Jain Infraprojects to venture into Laos

Jain Infraprojects, a part of Rs 1,000-crore Jain Group, has said it would make a foray into infrastructure development in Southeast Asian nation Laos.

The group chairman and managing director, Manoj K Jain, told PTI that though Laos is a small country, it had launched a major infrastructure building project.

Jain, also the honorary consul for the eastern region of the country, said the group could play a major role in the country's development.

"We have been in touch with the country ever since Laos' minister for commerce and industry visited the city. We have been requested to invest in his country," he said.

Jain Infraprojects has expertise in roads, highways, water supply, housing and civil and structural engineering.

As much as 80 per cent of the country's geographical area is rural and some 47 per cent of the population live under the international standard of poverty line.

It is a land-locked country bordered by Myanmar and China to the north west, Vietnam to the east, Cambodia to the south and Thailand to the west.

Jain said his group would try to create a suitable investment climate for India in Laos, which has rich deposits of coal, gold, bauxite, tin, copper and minerals.