KHAMMUAN (Vientiane Times/ANN) – More attention is turning to the Hin Nam No National Protected Area as Laos plans to submit a proposal to Unesco in September for it to be considered as a World Heritage site.The government believes Hin Nam No worthy of consideration ...

Edible insects first sparked international attention in 2013 when the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) published a reportreferring to them as one way to solve the global food shortage.At that time, FAO noted that insects as food and feed emerge as an especially relevant issue in ...

VIENTIANE (Vientiane Times) – Laos’ central bank will tackle challenges to ensure the stability of the kip and prevent it weakening further against the Thai baht, and ensure the rate of inflation stays below 5 per cent.Responding to questions about currency management from National Assembly ...

VIENTIANE (Vientiane Times/ANN) – Xieng Khuang has named livestock farming as an area of business that will get special support from provincial authorities.The provincial Governor, Mr Bounton Chanthaphone, recently signed an administrative notice which listed small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) that provincial authorities plan ...

On 17 August, the Thai Supreme Administrative Court ruled to dismiss a lawsuit, filed by 37 Thai villagers against five Thai state agencies for their role in approving the Xayaburi hydropower dam’s Power Purchase Agreement (PPA).Filed 10 years ago, the Xayaburi lawsuit was the first community-filed ...

VIENTIANE (Vientiane Times/ANN) – The government is confident its austerity policy will continue to lower budgetary tensions and financial difficulties in the coming year despite slow progress in implementing measures to curb wasteful spending.The Ministry of Finance will take action in coordination with several other ...

The European Union has restated a commitment to work with all countries including Laos to encourage moves toward achieving a global abolition of the death penalty, a government-sanctioned practice whereby a person is killed by the state as a punishment for a crime.More ...

VIENTIANE (Vientiane Times/ANN) – Bananas are expected to be Laos’ leading agricultural export this year despite the government banning an expansion of plantations around the country.In 2017, Laos earned US$167.9 million from banana exports which dipped to US$112 million last year, but the figure is ...

Thailand is preparing to launch the country’s first bullet train that will run between Bangkok and Beijing, China, with Laos as one of the intermediate stations.The “Trans-ASEAN Line” will cover 3,193 kilometers at the cost of about THB 2.07 trillion (USD 67.2 billion) and link ...

VIENTIANE (Vientiane Times/ANN) – The Ministry of Planning and Investment is continuing efforts to enhance cooperation in response to challenges in implementing the government’s socio-economic development plan up to 2020.Representatives of the ministry and other authorities met in Vientiane on Thursday and reviewed the implementation ...

Unitel has won the Speedtest Awards for mobile network speed during the second and third quarter of 2019.Ookla, the owner of the speedtest.net website, compared user-initiated tests taken on the Speedtest iOS and Android mobile apps from all the major mobile carriers in Laos during the award ...

VIENTIANE (Vientiane Times/ANN) – Laos expects to import electric vehicles next year to support the government’s move to minimise the use of fossil fuels.The import of electric vehicles will follow the government’s order for a pilot project, EV Lao Company Limited Deputy Managing Director, Mr ...

The Nongnokheane-Trapeang Kriel border has become the first official international border checkpoint between Laos and Cambodia after being recognised as a local crossing point for almost 30 years. Prime Minister Thongloun Sisoulith and his Cambodian counterpart Hun Sen officially opened the Nongnokheane-Trapeang Kriel international border ...

VIENTIANE (Vientiane Times/ANN) – The largest professional trade exhibition of the country, Lao Top 3 Expo 2019, will kick off at the National Convention Centre in Vientiane next week and showcase products aimed at the building, construction, water supply, food and beverage and trade industries.The ...

VIENTIANE (Vientiane Times/ANN) – Many state infrastructure development projects were found to be hugely overvalued with some priced at more than double the standard unit price, a minister has said.The government could save more than 3.5 trillion kip (almost US$419 million) from these following inspections ...

Construction has just started on a huge dam just 25 kilometers upstream from the heritage town, and only four kilometers from the revered Buddhist shrines hidden inside the Pak Ou caves.Satellite information from the Stimson Center’s Mekong Dam Monitor proved that these warnings have been ignored, and ...

Construction of a second campus of the Lao-German Technical College is underway in Vientiane which will allow more students to take trade-specific courses, especially in the operation of heavy machinery.The new college is funded by grants from the Lao and German governments and will provide ...

VIENTIANE (Vientiane Times/ANN) – The government is targeting more international visitor arrivals until the end of this year with numerous incentives, a promotional tourism campaign, and policy updates.The move follows the recent release of the new Asian Development Bank (ADB) forecast which showed the country’s ...

Japanese cable manufacturer Bando Densen has opened a factory in Laos, joining a group of competitors that are stepping up their presence in Southeast Asia amid demand for electronic vehicles.The company will gradually strengthen its local operations and with cheaper labor costs and existing distribution ...

VIENTIANE (Vientiane Times/ANN) – Lao business startups and entrepreneurs have the chance to grow their operations by getting together with international investors,” said the organiser of a Startup and Angels event.The networking event was held in Vientiane on Wednesday and attended by foreign investors, local ...