Trade Summary
On Tuesday, LSX reached 1,006.44 points, as BCEL closed higher at 5,700 kip. The market posted 19,600 traded shares today, worth about 96 million kip.
EDL-Gen stayed unchanged at 4,900 kip, with the exchange of 15,100 shares today, while BCEL was 500 kip higher to close at 5,700 kip. LWPC and SVN closed unchanged at 6,100 kip and 3,000 kip respectively with small trading. PTL edged up to close at 2,500 kip.
The Singapore Ministry of Foreign Affairs funded the “Advanced Course on Attracting Foreign Direct Investments (FDIs)” for 18 Lao government officials from October 24 to 28. The course, which was held at the Lao-Singapore Training Centre, was conducted by Mr. Chan Wei Siang of International Business Dynamics Pte Ltd.
Through a combination of lectures, case studies and scenario planning, the course sought to share Singapore’s experience in attracting FDIs to help participants to build a framework for policies to promote FDI inflows and develop identified industries. Topics covered included understanding investors’ needs and thinking, the role of institutions in FDI promotion and the development of cluster strategies and industry ecosystems.
The course was conducted pursuant to the Initiative for ASEAN Integration (IAI). Under the IAI, Singapore conducts 25 to 30 courses per year at the Lao-Singapore Training Centre focusing on areas of public governance, finance, urban management, hospitality and tourism, civil aviation, as well as IT skills and the English language. About 600 Lao officials are trained each year and more than 12,000 Lao government officials have benefited from the Ministry’s various training programmes under the Singapore Cooperation Programme since 1993.
Source: KPL
Prime Minister Thongloun Sisoulith on Oct 28 sent a message to Prime Minister of Japan Shinzo Abe to express condolences over the passing of Prince Mikasa, the uncle of Emperor Akihito.
“The passing of Prince Mikasa is a great loss for the government and people of Japan as they lost a beloved and revered prince. I, on behalf of the government and people of the Lao People’s Democratic Republic, would like to share through Your Excellency sadness and sympathy to the family of Prince Mikasa, and the government and people of Japan on this occasion,” the Prime Minister wrote in his message.
Prince Mikasa, uncle of Emperor Akihito, who was the oldest member of the imperial family, died at a Tokyo hospital on Oct 27 at the age of 100, said Kyodo News.
Source: KPL
Trade Summary
On Monday, LSX index stayed unmoved at 995,21 points, As almost LSX-Listed shares were unchanged, However, the market saw around 202,770,000 kip for daily turnover.
EDL-Gen stock finished at 4,900 kip, traded in the range between 4,850 and 4,900 kip with 12,100 shares while the Banking stock, the most traded stock stayed at 5,200 kip with the trading volume 25,500 shares. Meanwhile, PTL had changed hands of 4,800 shares, finished at 2,300 kip. As to the rest of the market, the situation still remained tranquil, with LWPC and SVN closed at 6,100 kip and 3,000 kip, respectively.
Singapore Airlines Group is spreading its wings even further.
SilkAir, the regional wing of Singapore Airlines, on Monday announced the launch of its inaugural flight to Vientiane and Luang Prabang in Laos.
SilkAir has scheduled its flights to Laos three times a week – on Mondays, Thursdays and Saturdays – with same-day return.
With this launch, SilkAir’s route network now spans 51 destinations in 14 countries.
“We are very excited to launch this new flight, as the popularity of Laos grows among travellers of the region and beyond,” says SilkAir’s Chief Executive, Foo Chai Woo.
This come a day after Scoot, Singapore Airlines’ low cost carrier, on Sunday launched flights between Singapore and Dalian that will take off twice a week.
Scoot’s services to Dalian are routed via Qingdao, replacing the existing two-times- weekly Singapore-Qingdao-Shenyang services. Meanwhile, its services between Singapore and Shenyang now operate non-stop three times a week.
“Since the integration with our sister airline Tigerair that began earlier this May, we have built closer commercial and operational ties and look forward to growing our combined presence in China,” says Scoot’s Chief Commercial Officer Leslie Thng.
Scoot and Tigerair now have a combined network of 59 destinations across 16 countries in Asia Pacific. Of these, 17 destinations are in Greater China, including Hong Kong and Macau.
As at 4.37pm, Singapore Airlines is trading 3 cents higher at S$10.17.
Source: The Edge Markets
A network was founded this year to strengthen primary schools’ capacity to protect and promote children’s right to education.
Teachers from 13 primary schools met yesterday to discuss the creation of the protective network in Vientiane.
During the meeting, participants reported on their experiences of protecting and promoting children’s rights in their local communities.
The focus of the talks included the issues that many children face in accessing this right. As children are often among the most vulnerable to the forces of society, it is especially important for educators to take responsibility for safeguarding young students’ rights.
Economic and social antagonisms often result in children not realising their right to an education. Many instances of children being forced to work to support poor families or succumbing to drug abuse were raised at the meeting as common examples of the infringement of children’s right to education.
Participants exchanged information, experiences and best practices on the current application of rights-focused activities in Vientiane through after school activities in the 13 target primary schools.
The schools included in the initial founding of the network are in Dongsavath, Nahay, Udomphon, Nongbuathongtai, Danxang, Nongneua, Chommanytai, Xangleua, Sinak, Ilay, Piavath, Nakha and Khosivilay villages.
Deputy Head of the Vientiane Education and Sports Office, Mr. Southany Xayasane, spoke at the meeting about the importance of this network.
I think it’s essential that we as educators forge a network aimed at increasing our understanding of how to protect the right of each child to an education. This initiative must include members of the local community if it is to be successful, he said.
He added that the network’s goal is to escalate the role of each teacher in providing information to the parents of children because indicators have demonstrated the vital role parents play in ensuring their children attend classes and extracurricular activities.
There is a common misconception that these issues only exist in rural areas and that by focusing on improving policy in urban areas, the government can take these lessons and apply them on a country wide level, Mr. Southany said.
Poor and marginalised children in Vientiane face a multitude of problems from a lack of education. While the network’s primary goal is to focus on policies that are oriented towards children already enrolled in school, they hope to expand in the future to help drop-outs re-enter the education system.
Head of the Dongsavath Children and Youth Development Association, Mr. Phonexay Inthaleuxay, said the network will expand to include more members at the local community level, including civil society organisations and other key actors.
The network will continue to provide practical training to its members to strengthen the capacity of educators on children’s rights.
Source: Vientiane Times
While the expansion of banana farms from the north to other parts of the country continues, their management by the state is lax.
National Assembly (NA) members at the ongoing debate session shared this view with the NA’s Standing Committee regarding the impact of banana farms on the environment and local populations due to the use of hazardous chemicals.
The northern provinces of Bokeo, Luang Prabang, Oudomxay and Phongsaly mainly grow bananas for export to China, with most investors in these operations being Chinese.
NA member for Attapeu province, Mr. Maniso Xamounty, suggested there were now hundreds of hectares of bananas growing in Vientiane province and the capital.
In Oudomxay province, where he was assigned to work by the NA recently, he noted that many people had been taken advantage of by sweet smelling’ banana plantation investors, he said.
Investors sometimes did not pay land concession fees to owners on time and labourers were also employed under poor conditions.
Furthermore, investors didn’t always pay taxes to the government because they contracted directly with local people without permits from the relevant authorities.
There are 23 companies growing bananas in Oudomxay, but three have been suspended.
Of the remaining 20, 10 companies have registered their investment in line with the regulations while the other 10 companies have not registered even though they are already operational. The authorities have yet to advise them on the regulations and ensure they carry out their business legally.
Mr. Maniso told the Standing Committee he hoped the government would enforce the regulations as these were clearly explained in Article 17 of the Law on Investment.
He also suggested that the NA reexamine projects that are thought to be causing harm to the environment and local populations, in line with Article 76.
NA member for Luang Namtha province, Mr. Kongphet Keobuapha, commented that some provinces were using too many insecticides, pesticides and chemical fertilisers, but said this matter did not feature in reports submitted to the Assembly.
He added that some people became ill and some had allegedly died after spraying pesticide on farms, but did not say where this had occurred.
According to Vientiane officials, in September a group of five men and women working on a banana farm in Pakngum district were taken to hospital after feeling intoxicated, nauseous and developing headaches, because of the misuse of pesticides.
Source: Vientiane Times
Four ASEAN members Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam began a meeting yesterday in Vientiane to reach consensus on cyber security norms, strengthen operational linkages, and build capabilities.
The two-day Workshop on International Cyber Security Policy and Diplomacy for CLMV Countries was launched yesterday with support from the ICT for Peace Foundation of Switzerland.
Cyber security cooperation will help ASEAN member states to protect critical information infrastructure like the optical fibre cable backbone and the global interbank payments network. It will also support the growth of the ASEAN community.
Minister of Posts and Telecommunications Dr Thansamay Kommasith and President of the ICT for Peace Foundation Dr Daniel Stauffacher are chairing the workshop.
At the opening yesterday Dr Thansamay said information and communications technology (ICT) was very significant for Laos because the government is committed to developing and improving the living standards of its people by transforming the country from a landlocked to land linked nation.
Authorities will utilise ICT to create a favourable business and investment environment where businesses can grow leveraging ICT. We will make ICT work to support our development and empowerment, he said.
While ICT brings many new opportunities, it also opens up new vulnerabilities. Globally, cyber threats and attacks are becoming more frequent and sophisticated, with more severe consequences.
Dr Thansamay said Laos was committed to fulfilling its international obligations in order to address these global challenges.
We are also willing to contribute to the global cyber security dialogue with our experience and expertise and create new norms of responsible state behaviour and confidence building measures in cyberspace. We are committed to building a safe and secure ICT infrastructure and services in Laos, he added.
The government has recently upgraded the Lao Computer Emergency Response Team (Lao CERT) to department level, to coordinate national efforts in cyber security and the government recognises Lao CERT’s significant role in combating the cyber threat.
Lao CERT is improving its capacity building, for building a national cyber security policy and strategy, which we hope to launch next year, Dr Thansamay said.
Lao CERT engages with its counterparts regionally and globally including Japan, Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand and the Asia Pacific CERT.
The key concerns for Laos remain human resource development, resilient infrastructure, general awareness, and efficient collaboration. Laos is working with the governments of other countries to block attacks, shut down networks, and to learn good practices from advanced nations.
Source: Vientiane Times
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