Dr. Bounluea Sinxayvoraving, Governor of the Bank of Laos, spoke at the 15th ASEAN-China Financial Cooperation and Development Summit Forum in Nanning, China, calling for the use of local currency in cross-boundary payments.
BOL’s governor said during the forum that, “Laos encourages efforts to link cross-border payment systems and the use of local currencies in payments made for traded goods.”
According to the Vientiane Times, Dr. Bounluea also emphasized the need for ASEAN countries to strengthen cooperation, in the face of numerous uncertainties currently plaguing the world. He also encouraged closer cooperation between ASEAN countries and China.
The Governor’s comments, also aligned with the views of Mr. Xiu Xiayu, the Head of the National Agricultural Bank of China’s Yunnan branch, who visited the Bank of Laos this month.
During his visit, Mr. Xiu expressed the need for cooperation between the central bank in Laos and China’s National Agricultural Bank to promote payments in local currencies.
“Our bank is interested in upgrading Laos-China bilateral cooperation through joint efforts to promote payments in local currencies in order to further increase trade and investment by both sides,” Mr. Xiu said.
ASEAN nations are also trying to encourage payments in local currencies, using a joint payment system to create economic unity through a new regional payment system.
Laos and Cambodia launched a cross-border payment via QR code in Laos this year, to encourage the use of the Khmer Riel (KHR) for payment settlement in ASEAN and to support economic integration, following successful launches in Thailand and Vietnam.
