LSX reversed Tuesday’s gains, going down 5.38 points to close at 995.21 points on 58,000 shares matched. The turnover was 283.87 million kip today, with the most traded stock being EDL-Gen, which closed unchanged at 4,900 kip. BCEL also closed unchanged at 5,200 kip with 1,100 shares executed, while PTL hit its all time low at 2,300 kip. SVN closed down 50 kip at 3,000 kip and LWPC was stable at 6,100 kip.
Salaries of Civil Servants to Rise Slightly
The Lao government will upwardly adjust the salaries of state officials to a 500 kip per index next fiscal year due to its understanding that the salary of government officials is insufficient when considering the continuously increasing cost of living.
The current salary level is 6,700 kip per index.
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance Mr Somdy Douangdy proposed the plan at the 2nd Ordinary Session of the National Assembly’s 8th Legislature on Oct 24.
Over the past 10 months, the Ministry of Finance has earned revenue totalling 15.7 trillion kip accounting for 66.55 per cent of the plan, of which domestic income was 14 trillion kip, or 66.11 per cent of the set plan. At the same time, expenditures totalled 24.2 trillion kip or 78.06 per cent of the set plan.
“National debt from 2014-2015 was 4.6 trillion kip borrowed from friendly countries, of which 1.37 trillion kip were domestic loans and exceeded the plan by 125 billion kip,” he said.
The result of implementation plan in the fiscal year of 2015-2016 still face a number of challenges and constraints, but the government made efforts to limit expenditures of state budget by issuing many control measures. These included improving the structure and management of the budgetary systems, the management of expenditures, and other savings measures.
The said measures have yielded positive results and the collection of state revenue in the fiscal year of 2015-2016 is expected to be about 94.56 per cent of the set plan.
In 2017, the implementation of the state budget plan will start in January 2017 and will be implemented based on the calendar year.
The expected plan for the collection of state revenue is to reach 23.8 trillion kip, of which 21.3 trillion kip will be derived from domestic income and the plan for expenditures is set to not exceed 32.2 trillion kip.
Source: KPL
China, Laos to Jointly Produce Movie
China and Laos, for the first time, is to jointly produce a movie named “Champa Blossoms”, according to information released at a press conference in Vientiane on Tuesday.
The movie tell stories of beautiful love between Lao and Chinese nationals, and will show the friendly relations between the two countries as well as their sceneries and cultural features, said Vithoun Soundara, acting director general of the Cinema Department under the Lao Ministry of Information, Culture and Tourism.
The co-production of the movie is of great significance in promoting Laos-China bilateral friendship and cultural cooperation, he said.
According to Deputy Minister Bouangeun Xaphouvong, Laos and China have gained gratifying achievements in various fields. In cultural area, the two sides have a number of cooperation projects in film industry, including movie co-production, organization of film week in Laos, among others.
These cooperation has contributed greatly to the development of Laos-China traditional friendship and the comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership, said Bouangeun.
“We will strive to produce a perfect chapter in China-Laos friendship, and will abide by Lao relevant laws, culture and tradition during movie production,” said Zhou Yan, Chinese producer of the movie.
Source: Xinhua
Laotians Travel to Great Falls to Learn About Non-Profits
GREAT FALLS – This week, nine people from Laos traveled more than 7,000 miles to Great Falls in order to learn more about Montana Special Olympics.
The Laotians came to learn about how non-profit organizations are run in the U.S.
Special Olympics Montana organized a bowling event at Little’s Lanes so the guests could learn about marketing an event as well as community involvement.
They also got to meet with Great Falls civic leaders to talk about American business and non-profits.
“Hopefully in Laos they will be able to help their people with disabilities to come out and be a part of their community as much as we value all members of our community here in Montana,” said LeAnn Dolly-Powell of Special Olympics Montana.
Thong Chanh “TC” Intsahska volunteers with Special Olympics in Laos, and says even though Montana is much colder than what he’s used to, he’s having a great time.
“It’s great fun and a great experience to bring back to Laos,” said TC.
As part of the welcome for these Laotian guests, October 25th was proclaimed Sports United-Special Olympics Unified Diplomacy Day in Great Falls.
Source: KRTV.com
UN Day Celebrated with Cutting-Edge Technologies
A lady wearing a blue sinh skirt, her head held high, looking into a virtual reality headset with the United Nations logo printed on it – this image was the United Nation’s hallmark for its UN Day event this year.
UN Digital attracted over 300 guests to the Major Platinum Cineplex at Vientiane Center on Oct 24. The event paired an unprecedented display of mobile, interactive and green technologies with the exhibit of the UN family’s broad range of work in implementing the Sustainable Development Goals in Lao PDR.
The Government of Lao PDR, together with 192 other member states, endorsed the 17 global Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) last year. These global goals are a universal call to action to end poverty, protect the planet, and ensure that all people enjoy peace and prosperity.
Their aim is to shift the world onto a sustainable development path, with 2030 as the target date. Lao PDR has already incorporated these global goals into national strategies and plans, and launched its own national SDG 18, “Lives safe from UXO,” on the sidelines of the ASEAN Summits this past September, in the presence of UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.
Guests at today’s event learned more about the SDGs at eight interactive stations. They had the opportunity to experience the first-ever virtual reality film produced for Lao audiences, which immerses the viewer in the working reality of a UXO clearance team.
They tried a range of UN-produced apps on Huawei mobile devices, met Noi, a young girl representing all Lao adolescent girls in stop motion animation, took a virtual trip to a southern Lao forest in the Immersive Biosphere Booth via 360 degree photography, had a virtual experience of United Nations Volunteer work, viewed stunning images flying high above Lao PDR from aerial imaging drones and interacted with innovative community health services. These stations were manned by staff members from the 20 agencies of the UN family working in Lao PDR, from UNESCO to WHO.
This interactive experience had the purpose of introducing the UN’s work of supporting the government’s national development goals in an engaging way, answering the question of how technology benefits people on the ground and works for poverty eradication.
“New technologies are driving rapid global change. The United Nations wants to harness mobile technology to meet pressing global development goals, for the benefit of all people, leaving no one behind,” said Ms. Kaarina Immonen, UN Resident Coordinator in her opening address at today’s event.
During this first part of the evening, the audience took an audiovisual tour of the UN’s work through films showcasing the benefits of technologies for communities in Laos. Guests also watched short trailers produced by the UN for global audiences, raising world-wide issues such as climate action with the help of the Angry Birds, amongst others.
The event was also attended by Mr. Alounkeo Kittikhoun, Minister of the Prime Minister’s Office, and another high-ranking government officials and diplomats.
Source: KPL
ASEAN Countries Prepare for Community Statistics Meeting
The Lao government and other ASEAN countries are preparing for the Sixth Session of the ASEAN Community Statistical System (ACSS) Committee, which will be held in Vientiane from November 1-3.
The 12th Meeting of the ASEAN Community Statistical System Sub-Committee on Planning and Coordination was held in Vientiane on Tuesday in preparation for the Sixth Session of the ASEAN Community Statistical System Committee.
Yesterday’s meeting was attended by the Director General of the Department of Administration, Lao Statistics Bureau, Ms Phetsamone Sone, in addition to other officials and representatives of ASEAN countries.
The purpose of the meeting was to finalise the preparations and materials to be discussed at the upcoming ACSS Committee session.
During the meeting, participants discussed the key points of the 2016-17 ACSS Work Programme, in addition to the Chairwoman’s presentation at the Sixth Session of the ACSS Committee.
To outline the key outcomes required from each of the agenda items in the ACSS committee meeting, both open and closed sessions were held to facilitate a smoother work flow. The meeting also reviewed and finalised the latest revised draft of the Annual Work Plan for 2017 and 2018.
Source: Vientiane Times
One-stop Service to Speed up Border Crossings
Lao and Thai officials are holding discussions on starting a one door, one stop service at the Lao-Thai Friendship Bridge linking Savannakhet province and Mukdahan province in Thailand.
The service is intended to reduce transport times for people moving goods across the border.
Laos links Vietnam and Thailand via National Road No. 9 in Savannakhet, stretching from the Lao-Vietnamese border to the Lao-Thai border over a distance of 241.6 km.
Director of the provincial Public Works and Transport Department, Mr. Prasongsin Chaleunsouk, told Vientiane Times on Monday that the Dansavan-Lao Bao international border has had an operational one door, one stop service since early 2015.
The time it takes vehicles to cross the border has reduced since the introduction of the one door, one stop service, he said.
The single window service means that vehicles entering Laos from Vietnam are not checked at the Vietnamese border but only at the Lao border. Meanwhile vehicles from Laos entering Vietnam have to present their documents on the Vietnamese side only.
Based on a Vietnam News report on Monday, Vietnam and other regional countries such as Laos, Cambodia and Thailand have made agreements to facilitate road transport but border linkages have not been fully implemented due to differences in legislation.
To facilitate faster cross-border transport, ASEAN countries need to formulate regulations and simplify administrative procedures to speed up the implementation of one-stop-shop customs models so as to have the time of customs clearance procedures, promote connections and trading among countries in the region.
As an example, Mr. Prasongsin showed how customs clearance times between Vietnam and Laos at the border had reduced sharply since applying this model.
It now takes only 15 minutes for trucks to complete customs declarations at the Lao Bao-Dansavan border crossing between Vietnam and Laos.
Vietnam needs to quickly build a strategy and policies for the development of cross-border transport, especially transport corridors.
If the Laos-Thailand border which links to the Dansavan-Lao Bao international border also becomes a one door, one stop service, it will help to enhance connectivity for international road transport considerably, Mr. Prasongsin said.
Currently, only the Dansavan-Lao Bao border crossing between Laos and Vietnam has been able to fully implement this service.
Source: Vientiane Times
Experts Voice Support for Health Sector Reform
The recent review of the National Health Sector Reform Phase II (2016-2020) has received overwhelming interest and response from development partners.
The review was jointly organised by the Ministry of Health and partners including the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), World Health Organisation (WHO), Lao-Luxembourg Development Cooperation, Swiss Red Cross, and the World Bank.
Minister of Health Dr Bounkong Syhavong last week confirmed the ministry’s commitment to invest in the education and health of the Lao people.
We have achieved several of the health-related MDG targets and remain committed to improve the health of our population under the SDGs. The health sector reform phase II for 2016-2020 will provide the roadmap as we focus on five priority areas, he said.
The five priority areas focus on capacity building through human resources for health, improving health financing, providing better governance, management and coordination, investing in infrastructure and service delivery, and health information systems.
JICA expressed support for the health minister’s initiative and Ministry of Health’s decision to strengthen the implementation of the Health Sector Reform Phase II as a strategy to move toward Universal Health Coverage (UHC).
JICA Senior Representative Ms Saeda Makimoto said that expanding the provision of essential quality health services and ensuring equitable access are two directions pursued by many countries.
The Japan-Lao PDR Joint Development Cooperation Plan for Sustainable Development aim to improve the quality of healthcare and rectify domestic disparity with the goal of achieving the SDGs and bringing about improvements in poverty reduction and human resource development, she said.
They have conducted exchanges with officials from the Ministry of Health to visit Japan and learn lessons and policy options on UHC and health insurance. The UHC EU-Luxembourg Development Cooperation-WHO partnership also supports the achievement of UHC by 2025.
WHO Representative to Laos Dr Juliet Fleischl said We are glad to see development partners committed to the same goals and priorities in supporting the government to strengthen primary health care and improve financial protection. A country-led and country-owned process advancing toward UHC and the health SDG will be supported by Phase II of the health sector reform programme.
WHO will focus on strengthening primary health care to build a resilient health system and financial protection in ensuring that the poor will not suffer financial hardships when accessing healthcare.
To improve service delivery, the Ministry of Health will use integrated maternal and child health as entry points, which also include health promotion in providing family planning counselling, ante-natal checks, immunisation activities from fixed points, and outreach services to hard to reach, vulnerable communities.
With clear direction from the minister, the work of the development partners will be aligned to implement health sector reform for the next five years.
Source: Vientiane Times
