Economy

Laos Cuts 7-Day Base Interest Rate to 7% as Economic Risks Persist

The Bank of Laos (BOL) has cut its seven-day base interest rate from 8 percent to 7 percent a year as inflation remains below the government’s 8 percent target. The Monetary Policy Committee approved the cut at its meeting on 20 August, where it reviewed monetary policy, economic conditions, fuel...

Prime Minister Calls for Tighter Oversight of Boten SEZ Amid Development Challenges

Prime Minister Sonexay Siphandone has called for stronger management of the Boten Special Economic...

Laos-China Railway Trade Surges as Cross-Border Freight Hits New Highs

Trade along the Laos-China Railway continued to grow sharply in the first half of...

Laos Identifies Two New Rare Earth Target Areas Across Four Provinces

Laos has completed field surveys and identified two major potential rare earth target areas...

Laos Studies USD 1 Billion Vientiane-Lidu Industrial Park in Pakngum

On 13 August, Laos agreed to study the development of a new industrial park...

Route 13 to be Improved and Maintained with World Bank Support

More than 500,000 people living adjacent to sections of National Road 13 will benefit from the improvements planned in the National Road 13 Improvement and...

Laos Ranked 42nd Most Vulnerable Country to Climate Change

Laos has been ranked as the 42nd most vulnerable country to climate change. This is due to the country’s proneness to climate-related hazards. Laos' susceptibility to...

Laos Will Issue Bonds in KIP

The Lao government has announced that it will issue domestic bonds in LAK (kip) - instead of foreign currencies - with a two-pronged objective aimed at...

Lao Government Bonds Soon to be Available on Lao Stock Market

The Lao Government is in the process of preparing documents, measures and regulatory and legal frameworks necessary to register government bonds on the Lao stock market...

Lao People Are Paying Too Much For Rice

Lao people are paying some of the highest prices for rice in the region despite the country being a significant rice producer, according to the recently released World Bank...

World Bank Economic Report: Formal Vs. Informal Financial Services

A World Bank report released last week reports that "informal" financial services continue to play an important role in the lending sector in Laos despite the fervent growth of legal...