Haier Asia partners with Laos on education, technology

A memorandum of understanding ( MoU) to promote education, science and technology has been signed between Haier Asia, the Lao Ministry of Science and Technology, and Lao AMZ Group on Wednesday.

The parties agreed to jointly develop devices such as electronic dictionaries, computers and tablet devices that support the Lao language.

The first jointly developed products such as electronic dictionaries are scheduled to be delivered next year for use in Lao schools and other educational institutions.

"To accelerate our economy, we think there are two keys. One is further development of the education system. The other is our stable electric power supplies and related industries to attract foreign investment in Laos for future growth," said Lao Minister of Science and Technology Boviengkham Vongdara.

Into the future the agreement will support the development of electric bicycles to utilize the country's stable electricity supply.

At the signing President and Chief Executive Officer of Haier Asia Yoshiaki Ito hinted at the possibility of Laos' involvement in manufacturing the bicycle.

"We are talking about the potential project which could be a huge investment as well as the potential implementation of the manufacturing of the e-bike," Ito said.

"I believe the jointly developed products will be able to bring a new page to the Laotian education, science, and technology fields, enriching the lives of Lao citizens and bringing spectacular future results."

Minister Boviengkham expressed happiness in being able to work with Haier Asia, one of Asia's top firms, which is committed to the growth of Asia including Laos and the Lao AMZ Group.

"By jointly developing and providing products, we believe such activities will bring a bright future for our country," the minister said.

Haier is a global leader in smart living solutions. Its mission is to provide home appliances that anticipate the rapidly changing needs of consumers spanning more than 100 countries worldwide.

With global revenues of $29.5 billion and a profit of $1.76 billion in 2013, Haier is the world's largest home appliance provider by market share.

Alivan Sithara from AMZ Group spoke highly of the partnership between the three parties, saying, "I am honored that we are able to expand our reach into education, science, and technology areas with this collaboration with Haier Asia and MOST [Ministry of Science and Technology] with the aim of broadening the future potential of Laos."