Laos attracted over USD 8.5 billion in investment approvals during the first seven months of 2026, with officials greenlighting 34 projects in concessionary businesses and controlled business lists.
The figures mark a 68 percent increase over the same period last year, and actual capital inflow from these projects has already surpassed USD 1 billion.
Officials revealed the numbers at the first Investment Promotion and Management Committee conference, held over two days from 11 to 12 August in Vientiane.
Speaking at the conference, Deputy Prime Minister Saleumxay Kommasith said Laos has approved 5,394 domestic and foreign investment projects worth a combined USD 65.5 billion since it opened to private investment in 1989. Domestic...
Laos attracted over USD 8.5 billion in investment approvals during the first seven months of 2026, with officials greenlighting 34 projects in concessionary businesses and controlled business lists.
The figures...
Electricité du Laos (EDL), the state-owned power utility, grew its revenue by 9.4 percent in the first half of 2026 compared with the same period last year, according to...
Laos’ National Assembly (NA) is considering a proposal to exempt subsidized residential electricity from Value-Added Tax (VAT) as the government looks for ways to ease living costs for low-income...
Authorities in Oudomxay Province, northern Laos, have announced plans to expand railway services and free up land for investment around the region's three Laos-China Railway stations.
The provincial government said...
On 31 July, the Bank of the Lao PDR (BoL) suspended applications for new non-bank financial institutions in Vientiane Capital.
Effective from the announcement date onwards, the suspension applies to...
The Lao state-owned Lao State Fuel Company (LSFC) reported a sharp rise in profits for 2025 and is restructuring to prepare for an eventual listing on the stock exchange,...
The body of Thai travel YouTuber Hlun Solo is expected to return to Thailand on 6 August, according to his family, as authorities continue to await the results of an autopsy and toxicology tests following his death in Georgia.
His brother, Somsak Butsri, who posts on Facebook under the name Klose Mos, said the body of Bowornthat Pengsuk, known online as Hlun Solo, would leave Georgia on 5 August and arrive in Thailand the following day after diplomatic and forensic procedures were completed.
In a statement issued on 4 August, the Royal Thai Embassy in Ankara said embassy officials, Thai volunteers in Georgia, and representatives from the transport company had inspected...
Laos expects to welcome between 5 and 6 million international tourists in 2026, with Chinese visitors projected to account for around 2 million of that total, according to government estimates.
The numbers will be...
Laos welcomed nearly 3.8 million international tourists in the first ten months of 2025, a 13 percent increase compared to the same period in 2024.
In figures released on 7 December, the Tourism Development...
Flooding has affected more than 60,000 people across all 10 districts of Khammouane province as continued heavy rain pushes several rivers above danger levels, according to the Khammouane media on 12 August.
The flood struck 206 villages and nearly 9,500 households across the central province in late July and early August. Authorities also report damage to over 15,000 hectares of rice fields and other crops, along with dozens of roads and several bridges.
Officials estimate preliminary losses at least LAK 100...
Seven-year-old Bounthiengtham “Jayson” Sengphachan has already done something no Lao chess player his age has done before.
The young player from Vientiane Chess Academy recently became the youngest Lao player to receive an official...
While the FIFA World Cup dominates football headlines, a Lao youth footballers has returned from Europe with two international titles.
On 5 July, W.I.G NAGA's under-13 team successfully defended its IberCup title in Portugal,...
Cats spend much of their day sleeping, stretching in the sun, at times hunting, or just watching the world go by. For a group of Lao artists, those habits have become the inspiration for art.
Life feels busier than ever, and Laos is no exception. Seven artists in Laos have turned to cats to explore what many people seem to be searching for today: a little more freedom, self-acceptance and joy in the ordinary moments of everyday life.
Their exhibition, Like a Cat's Tiny Life, running until 31 July at The Tamper Coffee & Studio in Vientiane, brings together paintings, illustrations and photography that ask a simple question: what can people learn from slowing down?
Why Cats?
“All seven of us wanted to create a small space filled with warmth through stories about cats. We wanted people to experience life through the artists’ small perspectives on cats,” artist Fanta Keomanila told The Laotian Times.
For him, cats represent independence.
He described them as animals that follow their own way, sleeping and resting when they choose and finding happiness in simple moments such as watching birds or lying in the warm sun, rather than conforming to...
