Trade Summary
On Wednesday, Lao Securities Exchange, the index stayed unchanged at 1,028.48 points, posting a small trading volume of just 1,100 shares, making around 5,550,000 kip. As the banking stock played an important role today with 700 shares exchanged at the unchanged price, 5,100 kip. In addition, EDL-Gen had only 400 shares matched at 5,100 kip.
Nevertheless, the rest show no execution as LWPC closed at 5,400 kip, PTL at 2,500 kip and SVN at 3,000 kip respectively.
Phousy Construction and Development Public Company (PCD) will continue its public share offering roadshow in Hong Kong and Singapore next week in an effort to raise funds for the operational needs of the company.
Chairman of the PCD’s Board of Directors Mr Sithong Phommachith made the statement during the public share offering roadshow launched in Vientiane on Monday night.
In his opening remarks, Mr Sithong stressed that PCD-one of the nation’s leading design, engineering, procurement, and construction service providers- will also launch a similar event in Luang Prabang province today (December 7), saying The public share offering roadshow will help investors to understand the company, especially its vision and development plans.
PCD recently has sought permission from the Lao Securities Exchange (LSX) committee to launch a share offer to raise funds for the company’s operational needs.
Mr Sithong said the PCD submitted a proposal to the committee asking for permission for an initial public offering (IPO) of 150 million shares and the company expected to raise not less than 300 billion kip from this mobilisation.
He highlighted that the expected mobilised funds will be used to purchase machinery and equipment for construction works and research and development purposes.
We will also use funds as turnover capital for construction works and business operations of the company, Mr Sithong said.
He expected the share offer to sell out and said the group would pay dividends to shareholders twice a year.
A financial consultant revealed that the company has enjoyed strong business operations with a backlog of work which will generate about 393 billion kip in income.
In addition, the company is conducting survey and design work to bid for contracts that would amount to 1,276 billion kip, due to the fact that Laos still needs massive investment to develop its infrastructure and the nation enjoying outstanding economic growth compared to other countries in Southeast Asia.
Mr Sithong said PCD submitted the proposal on November 16, 2016 to sell 150 million shares with each share expected to cost not less than 2,000 kip (par value).
At present, the company has registered capital of 700 billion kip and once it is registered on the LSX the registered capital will rise to approximately 1,000 billion kip.
The cost of the IPO will be precisely defined once the LSX committee approves the company’s proposal.
The company has set an ambitious goal to become the country’s leading construction and development service provider towards expanding its business services into the ASEAN Economic Community.
He stated that 45 billion kip of the funds to be raised will be used to purchase machinery and equipment for construction works.
Another 15 billion kip will be used for analysis and development affairs, 150 billion kip will be used as turnover capital for construction affairs, 60 billion kip will be used as turnover capital for the company’s business operations while about 30 billion kip will be used to repay existing loans.
Speaking briefly during the meeting, PCD’s CEO Ms Philaiphone Vongpraseuth, said the company currently has three undergoing construction projects totalling of about 840 billion kip.
In her presentation, Ms Philaiphone stated that the company had also carried out survey and design on some other projects and is prepared to participate in biddings. The combined cost of these projects is expected to reach about 1,276 billion kip.
Ms Philaiphone said the company employed a qualified and competent team of engineers and staff as well as modern construction technologies and equipment to deliver good quality work in a timely fashion.
Due to these factors, the company had gained the confidence of customers enabling it to grow rapidly, Ms Philaiphone added.
APM (LAO) Securities Company Limited CEO Mr Somphob Sakpanpanom said he strongly believed that PCD would grow further, especially once it is registered with the LSX as additional funds can be raised to facilitate the company’s development and operational needs.
Monday’s meeting was attended by Minister of Public and Works and Transport Dr Bounchanh Sinthavong, the Deputy Governor of the Bank of Lao PDR Mr Sonexay Sitphaxay, senior officials from line ministries and organisations concerned, and other invited guests.
Source: Vientiane Times
The Australian government is continuing its support for local students to further their education by studying at the National University of Laos (NUOL) this year.
The support comes from the Laos Australia National Scholarships (LANS) Programme, focusing on helping poor students around the country.
This year, about 52 scholarship awardees will join over 280 other students currently pursuing undergraduate degrees. Another 20 scholarships were presented to students from northern Laos last month, who will complete their LANS degrees at Souphanouvong University in Luang Prabang province.
Australia’s Ambassador to Laos, Mr John Williams, speaking yesterday before the LANS congratulations ceremony, said the programme sought to provide a chance for high-performing high school leavers from regional Laos to complete quality university degrees.
He said the LANS programme, currently in its sixth year, covered not only tuition costs and living expenses, but a separate Academic Support Programme to build study and life skills, including intensive English language training.
Through LANS, Australia is delighted to be able to help young, talented Lao men and women from a number of provinces to gain the knowledge, skills and qualifications they need to build rewarding and productive careers, he said.
The 52 new scholars, including 26 women, were selected from hundreds of school leavers entering the National University this year. They are keen to pursue careers in science, education, law, business, agriculture and the environment – all areas vital for the economic development of Laos, he added.
It’s hoped in the future LANS graduates will be able to compete and win selection for Australia Awards and other quality international scholarships programmes to complete higher degrees overseas and build even stronger skills to support Laos’ development.
Vice President of National University of Laos, Ms Somchanh Bounphanmy, said every year, Australia offered scholarships to students from remote districts for tertiary study at the NUOL and Souphanouvong University.
LANS covers tuition fees, a monthly stipend, home travel, extra tuition and other university costs. She said young people’s education was about personal development, improving social skills and opening up minds to new horizons and possibilities while determining the path they will eventually take in their professional lives.
It’s also about determining where you will make your mark in life. How you can rise to the personal challenges you set yourself. And how you can contribute something back to the Lao PDR and its socio-economic development, not least in your home districts or provinces, she added.
Source: Vientiane Times
To help mark 65 years of Australia-Laos diplomatic relations, the Australian Embassy is seeking nominations for awards to recognise the substantial contribution by individuals or groups to Australia-Laos relations.
The awards will be conferred at next year’s Australia Day reception at the Australian Embassy on January 26; an event, which in 2017 will also mark the 65th anniversary of bilateral ties between the two neighbours in South-East Asia, according to a press release from the embassy.
Australia’s Ambassador to the Lao PDR, John Williams, said, The 65th Anniversary Awards was an appropriate way for the Australian Embassy in Vientiane to recognise the efforts by outstanding individuals , past and present, who have helped shape the very positive ties between Laos and Australia at any stage over the past seven decades.
We are proud Laos’ relationship with Australia is the country’s longest unbroken diplomatic relationship at the Ambassador level, Williams said.
It’s a relationship that continues to flourish through the extensive, positive contact between the governments and people of both countries, including in education, business, the arts, agricultural research and exchanges between our officials and parliamentarians.
Ambassador Williams said that he would not be surprised if some of the more than 1200 alumni of Australian universities under the Australia Awards scholarships programme were among the awards nominees, given their ongoing links with Australia.
He said there were also a number of business leaders who had helped cement the substantial two-way trade and investment links between Australia and the Lao PDR, and experts who had contributed markedly to Laos’ development in areas such as agriculture, forestry and fisheries.
Members of the public, or organisations, can submit nominations to the Embassy before December 20.
Nominees can include Lao o r Australian citizens, or in exceptional cases third country nationals, who warrant recognition for their outstanding contribution to Lao-Australia relations through excellence in their particular field – whether from business, education, academia, civil society, development, medicine, the arts, government, politics or media.
Nominations for organisations or groups that have made an exceptional contribution to Laos-Australia relations will also be considered.
Nominations of no more than 300 words should be submitted by email (in English or Lao) to 65th Anniversary Australia Laos@dfat.gov.au by December 20.
Nominations should include basic biographical details about the nominee a short description of that individual’s contribution to Laos-Australia relations and why it warrants official recognition. Photographs welcome too.
The final decision on awards will be made by the Australian Embassy in Vientiane. All enquiries should be directed to 65th Anniversary Australia Laos@dfat.gov.au.
Source: Vientiane Times
50 students from Vientiane received scholarships from the Siam Cement Group (SCG) yesterday, after the SCG announced the names of the recipients on Tuesday.
The scholarship fund handover ceremony took place in Vientiane on Wednesday and was attended by Deputy Minister of Education and Sports, Mr Lytou Bouapao, the Education and Sports Department’s Director, Mr Somphou Keopanya and President and CEO of SCG, Mr Roongrote Rangsiyopash.
SCG plans to provide an additional 100 scholarship funds to students in Thakhaek, Mahaxay and Nongbok district in Khammuan province.
The students will each receive 1,625,000 kip or 6,900 Thai baht toward their studies. Speaking at the ceremony, Mr Roongrote Rangsiyopash, said, “SCG wants to assist development of human resources throughout the country through the promotion of education.”
“Currently, SCG provide over 5,000 scholarships per year to students in Asean countries. SCG has already spent five years making the dreams of Lao students come true,” Mr Roongrote Rangsiyopash continued.
The SCG “Sharing the Dream” scholarship programme targets outstanding secondary level students from
poor families and is set to double the number previously awarded in the past.
The programme officers visited target students at their schools and homes and distributed scholarship application forms. The company has been operating in Thailand since 1913 and has provided scholarships to students in Laos since 2012.
In the first year, 99 scholarships were awarded in Vientiane and Khammuan, but this has continued to increase every year.
The project has collected information about target students’ studies and the status of their families to ensure the programme is well-directed to deserving recipients.
Source: Vientiane Times
Khammuan provincial police are trying to determine the cause of a fire involving two fuel tankers on Tuesday at a petrol station in Phonsoung village, Thakhaek district, Khammuan province.
Head Office of the Public Security Command in Khammuan, Lieutenant Colonel Sithandone Chounlamany, told Vientiane Times yesterday the fire occurred at 1:00 pm on Tuesday when the tankers parked at the petrol station suddenly went up in flames. Fortunately, the petrol station did not catch on fire and no one has been injured or killed.
Police fire-fighters were called to the scene and were able to put out the fire before it could spread further.
They deployed five trucks to control the blaze with fire-fighters requiring two hours to extinguish the flames completely. Police and other authorities are currently investigating the scene and are in the process of assessing the cost of damages.
On the same day, a bus burned down in Phonsavang-Tai village, Kaysone Phomvihane district, Savannakhet province. One person sustained injuries.
Head of Savannakhet Volunteers Rescue, Mr Bouddy Boupphalasy, said a bus with 38 passengers was travelling from Pakxe district, Champassak province to Vientiane when it suddenly caught fire in Phonsavang-Tai village, Kaysone Phomvihane district.
Police fire-fighters and the Savannakhet Rescue Team were called to the scene. Officers were able to put out the fire in three hours time.
One bus attendant sustained a broken leg. The driver and passengers all escaped safely.
According to the initial report, the driver said the bus came into contact with electric cables along the road, which sparked the fire. However, police are currently investigating the scene and are in the process of assessing the total cost of damages.
According to the Fire Prevention and Protection Police Department of the Ministry of Public Security, 112 fires occurred around the country from January until June this year, causing over 100 billion kip in damages.
Some 132 houses, 30 hectares of grasslands, two markets and one mill, among others were destroyed by fires. Five cars were also among the many items damaged or destroyed.
Officials said 37 of the fires were caused by electrical shorts, another seven by arson, 15 through carelessness or forgetfulness and the rest of the cases are still pending investigation.
Most of the fires occurred in Vientiane, but there was also a large fire outbreak at Dao Heuang market in Pakxe district, Champassak province. The fire gutted the market at an estimated cost of 58 billion kip.
Source: Vientiane Times
The National University of Laos held a conference yesterday called the 2nd Dissemination Workshop on E-learning at the National University of Laos (NUoL) in order to increase teachers’ and professors’ understanding of new electronic learning (E-learning) methods.
The workshop was attended by Vice President of NUoL, Associate Prof. Dr Houngphet Chanhthavong.
Director of the Information Technology Centre under NUoL, Dr Phonekeo Chanthamany, told Vientiane Times yesterday a that the University began researching E-learning in 2012 under the ASEAN Cyber University (ACU) Project, with the goal of advancing international human resource exchange and improving the overall quality of education at the university.
He said during the meeting, participants reported the progress of their activities and shared their experiences with E-learning methodology.
The Information and Technology Centre under NUoL has had success cooperating with partner countries on researching the efficacy of E-learning. Their eventual goal is to develop a database for education quality management at every level of learning and teaching at each faculty of NUoL.
Prof. Dr Houngphet said after opening the quality education database and implementing E-learning into the university’s teaching methodology that they will begin training teachers to use the software soon.
To assist students, this centre provides essential information about the use of technology in web-enhanced courses.
Our mission is to provide the university’s faculty, staff and students with resources to facilitate a successful online learning experience, he continued.
The focus of the E- Learning team is to assist with the integration of technology into online, hybrid and classroom-based courses. Services for faculty and staff include instructional design, training and support.
Currently, E-learning is utilised across universities in almost every ASEAN member state and will continue to be an ever more important facet of higher education.
Source: Vientiane Times
Laos is ready to host the 6th ASEM Sustainable Development Dialogue (the Danube-Mekong cooperation initiative) at the end of next year.
The upcoming meeting is expected to be held in Pakxe district, Champassak province in southern Laos, which shares the borders with Cambodia and Thailand.
Minister of Natural Resources and Environment, Mr Sommad Pholsena, has announced the country’s readiness for this meeting during his meeting with Deputy Minister of Environment and Water of Bulgaria, Ms Atanaska Nikolova.
During the talks, Mr Sommad and Ms Nikolova exchanged their views on mutually interesting issues, according to a recent report by the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment.
They also agreed to enhance their cooperation between the two ministries and will sign a Memorandum of Understanding in the near future.
Mr Sommad and his delegation met with Ms Nikolova during their participation at the 5th ASEM Sustainable Development Dialogue (the Danube-Mekong Cooperation Initiative), held in Ruse, Bulgaria, on December 1, the ministry said.
The event is part of the annual series in the framework of the ASEM Sustainable Development Dialogue (the Danube-Mekong cooperation initiative), launched by Hungary upon consultations with ASEM partners in 2012, of which Bulgaria is a co-sponsor together with Austria, Hungary, Romania, Slovakia, Vietnam, Laos and Thailand.
Before participating in this event, Mr Sommad and his delegates attended the 2nd Budapest Water Summit, held at Millenáris Park in Budapest, Hungary from November 28-30.
The Summit 2016 was organised by the Hungarian government in cooperation with the World Water Council, under the patronage of János Áder, President of Hungary.
The mission of the Summit states that instead of conflicts and global risks, water shall be the source of cooperation, peace and development for all the countries committed to sustainable development.
To this end, participants of the Budapest Water Summit 2016 laid down their proposed solutions for the relevant international bodies by adopting the “Budapest Statement 2016”.
During this summit, Mr Sommad met bilaterally with the Minister of Interior, Mr Sándor Pintér, and had signed the Memorandum of Understanding on cooperation in the field of water resources management in order to enhance cooperation between two ministries.
On this occasion, Mr Sommad also met the Minister for Environment of Luxembourg, Mrs Carole Dieschbourg, and discussed the cooperation between two ministries, especially the result of the 22nd Conference of Parties (COP 22) to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, which just was organised from November 7-18 in Morocco.
Source: Vientiane Times
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