a general trade centre.