Economy

Laos Attracts USD 8.5 Billion in Investment Projects in First Seven Months of 2026

Laos attracted over USD 8.5 billion in investment approvals during the first seven months of 2026, with officials greenlighting 34 projects in concessionary businesses and controlled business lists. The figures mark a 68 percent increase over the same period last year, and actual capital inflow from these projects has already...

Laos State Utility Revenue Grows 9.4 Percent in First Half of 2026

Electricité du Laos (EDL), the state-owned power utility, grew its revenue by 9.4 percent...

Laos Considers VAT Exemption to Subsidize Electricity for Low-Income Households

Laos’ National Assembly (NA) is considering a proposal to exempt subsidized residential electricity from...

Oudomxay Seeks More Railway Services to Boost Investment

Authorities in Oudomxay Province, northern Laos, have announced plans to expand railway services and...

Vientiane Halts New Microfinance, Pawnshop Licenses Amid Regulatory Review

On 31 July, the Bank of the Lao PDR (BoL) suspended applications for new...

Laos Starts Emergency Assistance Programs to Help Families With Food Shortage

Multiple projects have been launched recently to provide food security to disadvantaged families across Laos with support from the World Food Program (WFP). According to...

Lao Govt Looks at Manufacturing, Tourism Industries to Help Overcome Economic Turmoil

During the 6th Plenary Session of the 11th Party Central Committee held last week, President Thongloun Sisoulith addressed the committee, asking them to focus...

China Starts New Freight Train Route from Chongqing to ASEAN

The first freight train from the Southwest province of Chongqing arrived in Malaysia on Thursday on a new route to reduce the expenses and...

Laos Seals MOU With Chinese Firm for Development of That Luang SEZ

To attract more investment to the That Luang Lake SEZ, the Special Economic Zone (SEZ) Office in Laos signed an agreement with Huangpu Renewable...

Lao National Assembly Keen on Digitizing Governance

The National Assembly of Laos, in collaboration with the French-speaking Parliamentary Assembly organized a two-day seminar on digital governance and internet use last week. Under the...

Vietnam Proposes 160-km Conveyor Belt to Import Coal from Laos

Quang Tri Province in central Vietnam has put forth a plan to construct a 160-kilometer conveyor belt for the transportation of coal from Laos. Vn...