Laos

Laos, a landlocked nation in Southeast Asia bordering Myanmar, China, Vietnam, Cambodia, and Thailand, is renowned for its booming financial industries. Since the country’s decision to decentralize control over state-owned enterprises since 1986, Laos has seen a huge growth in its economy, which has largely become focused on industry and export, most especially to its neighboring states, along with tourism. Since acceding to the World Trade Organization in 2013, Laos has been making steady reforms to it trade and economic laws and regulations to allow a more open and friendly investment environment for both local, regional, and international investments.

The 2010 Law on Investment Promotion allowed for registration requirement and tax incentives to apply equally across domestic and foreign investments, allowing for an increase in foreign investment. The industries which have received the largest portions of foreign direct investment (FDI) are in mining and hydropower, with the largest sources of FDI being not only from regional actors such as China, Vietnam, Thailand, South Korea and Japan, but also international actors such as the United States and France. Hence, investing in Laos not only allows contact with these states, but on a broader scale allows for a flourishing of ideas and expansion to the general Asian region, particularly in the areas of manufacture and finance.