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Lao Holdings State Enterprise delivers progress report
Lao Holdings State Enterprise (LHSE) has reported on the successes of the government's investment projects including the Nam Theun 2 hydropower project.
LHSE held its annual meeting on Monday to report on the development projects in which the government has a stake.
The meeting was attended by Deputy Minister of Energy and Mines Mr. Somboune Rasasombath, and Director General of the Foreign Investment Promotion Department, Ministry of Planning and Investment, Mr Houmpheng Soulalay and others.
LHSE is a shareholder in the Nam Theun 2 Power Company Limited (NTPC) with a 25 percent equity share.
Lao Holdings State Enterprise General Manager Dr Somboune Manolom said “Nam Thuen 2 has already paid the government a dividend of US$9.13 million and this year the project is expected to pay the government a dividend of US$13.2 million.”
Dr Somboune said that as the enterprise represents the government the dividend will be donated to the Poverty Reduction Fund or used for the management of the enterprise.
Dr Somboune told the meeting that LHSE is now a shareholder in nine electricity projects, with a total of 5,385MW of production capacity.
The nine projects the government has an investment in are Nam Theun 2, the Hongsa lignite electricity project, Nam Ngum 3, Xepien-Xenam noy power project, Nam Theun 1, Nam Gniep 1, Xekong 4, Xekong 5 and Nam Kong 1.
Dr Somboune said the government's investment in the Hongsa lignite project is three times the value of Nam Theun 2, totalling US$220 million.
“It is a large sum of money for the government to invest in one project and it was a challenge for us. However, we managed to raise the required funds by September last year and construction began in October.”
The Hongsa lignite project is expected to be completed by 2015, and production will begin the following year.
Dr Somboune reported that other projects are also progressing while others have been approved and are about to begin pending legal formalities.
“We don't currently plan to list the LHSE on the securities market, because the enterprise is intended to generate profit to contribute to national development and it is totally publicly owned.”
“However, we may reevaluate this when the Hongsa lignite project is operational in 2016,” he added.
Lao Holdings State Enterprise is 100 percent state-owned and investment comes from the government through the Ministry of Finance.
The primary function of LHSE is to hold, manage and maintain shares in the Nam Theun 2 Power Company and other power projects.
vientiane times
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