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Rombouts Secures UK Listing For New Single-Origin Coffee Range From Laos and Cuba

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Laotian Times
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Coffee roaster Rombouts has secured a listing in the UK with the Co-operative for its brand new single-origin ground coffee.

The range is sourced from Laos and Cuba, and is suitable for filter coffee machines and cafetières. To develop the range, Rombouts worked closely with its trusted coffee farmers in both Laos and Cuba to deliver exceptional and distinctive flavours.

In Laos, the company worked with farmers at the Bolaven Plateau to produce a Fairtrade and organic full-bodied, nutty coffee with hints of chocolate and peaches and a rich aftertaste.

Meanwhile, from the Hacienda Isabelica of Gran Piedra in Cuba, Rombouts’ direct trade partnership with farmers has created a lighter, complex-flavoured and medium-bodied coffee, with notes of caramel and cacao and a sweet aftertaste.

Source: Foodbev Media

Printing Association Plans Upgrade of Operations

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admin
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The Lao Printing Association plans to use modern technology to develop its printing and publishing services in line with public demand.

Members of the association from several state and private printing enterprises in Vientiane met yesterday to review the success of their work from 2010-2015 and discuss plans for 2016-2020.

The association’s authorities proposed plans at the meeting, saying they would continue to support the development and design of various products.

They will also continue to improve members’ skills, upgrade printing programmes and send staff for training in neighbouring countries. They asked that all members cooperate in the development of new technology for use in printing and publishing.

The association plans to enlarge its membership in target areas of the country where printing businesses are growing. The Lao Printing Association hopes to increase membership in Vientiane by 30 percent and in the provinces by 20 percent.

The association counts 33 businesses in its membership, comprising six state printing houses and 27 private printing houses in Vientiane.

Deputy Minister of Information, Culture and Tourism Mr Bouangeun Xaphouvong chaired yesterday’s meeting.

Speaking at the meeting, Acting President of the Lao Printing Association, Mr Chanthiam Rathahao, reviewed the main activities from 2010-2015. During this time the association supported the development of printing skills so that printing techniques have improved and new products have been provided to satisfy public demand.

The association and the Ministry of Education and Sports have jointly developed printing programmes for members of the association, including printing design, production management in the printing house and programmes for printers and technicians. These have been set up for a two-year period.

Some officials have attended training of trainer programmes to further develop the industry.

Mr Chanthiam said the association supports its members and other printing enterprises to comply with government policy, regulations and laws regarding printing.

In recent years the association has provided financing to support meetings organised by the government, and has also helped the victims of various social problems as well as people who have migrated to other countries.

The Lao Printing Association has taken part in activities to mark the 35th and 41st National Days, Media and Publishing Day, and Constitution Day.

Source: Vientiane Times

Govt to Get Tougher on Regulation of Investment Projects

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rubber stamp marked with regulation

The Ministry of Planning and Investment has issued an instruction that will more closely regulate government-funded investment projects from the start of work until completion.

The instruction, which was issued on December 19, relates to the implementation of the National Socio-Economic Development Plan over the next year.

The ruling requires the planning and investment, finance, and inspection sectors to participate in the early stages of contract negotiation, procurement and hire, and bidding on government-funded investment projects.

This is aimed at ensuring their transparency and effectiveness, in compliance with the instruction, which referred to the Government Decree dated January 6, 2015, on early government investment project inspection to ensure transparency of implementation.

Under this instruction, all procurement and hire contracts, as well as payment claims for project instalments, will be valid only if they are certified with a signature from the planning and investment sector. Inspection of work done so far has to be carried out in order to claim project instalments. Inspections will be done once or multiple times based on the contract.

Inspections of the use or testing of the use should take place before the handover of fully completed projects. This is in line with Article No. 71 of the Law on State Investment and other regulations.

A committee must be set up to make decisions on every modification, postponement, change of purpose, or cancellation of any government project.

Ministries and government agencies, as well as provincial authorities, that have received any state budget, have to report on the use of all money received. For completed projects, a report must explain how the money has been used and benefited the sector concerned, as well as local authorities and the public.

The government plans to spend around 3.3 trillion kip to fund development efforts next year. Of this, 70 billion kip will be allocated to various sectors and local authorities to provide joint funding with foreign assistance.

However, the government has issued a prohibition on the payment of money and on project developers using planned funds for other purposes when the original project cannot be carried out.

The developer must submit a proposal to the Ministry of Planning and Investment before using allocated funding for other purposes.

The government has also allocated about 1.6 trillion kip to fund projects that have been implemented but have yet to be completed.

Provincial People’s Assemblies are responsible for monitoring local investment projects, while Vientiane authorities are responsible for investment projects by sectors that are implemented in the provinces and Vientiane.

The instruction also prohibits the government from carrying out any unapproved investment projects, or projects in which private companies have invested initially and agreed with the government for reimbursement after completion.

The implementation of such projects in recent years has resulted in an increase in chronic public debt.

Source: Vientiane Times

PSI Provides US$2.4 Million to Fight Malaria

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Population Services International to Laos (PSI) has agreed to provide over US$2.4 million for fiscal year 2017-2018 to strengthen the private health sector’s capacity to combat malaria.

A signing ceremony for the agreement was held on Tuesday between the Director General of the Communicable Disease Control Department, Dr Bounlay Phommasack, and PSI representative, Mr Sihamano Bannavong.

The funding for 12 months is part of ongoing support under the Strengthening Capacity Amongst the Private Health Sector for Malaria Prevention and Surveillance project which aims to curb malaria in the three southern provinces of Champassak, Saravan and Savannakhet.

Speaking at the signing ceremony Dr Bounlay Phommasack said the project would cover malaria prevention and surveillance in the three provinces because they had the highest rate of the disease in the country.

He said the support would provide training on the treatment and reporting of malaria for the owners of pharmacies, clinics and private hospitals to assure quality of treatment, diagnosis and reporting of malaria cases according to government policy.

For several years, officials and local health authorities had been promoting the regular emptying of containers that collect standing water, and the clearing of any undergrowth around homes, he said.

Every family should throw out water that collects in jars, vases and dishes and should cover such vessels to prevent more water filling them up. Schools, hospitals, factories, hotels, restaurants, tourist facilities and offices should organise cleaning activities to remove any sources of stagnant water to prevention malaria, he added.

He explained the important role the project was playing in fighting the disease under the National Prevention and Control Malaria Strategic Plan (2016-2025) and Plan of Action (2016-2020) to provide a common framework for all stakeholders to accelerate the nationwide scale up of evidenced-led malaria reduction interventions by the government, development partners, the private sector and all stakeholders.

It stipulates the priority interventions, strategic re-orientation and investment required for achieving the goals and targets.

PSI representative Mr Sihamano Bannavong said they would continue to provide support to Laos for malaria prevention and control.

We learned many important lessons this year in terms of social mobilisation, the need to use an integrated multispectral approach for malaria control, and getting communities involved in maintaining a clean environment to prevent the breeding of mosquitoes, he said.

Source: Vientiane Times

PM Outlines Measures to Drive Growth, Curb Spending

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Prime Minister Thongloun Sisoulith yesterday instructed authorities to ensure the macro-economy was stabilised along with improving the investment climate as key factors to attract investment and drive growth.

The premier gave the advice during a two-day meeting that ended yesterday. The meeting was convened to give instruction on the implementation of the socio-economic development plan and budget for 2017, which set the target for economic growth at 7 percent.

To attract foreign and domestic private investment, Mr Thongloun told the meeting to streamline procedures and expedite the investment proposal process in a transparent manner.

Mechanisms must be quick, timely and transparent. It [the investment proposal] must be passed through only a single window, he told the more than 500 participants from central and local departments.

Mr Thongloun stressed the need to fully implement the amended Investment Promotion Law, which was passed by the National Assembly at the end of last month.

He said the current project consideration process was too slow and was not transparent.

Let us address the issue beginning with action next month, he told the meeting.

The premier told leading officials from central and local state organisations to ensure that the macro-economy was stabilised, and to keep the inflation rate stable as well as regulating product prices in markets to prevent unnecessary fluctuation. These steps were essential to attract investment.

He told central and local departments to incorporate the 2017 socio-economic development plan into their work plan and programmes based on local potential, saying that much potential remained untapped.

The premier stressed the need to prioritise state-funded investment projects in order to maximise the benefits, particularly infrastructure development projects. He called for the meeting to manage public debt more efficiently otherwise more debt would accumulate.

The prime minister reiterated the need to address recurrent issues that saw state agencies violate financial discipline.

He said the government would reform state-owned enterprises that had incurred losses in an attempt to help them make a profit.

In this regard, he said some state-owned banks and Lao Airlines were seeking foreign partners and some enterprises were likely to find partners.

He also said the government was determined to cut lavish spending by officials, especially on vehicles, after learning that state expenditure had been too extravagant in the past. He added that the Politburo  the top political decision-making body was in agreement with this objective.

He reiterated the government’s determination to ensure that civil servants’ salaries would be paid on time each month in 2017 and instructed the meeting to disburse all salaries that were still outstanding from 2016.

Source: Vientiane Times

Thailand to Restrict Entry Visas for Foreigners

By
Laotian Times
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Thailand Visas
Thailand Visa Application Appointment Process Online Sees 2-Week Wait Times

Social media in countries bordering Thailand have been flooded with comments and queries after a notice on changes to Thailand’s visa laws was quietly released on the internet. This new Ministerial Regulation of the Thai Ministry of the Interior advises an update on immigration at land borders. According to the notice, immigration checkpoints at land border crossings in Thailand will restrict entry for foreigners who enter under the popular Tourist Visa Exemption Scheme to only two visits per calendar year. The new law is scheduled to enter into force from December 31, 2016.

The Laotian Times contacted the Thai Consulate in Vientiane and was informed that although the consulate is aware of the document, it has not yet received official information from its headquarters in Bangkok.

Thai Visa Restrictions May Cause Difficulties for Foreigners in Laos

The new Thai visa restriction could create difficulties for many foreigners living in countries neighbouring Thailand, who rely on medical and commercial services across the border. An economic impact may also be felt in small border towns such as Nong Khai, which sees a huge influx of traffic each day.

6-Month Thai Visas Now Available

The Thai consulate suggests that foreigners living in Laos who hold a valid Lao work visa may apply for a six-month, multiple entry tourist visa for Thailand, which is valued at around 5,000 baht.
The new restriction will likely not affect Lao citizens, who do not currently require a visa for entry into Thailand.

BCEL-KT: Trade Summary (Dec 20, 2016)

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admin
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Trade summary

LSX index remained stable at 1,029.74 points for a second day. Even though BCEL had a minor gain of 50 kip to 5,100 kip at the opened, however finish lower to the unchanged price at the 5,050 kip. For EDL-Gen, LWPC, PTL and SVN had not matched today. The market had small trading volume of 4,200 shares matched, worth around 21 million kip

Market closing day

We would like to notify its market closing days on the occasion of ending the year 2016 and the beginning of the year 2017 as follow:

– 28 – 30 December 2016: Last 3 Business Days
– 02 January 2017: Compensate for New Year’s Day

LSX will resume to normal operation on 03-Jan-2017

 

TK Singers Launch New Music

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admin
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Two new singers from TK Soundlao Entertainment Company (TK), Mr Sengchan Sainamper and Ms Somleudy, recently launched new singles.

Mr Sengchan’s new song is called Yarkmikhonkhangkai. It is a love song written by the famous songwriter, Mr Bounthom Ph anthamaly.

It describes a lonely boy who is looking forward to finding a girl to love, as he desperately needs someone by his side to comfort him.

Ms Somleudy’s first single is titled Yasiachaibordaihed, which she sings together with a popular artist from TK- Ms Pookky Ngernlarn.

Her single is written by Sengdala Pakkathong. It describes a girl waiting for a boy, who has made a promise to help her grow chilli plants after the rainy season finishes. However, he doesn’t come as promised, so the girl finds another boy to help her to grow the chilli plants. She tells the first boy, you should not be sad you missed your chance to grow chillies with me because yo u broke your promise.

Mr Sengchan Sainamper is from Huaphan province and is now working in Vientiane. He loves singing and this is his first time working with a large entertainment company.

They are both very happy with the launch of their singles, which are now available on YouTube.

After taking part in the Songfahadao 2 Contest, Mr Sengchan received an invitation to work with TK.

While Ms Somleudy is also a new comer to TK, she already has experience singing Lamsing (a kind of traditional, Lao folk song).

Ms Pookky Ngernlarn is a popular singer with TK and has already produced many albums.

Many of her songs have become popular among music lovers nationwide. She has already cooperated with TK many times, but this is her first time singing together with Ms Somleudy.

Mr Sengchan told Vientiane Times that he is proud to work with TK and very happy about the launch of his first single.

I am very happy and proud t o be singer with TK. I would like to thank the company for giving me a chance. This is my first time officially releasing music. My song is now available on various media channels. I would like to introduce myself and my single to the public and also ask for the support of Lao music lovers. Of course, I will regularly continue to produce new music for them, he said.

Ms Pookky Ngernlarn said that she is very happy cooperate with TK again and to sing a song with Somleudy. She thanked all of her fans for their previous support.

This is my first time singing with Ms S omleudy and I am very happy about it. I am sure music lovers will like this single because it is a joyful song. I would like to thank our listeners for their support of both my previous albums and of my new single with Ms Somleudy. Hopefully, TK will continue to support my work. I will do my best to produce the best music for them, she said.

 

Source: Vientiane Times

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