Vietnam is in the leading group of 52 countries and territories that are investing in Laos, with 412 projects and a total investment of US$5.01 billion.

The statistics were released by the Vietnam Foreign Ministry at the 36^th meeting of the Vietnam-Laos Inter-governmental Committee for Economic, Cultural, Educational, Scientific, and Technological Cooperation in Vientiane on Tuesday.

One of the largest Vietnamese investors in Laos are Hoang Anh Gia Lai Group, which grows rubber trees and sugarcane; the Vietnam Rubber Group; Dak Lak Rubber Ltd Co; Viettel: Lao Viet Bank: and Chien Cong Co, an ore mining company.

The two countries posted a bilateral trade value of $968 million in the year to November, a 23 percent increase compared to the same period last year. The full-year figure is estimated at $1 billion, excluding values from cross-border trades.

At the meeting, the Bank for Investment and Development of Vietnam and the Laotian government signed a memorandum of understanding regarding a credit package of $80 million to be allocated for a road-building project in Houaphanh Province.

The two parties also closed an agreement in which BIDV will grant supports worth VND5 billion ($235,849) to Laotian students.