The government has given the green light for a Chinese company to conduct a feasibility study on developing the Khonphapheng Special Economic Zone (SEZ) in Champassak province. The Chinese company had informed authorities that it wants to invest US$10 billion to develop the SEZ, the ...

Mae Sengchan and Mae Kham meandered down the banks of the Mekong River in Laos, munching on bunches of bananas and piles of sugarcane. In their mid-to-late-fifties, the rescued pair of endangered Asian elephants are far past their logging days. The two are now in the ...

Continuation of the existing tough measures to contain the coronavirus outbreak is essential, Prime Minister Phankham Viphavanh has said in a clear reference to the nationwide lockdown. The government has extended the lockdown for another 15 days until May 20. The Overall number of Covid-19 cases ...

Lao media on November 30 quoted a report by the country’s Minister of Energy and Mines Khammani Inthilath as saying that it is looking to increase electricity export in the time to come. The article said the minister pointed out at the ongoing session of ...

The Lao economy is on course for moderately improved growth in 2021, despite the second wave of COVID-19 denting the promising economic recovery made early in the year. The World Bank’s latest Economic Monitor for Lao PDR — A Path to Recovery — predicts that GDP growth ...

Thousands of Lao migrant workers who recently returned from Thailand after losing their jobs to COVID-19 have been facing fresh hardships in crowded, undersupplied quarantine camps,, Lao officials and migrants told RFA. During the coronavirus pandemic hundreds of thousands of the 2.8 million foreign workers in ...

The official coronavirus death toll in the South-East Asian nation of Laos remained at zero until this month. Amid a rapidly spreading outbreak in neighbouring Thailand, the Laotian government sealed its borders and imposed a lockdown on April 22.  Everybody except for essential workers was required to stay home ...

Fishermen in delta and Northeast Thailand say dams in China and Laos have hit breeding and yields, forcing many to quit. Mekong River fishermen have already suffered dramatically from dams and irrigation works, which have decimated fish stocks and undermined livelihoods that supported families for generations.Nguyen Anh ...

Laos’ garment exports reached US$165 million in 2016, a reduction of 5 percent compared to 2015, the Association of Lao Garment Industry has reported. The shortage of workers is still a chronic problem in the sector resulting in a reduction of garment exports, President of ...

Laos and the United Kingdom (UK) have strengthened cooperation in various areas to help Laos graduate from Least Developed Country status into an era of sustainable development.More ...

National Assembly members have spoken out against having a solitary judge preside over even the smallest of court cases, which they believe is an easy path to unjust judgments. They took the stance at the debate on the amendment to the Law on the People’s ...

The government is holding a special meeting to establish common ground among state agencies about ways to ensure effective implementation of the national development plan for 2020. Prime Minister Thongloun Sisoulith presided over the opening of the two-day open government meeting at the National Convention Centre, ...

President Bounnhang Vorachit and his counterpart President of the  Republic of Korea (ROK) Moon Jae-in met for important talks in Vientiane on Thursday, when they reaffirmed their strong commitment to enhancing the two countries’ relations and expanding cooperation.  The meeting of the top Lao and South ...

The export value of bananas in the first six months (Q1 and Q2) of this year decreased compared to the same period last year and is expected to decline further. The drop in exports comes after the government called a halt to the establishment of ...

Building a huge dam just upstream from a legendary UNESCO World Heritage site in an earthquake prone region poses serious risk to the local population and the town of Luang Prabang, warns a leading Thai earthquake specialist. Dr. Punya Churasiri, formerly the earthquake expert at Chulalungkorn University’s geology ...

High logistics costs in Laos are still a major obstruction for business operations throughout the domestic private sector and can also deter investors, a recent study suggests. Logistics costs in the country are as high as double compared to other neighbouring or ASEAN countries according to ...

A survey on wildlife market in Laos has revealed its local communities’ massive dependence on the product for food and livelihood, threatening the survival of many species in the country.  Nearly 90 percent of the households confirmed using wildlife, and the majority of the population was ...

The Climate-Friendly Agribusiness Value Chains Sector Project will provide a US$180 million loan to finance initiatives in Laos, Cambodia and Myanmar to boost the capacity of commercial production in the three countries. A senior official from the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, Mr Vinoth Vansy, told ...

The facility will have power generation capacity of 600 megawatts, making it one of the largest onshore wind farms in Southeast Asia, reported Nikkei Asia. It is expected to cost hundreds of millions of dollars. A Mitsubishi subsidiary will take a 20% stake in a joint ...

The ongoing Covid-19 lockdown in Laos has been extended till June 19, according to a notice issued by the Prime Minister’s Office on Friday. The notice outlines a gradual loosening of lockdown measures, with certain strict measures to remain in place. Travel within localities that have not ...