Laos 20241009: Garrulous, Refulgent, Piquant
Mekong Memo Laos Weekly: Business, politics, finance, trade & legal news.
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Headlines:
ASEAN Summits Spotlight Regional Cooperation
Laos-Thailand Trade Targets Ambitious Growth
Foreign Investment Drives Economic Development
Infrastructure Projects For Better Connectivity
Tourism Sector Rebounds with New Leadership
Digital Transformation and Economic Governance
Putting the Kibosh on Rabies
The Persistent Challenge of High Dropout Rates
Financial Market Reforms
Plain Packaging for Tobacco Products
Industrial Cooperation Improves Border Trade
Coffee Roasting Goes Green
ASEAN Summits Spotlight Regional Cooperation
Laos is currently hosting the 44th and 45th ASEAN Summits, putting heightened security measures in place and temporarily closing entertainment venues. Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra of Thailand claimed satisfaction with her first official visit to Laos, agreeing on five key issues including drug trafficking and cross-border haze. Vietnam has reaffirmed its commitment to Laos, centered on the importance of their relationship for regional stability and development.
Read more: Laotian Times (Summit Preparations), Pattaya Mail (Thai PM Visit), VOV (Vietnam-Laos Relations)
Laos-Thailand Trade Targets Ambitious Growth
Laos and Thailand are shooting to reach a trade value of USD 11 billion by 2025. The countries are focusing on overcoming trade barriers, particularly for agricultural products. Thailand wants to reduce non-tariff barriers on imports from Laos, aligning policies with the ASEAN Trade in Goods Agreement. Laos plans to promote domestic products to reduce its trade deficit with Thailand and try to pull Thai investors into the processing industry.
Read more: Laotian Times
Foreign Investment Drives Economic Development
Laos has launched an “ASEAN Regional Investment Action Plan (2025-2030)” to position itself as a unified investment destination. The plan is intended to draw investment, promote sustainable development, and integrate ASEAN as a single investment market. Laos wants to emphasize the importance of foreign direct investment in pushing national development forward, especially in the fields of renewable energy, infrastructure, and digital transformation.
Read more: Bernama
Infrastructure Projects For Better Connectivity
The World Bank has approved a US$56 million grant for upgrading rural roads. The project is expected to improve about 300 kilometers of district and rural roads in Khammuan, Saravan, and Savannakhet provinces. The completion of the works is expected to improve access to public services and markets for nearly 600,000 people.
Read more: The Star
Tourism Sector Rebounds with New Leadership
Laos laid out the welcome mat for 2.6 million foreign tourists in the first eight months of 2024, up nearly a fifth from the previous year. Thailand, Vietnam, and China were the top sources of foreign tourists. The country wants to pull in a total of more than 6 million domestic and foreign tourists in the full year. Inthy Danesavanh, newly elected President of the Lao Tourism Association, says he has big plans to improve tourism promotion and remove obstacles hindering industry growth.
Read more: The Star (Tourism Numbers), The Nation (New Leadership)
Digital Transformation and Economic Governance
The Ministry of Industry and Commerce is partnering with development organizations to improve economic governance in public and private sectors in a bid to strengthen provincial economic governance and build on facilitation in investment and trade. This project is expected to spur development and improve the country's economic landscape.
Read more: The Star
Putting the Kibosh on Rabies
Laos aims to eradicate rabies by 2030 through a plan focused on prevention, response, and data-driven decision-making. The government and international partners are using new tools and technologies to overcome traditional challenges in rabies control.
Read more: The Star (Rabies Eradication),
The Persistent Challenge of High Dropout Rates
Education continues to face a big challenge as high dropout rates remain a pressing issue, particularly in rural and remote areas. Contributing factors include economic hardship, limited access to educational facilities, and societal pressures. The Ministry of Education is focused on addressing these challenges, including efforts to improve infrastructure, expand teacher training, and create programs to encourage students to remain in school, but the scale of the issue warrants continued investment and innovation.
Read more: Asia News Network
Financial Market Reforms
The Lao Foreign Exchange Market Company Limited, a partnership between the Bank of Laos and 11 commercial banks, has launched to introduce improved services, streamline processes, and better public access to currency exchange products. The market will initially focus on transactions involving the US dollar, Thai baht, and Chinese yuan. This partnership builds on earlier efforts to establish an efficient foreign exchange market and integrate it into banking systems.
Read more: Laotian Times
Plain Packaging for Tobacco Products
Laos is requiring cigarette manufacturers to use generic packaging starting December 5, 2024. The new law restricts the use of logos, colors, and brand images on tobacco product packages. This move is an effort to reduce tobacco promotion and use, building on Laos' complete ban on tobacco advertisement and e-cigarettes. The World Health Organization commends this step but of course is calling for more action, including higher tobacco taxes.
Read more: Tobacco Reporter
Industrial Cooperation Improves Border Trade
An international industrial cooperation center has opened at the China-Laos border in Mohan, Yunnan Province to improve economic integration between China, Laos, and other ASEAN countries. The center's location is expected to facilitate trade and investment flows, along with regional economic cooperation.
Read more: CGTN
Coffee Roasting Goes Green
A innovative business venture in is expected to begin roasting coffee using clean hydrogen generated from the Lao’s plentiful water resources. The Green Hydrogen Valley Project, launched by TSB Greenex and eight other firms, is a demonstration of potential in sustainable energy solutions and value-added agricultural processing. This project could pave the way for more green-energy projects, as well as more environmentally friendly practices in the coffee industry.
Read more: Nikkei Asia
That’s all for this week, thanks for reading.
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