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The Memo is published weekdays - Cambodia (every Monday), Myanmar (Tuesday), Laos (Wednesday), Vietnam (Thursday) and Thailand (Friday). The Thailand edition is free in its entirety; the others usually abbreviated for non-paid subscribers.

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Vientiane Raids Net Wins in Scam Crackdown

Police stormed the Yuzhou Smart Hotel in Xaythany District, nabbed 43 people and took 468 mobile phones. It was one of four raids recently in Vientiane Capital. Chinese nationals made up the bulk of the numbers, followed by Burmese suspects. Police say they also found ketamine packets and nitrous oxide tanks at two other locations. The tempo’s barely let up since the ST Vegas case, as a seventh transfer batch of 34 Thai nationals crossed the Friendship Bridge, leaving only seven of the original 373 Thai suspects still in Lao custody. There have been more than 6,000 nationwide arrests since January, running near 1,000 a month from June through August. No ringleaders have been identified so far.

Read more: Laotian Times (ketamine raid), Laotian Times (bridge transfer)

Flood Insurance Pays Fast, But Provinces Beg

More than a million USD was sent to Lao accounts within two business days after updated impact data triggered the SEADRIF Insurance Company's response, which affected more than 375,000 people nationwide. The payout, split between the government and the UN World Food Programme, has brought disbursements for this flood cycle to $2.3 million. Even as the money was being sent, Luang Namtha, Oudomxay and Savannakhet were publicly asking for donations after floods affected more than 2,400 households in Luang Namtha district, 81 villages in Oudomxay, and 177 villages and 40,200 people in Savannakhet. Social media users have asked why officials are asking for donations when a national disaster fund exists.

Read more: Laotian Times (province flood toll), Laotian Times (rain forecast), Insurance Asia (policy terms)

Four Deals in Astana, One Rail Dream

President Thongloun Sisoulith became the first Lao head of state to visit Kazakhstan, and in the process, put his hand to four agreements that cover political consultations, prosecutorial cooperation, digital government, and a sister-city deal between Vientiane and Astana. The biggest item didn’t get a signature yet, though; President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev offered Lao freight carriers access to Kazakhstan's logistics hub in Xi'an and floated the idea of a corridor that would run Lao goods up the China-Laos Railway, through Kazakhstan's Trans-Caspian route and the onward to European markets. That route currently handles about 85 percent of continental China-Europe freight. Tokayev suggested likely cargo would be Kazakh grain, oilseeds, feed and meat heading south, and Lao coffee and rubber heading north. No transport or customs agreement was signed to make any of that regular, but the opportunity for both governments to start writing one is now open.

Read more: Times of Central Asia (export target), Trend (route growth), Astana Times (investment center), Astana Times

SG Adds Lao Forests to Its Carbon Shopping List

A binding Article 6 carbon-credit agreement with Singapore makes Laos the fourth ASEAN country to sign such a deal, after Agriculture and Environment Minister Linkham Douangsavanh and Singapore's Grace Fu approved the agreement by video. Singapore will direct 5% of proceeds into climate adaptation projects and cancel 2% of authorized credits when they’re first issued, removing them permanently from any country's tally. Under the 2025 carbon-credit trading rules, at least 10% of credits from international projects are required to stay in-country, and payments need to run through the Bank of Laos or domestic commercial banks. Laos adds some of the region's densest forest cover to the deal; it is aiming for 70 percent national coverage by 2035, which would turn reforestation and farm projects into hard currency as it gets ready to lose concessional financing tied to its status as a least-developed-country.

Read more: The Star (Singapore deal), Laotian Times (emissions targets)

Luang Prabang Economy Grows Even As Tourists Vanish

Luang Prabang's economy was able to manage 3.9 percent growth in the first half of 2026 even though tourist arrivals were brutalized by a drop of almost half compared to last year. The province produced LAK 11.67 trillion ($520 million) in output, which is more than half its annual target. Ag and forestry made up two fifths of the performance and the Laos-China Railway did much of the rest of the work, as it delivered 1.3 million passenger trips and more than 564,000 tonnes of freight through the province over the six month period. Provincial authorities have also forwarded a revised UNESCO conservation plan to the agency and are expanding their the tax base to include convenience stores, restaurants, cafes, hotels and guesthouses before the year end.

Read more: Laotian Times

Vat Phou Returns to State Control

Ying Sokxay ran ticket booths, golf carts and parking at Vat Phou for 15 years before their concession expired. The company asked for more time, but Champasak denied the request by taking advantage of the 2021 National Heritage Law that bans commercial deals on national heritage sites without a ministerial sign-off. So, now the provincial Department of Information, Culture, and Tourism gets to run day-to-day operations at the 1,000-year-old temple complex, which saw nearly 750,000 visitors last year. Officials say sanitation and visitor-service upgrades are on the way.

Read more: Laotian Times

Five Copycat Brands Banned

The Food and Drug Department banned five cosmetic brands, Vaseilina, Care Man, Lvx, Clsorup, and Leimiya & Shampoo, after authorities said they came into the country unregistered and carried packaging that mimics well-known products. We sincerely hope that the loss of access to these products does not bring inconvenience to our readers. Sellers had been flogging them on social media with “unusually” low prices.

Read more: Laotian Times

PLA Medics Arrive for Peace Train Drill

A 150-member Chinese military medical contingent arrived in Vientiane for a 17-day exercise with the Lao People's Army. It’s being called "Peace Train-2026," and it’s the sixth edition since 2017. More than 700 participant will be rehearsing a super typhoon rescue scenario using medical trains and unmanned rescue equipment. After the exercise wraps up, the team is expected to move on to Vientiane, Savannakhet, Champasak and Attapeu provinces for a spell of patient treatments and academic lectures.

Read more: Global Times, Chinamil, Bastillepost

Beijing and Vientiane Improve Police Ties

Chinese Public Security Minister Wang Xiaohong hosted his Lao counterpart, Vanthong Kongmany, in Beijing this week where the two of them agreed to more cooperation on China-Laos Railway security in addition to tamping down on online gambling, telecom fraud, and the illicit drug scene. Vanthong thanked Beijing for its "long-standing support and assistance." Wang also met Uzbekistan's internal affairs minister Aziz Tashpulatov in his security push.

Read more: The Star

Cluster Munitions Treaty Comes Back to Vientiane

Vientiane is hosting the Third Review Conference of the Convention on Cluster Munitions, an event that will bring more than 500 delegates back to the city that hosted the treaty's first meeting of states parties. Deputy PM Thongsavan Phomvihane, who also chairs the country's UXO/Mine Action authority, said the country is "100 percent ready" for the task. Organizers will be expecting visiting donors to pony up cash to fund more clearance work and help open farmland that remains too dangerous to plow.

Read more: The Star

That's all for this week, thanks for reading. Your voice matters to us. Feel we're missing something? Have additional sources to suggest? Don't hold back- hit reply and tell us what you think.

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The Memo is published weekdays - Cambodia (every Monday), Myanmar (Tuesday), Laos (Wednesday), Vietnam (Thursday) and Thailand (Friday). The Thailand edition is free in its entirety; the others usually abbreviated for non-paid subscribers.

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Floods Swamp Boten Border Crossing

Flash floods swamped the Boten Special Economic Zone and the China border checkpoint area, sending water into homes, offices and farmland in 34 villages before the provincial committee declared it a disaster zone. National Route 13 North between the Oudomxay border and the Boten-China crossing has been closed because of landslides and washouts, and Lao Airlines has stopped Vientiane-Luang Namtha flights (no date for resuming the flight’s been shared yet). In Oudomxay, 74 villages and more than 3,800 households are still without power as blocked roads have hampered repair crews.

Read more: Laotian Times (flights), Laotian Times (power outages), Asian News Network (evacuations)

Central Bank Leashes Foreign Loans

Bank of Laos Decision No. 707 requires anyone outside the regulated banking sector, from shareholders extending intercompany loans to companies issuing offshore bonds, to get sign-off from the Foreign Exchange Management Department before moving any money. Commercial banks will not be able to credit an incoming loan or process an outward repayment without the approval either. Companies that earn cash mostly in foreign currency are able to borrow up to three-quarters of registered capital, kip-earners can get half. Public debt was around 85 percent of GDP in May, according to the Asian Development Bank, and the IMF expects it to ease toward three-quarters by the end of 2026.

Read more: VDB Loi (loan rules), Laotian Times (debt target)

Electricity Pushes Inflation to 7.7%

Consumer prices were up 7.7 percent in August, slightly above the 7.6 percent reported for July, as housing, water, electricity and cooking fuel climbed more than 30 percent year on year. That comes after July's almost comical 91.5 percent year-on-year increase in power prices. The eight-month average is 7.9 percent, uncomfortably well above the government's target and edging toward the Asian Development Bank's 9.8 percent forecast for the year. Vientiane is still looking for six percent growth this year, but these numbers will continue to make that a challenge - the ADB expects four percent, and the World Bank says 3.8 percent.

Read more: Laotian Times

China Got to Rare Earth Offtake First

Satellite mapping by the Stimson Center has found dozens of new rare earth mining sites have opened since 2022 in Xieng Khouang and Houaphanh. Geologists think the ground there can offer up about 600,000 tonnes of rare earth oxides. The valuable bits are mostly heavy elements, dysprosium, terbium and yttrium, that are used to make magnets needed in EV motors and wind turbines. China hasn’t purchased the deposits outright, rather it locked up offtake with provincial concession holders instead, using the same strategy it used in Myanmar's Kachin State (which has supplied more than half the value of China's heavy rare earth imports in several recent years).

Read more: Deccan Chronicle

Scam Sweep Gets 6,200 Arrests

Police held 139 more suspects at the end of August, raiding the Manggrove Hotel and Glory Residents in Xaysettha district and capping a month with almost 900 arrests in at least 12 spots. That brings the year's running total past 6,200, on top of the 589 hauled out of the ST Vegas building and the 261 picked up at Thatluang Lake Special Economic Zone. Chinese nationals made up the largest group in nearly every raid this month, though suspects came from at least seven countries. Investigators say they are still trying to figure out who the masterminds behind the networks are as none have yet been named.

Read more: Laotian Times

Thongloun Works SCO Sidelines in Bishkek

Thongloun Sisoulith became the SCO's newest Dialogue Partner, then worked the sidelines in a run of bilateral meetings. Belarus's Aleksandr Lukashenko offered machinery, joint ventures and technical training, and got a counter-pitch on gold, with Laos floating the idea of a second processing plant to go with the one already running. Narendra Modi and Kyrgyzstan's Sadyr Japarov also held pull-asides, though neither meeting produced anything substantive. Dialogue Partner status gets Vientiane in the room with China, Russia, India and the other SCO members for trade, transport and “digital connectivity.” Thongloun is next heading to Kazakhstan for another official visit.

Read more: SCO (security), Laotian Times (logistics), Economic Times (India meeting), Trend (Kyrgyzstan meeting), SB (Belarus meeting)

Finance Chiefs Line Up Three VN Megaprojects

Two-way trade with Vietnam was $1.47 billion through the first seven months of this year on exports of ~$1 billion and imports of ~$420 million back. Finance chiefs Santiphab Phomvihane and Ngo Van Tuan agreed at a meeting in Danang to continue work on the Vientiane-Hanoi Expressway, the Vientiane-Vung Ang Railway and a new 500kV cross-border power line, adding them into the 2026-2030 cooperation plan. No construction timeline or financing breakdown was given for any of the three, and the transmission line is still under review. Officials said this year's targets had "basically been met."

Read more: Asian News Network

Ministries Move to Unify Border Toll Patchwork

The Finance and Public Works ministries are trying to sort out a patchwork of cargo and toll fees between Thanaleng Dry Port, the Lao-Thai Friendship Bridge and five Mekong River crossings. Thanaleng handles about 2,000 vehicles a day and added a new Cambodia-to-China produce route that has reduced transit times from almost 20 days to about a week. The ministries have also opened bids for a LAK 3.23 trillion ($148.7 million) project on National Road 9 in Savannakhet, bundling highway rehabilitation with electronic tolling for trucks of 12 tons or more on the corridor connecting Thailand to Vietnam. No winning bidder or rollout date was shared.

Read more: Laotian Times

Water Utility Posts Profit, Taps Still Short

Vientiane Water Enterprise showed a first-half profit of LAK 91.6 billion ($4.2 million), raking in more than half its annual revenue target even though the capital's taps are still running short of what’s demanded. Daily use has reached 504,000 cubic meters versus 400,000 produced. The utility supplies 378 of 481 villages (~four-fifths of the capital). Three new plants are expected to add 80,000 cubic meters of capacity by the end of 2028.

Read more: Laotian Times

Tourism Ministry Audits Zero-Dollar Tour Racket

The Ministry of Culture and Tourism is auditing operators in Luang Prabang and Vientiane because of alleged "zero-dollar" packages. These are cut-rate tours that make their money by steering foreigners into commission-heavy shops and restaurants instead of (non-profit producing) temples and parks. Inspectors are checking whether advertised prices match what tourists end up paying.

Read more: Nomad Lawyer

That's all for this week, thanks for reading. Your voice matters to us. Feel we're missing something? Have additional sources to suggest? Don't hold back- hit reply and tell us what you think.

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If you value the Mekong Memo, please consider buying (or gifting!) a paid subscription, sharing it on social media or forwarding this email to someone who might enjoy it. Please also “like” this newsletter by clicking the ❤️ below (or sometimes above, depending on the platform), which helps us get visibility on the Substack network.

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Horton International is your premier partner for executive search in Southeast Asia. Whether you're a small startup or a global corporation, our reliable and effective recruiting solutions are tailored to meet your unique needs. With extensive experience and offices across the region, we excel at overcoming recruitment challenges and securing top talent for your organization.

Click here to learn how Horton can make your life easier.

The Memo is published weekdays - Cambodia (every Monday), Myanmar (Tuesday), Laos (Wednesday), Vietnam (Thursday) and Thailand (Friday). The Thailand edition is free in its entirety; the others usually abbreviated for non-paid subscribers.

Please go to https://www.mekongmemo.com/account to select country editions you would like to receive without affecting your overall subscription status.

EDL-Gen Sells First Corporate Dollar Bond

EDL-Generation, the hydropower and solar arm of state utility EDL, priced $300 million in notes due 2031 with an 11.125 percent coupon. It’s the first international bond sold by a Lao corporate issuer. JP Morgan ran the sale under (US SEC) Rule 144A and Regulation S, and the notes are listed on the Singapore Exchange, giving institutional buyers in the US and elsewhere a way in without having to tiptoe through Vientiane's thin domestic market. The coupon is well above what investment-grade Southeast Asian utilities usually pay, a reminder that investors are still pricing in dollar shortages and the debt hangover from Chinese lending. Sidley Austin advised JP Morgan; Linklaters advised the issuer.

Read more: Law Asia

Vientiane Rewrites Electricity Law

A 176-article rewrite of the 2017 Electricity Law covers a whole slate of issues including rooftop solar buybacks, direct power sales between producers and businesses, and what happens when hydropower concessions expire and then revert to the state. Most of the text is new or rewritten, which gives the output more weight than most legal tune-ups. Officials are trying to create an Electricity Regulatory Authority, a Lao Grid Code, Renewable Energy Certificates, and Build-Lease-Transfer and Lease-Operate-Transfer deal structures so that power producers can sell outside EDL and the system can lean a little less heavily on hydropower. A seven-day review wrapped up August 23, but the committee is still working through sections that officials disagreed on.

Read more: Laotian Times

Central Bank Cuts Rate to 7%

The Bank of Laos trimmed its seven-day base rate from 8 percent to 7 percent on August 20, its fourth cut in a year, after inflation was reported to have dropped from a little above 10 percent in April to the mid-7s in June. It ticked back up again in July on higher electricity costs, but managed to stay under the government's 8 percent target. The central bank has also decided to extend foreign exchange trading by an hour (now to 4 PM). Laos is still a heavy user of multiple currencies as it scrambles for foreign exchange to service debt.

Read more: Laotian Times

Growth Slows to 4.6% as LDC Exit Grows Near

GDP grew 4.6 percent in the second quarter, down from 5.5 percent in the first, leaving the economy at 5 percent for the first half compared to a 6 percent (full year) target that the government still says it can get to. Tourism did much of the heavy lifting on nearly 2.6 million arrivals in six months. Services handily outran industry and agriculture. Revenue collection managed to beat expectations at LAK 44,956 billion (~$2 billion). Vietnam managed 8.2 percent over the same stretch, and Thailand wrangled 2.4 percent. Vientiane wants to hold a 6 percent pace through 2030. It is expected to graduate from UN Least Developed Country status at the end of 2026.

Read more: Laotian Times

US Court Lifts Visa Pause, Lao Citizens Still Locked Out

A US federal judge struck down the State Department's 75-country immigrant visa pause on August 21, as it said the blanket policy is/was "patently unlawful" since it barred consular officers from reviewing applicants one by one. Nationals of most listed countries are now able get case-by-case reviews, but Lao citizens still can’t because of a separate Presidential Proclamation from June 2025 that still suspends entry and immigrant visa issuance for Laos. The State Department has not said how embassies should handle countries caught between the two policies.

Read more: Laotian Times

Korean Chains Pile Into Vientiane's Kok Kok Mall

EDIYA COFFEE, Paris Baguette and Dookki have all opened their first stores at Vientiane's Kok Kok Mega Mall, all of them under a master franchise deal with KOLAO Group, the Korean-founded conglomerate that got its start assembling cars. E-MART24 is using the same partner to roll out a convenience store chain. KOLAO already runs nationwide distribution, real estate and logistics operations, which lets the new entrants skip the cost of building local networks from zero. Mom's Touch, Lotteria, No Brand and Shinsegae Factory Store are all already there as well.

Read more: Biz Chosun

Health Ministry Gives Clinics Until November

The Health Ministry has given unlicensed clinics until November 30 to get permits, with dental offices, cosmetic surgery shops, injection providers, acupuncture clinics and stem cell centers all in the crosshairs. The order reminds everyone about the Law on Medical Treatment but doesn’t go so far as to enumerate fines, closures or inspection rules for clinics that miss the deadline. So the ministry looks hard on paper, but, at least for now, seems much quieter about enforcement.

Read more: Laotian Times

JP Arrivals Up 36% After Princess Aiko's Visit

Japanese arrivals were 23,133 in the first half of 2026, up 36 percent year-on-year. Tourism officials credit Princess Aiko's five-day visit to Vientiane and Luang Prabang, her first official overseas trip, which coincided with 70 years of diplomatic ties. Expo and festival appearances in Japan are adding to the drive, along with a renewed deal with a Japanese promotion firm that will pitch schools, universities, media and travel agencies. The rebound brought nearly 2.6 million international visitors in the first half, and the government continues to hope for five to six million by year-end.

Read more: Laotian Times

That's all for this week, thanks for reading. Your voice matters to us. Feel we're missing something? Have additional sources to suggest? Don't hold back- hit reply and tell us what you think.

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The Memo is published weekdays - Cambodia (every Monday), Myanmar (Tuesday), Laos (Wednesday), Vietnam (Thursday) and Thailand (Friday). The Thailand edition is free in its entirety; the others usually abbreviated for non-paid subscribers.

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Chinese Approvals USD 8.5 Billion

The government approved USD 8.5 billion worth of investment projects in the first seven months of 2026, up almost 70 percent year-on-year. Capital that has been sent so far is closer to USD 1 billion, which is a timely reminder that approval totals are not the same thing as money-in-hand. Deputy Prime Minister Saleumxay Kommasith told an investment conference in Vientiane that the cumulative tally since Laos opened to private investment in 1989 is 5,394 projects worth USD 65.5 billion. China leads with 970 projects worth USD 15 billion, followed by Vietnam at USD 12.7 billion and Thailand at USD 6.9 billion.

Read more: Laotian Times

Rare Earth Pause Comes With Two New Targets

Vientiane suspended a Chinese-operated rare earth project because of legal compliance and environmental violations. The Ministry of Industry and Commerce also said field surveys had found two new target zones, one around the Bolikhamxay-Khammuane border and another in the Sekong-Attapeu area. No reserve size or grade has been discussed publicly. The suspended operation is in the north, where a 2024 wastewater discharge polluted the Van and Xam rivers in 36 villages in Houaphanh. A little over a dozen rare earth projects are running nationwide, most of them Chinese-backed, and they feed Beijing's magnet industry with dysprosium and terbium that Chinese deposits can’t fully supply. Late last year, Vientiane asked the National Assembly to convert protected forest in Xieng Khouang and Houaphanh into rare earth mining and processing land.

Read more: Rare Earth Exchanges (named operators), Laotian Times (new target zones)

Border Checkpoint Blows Past Revenue Target

The Lalai International Customs Checkpoint in Salavanh, on the Vietnam border, collected LAK 467.84 billion, or about USD 20.7 million, in the first half of 2026. The windfall was more than ten times its half-year plan and far above the same period last year. The 3rd Lao-Thai Friendship Bridge in Khammouane brought in USD 33.2 million, up more than 140 percent, on fuel and goods imported for re-export including vehicles, live cattle and fresh fruit. The newly opened 5th Lao-Thai Friendship Bridge in Bolikhamxay reached 86 percent of its annual target in its first six months, with fuel making up almost all revenue. Good to see that trade in the region appears alive and well.

Read more: Laotian Times

Vientiane Pitches Data Centers on Cheap Hydro

The government wants data centers, AI and fintech to headline the 2026-2030 investment plan in a turn away from the mining and hydropower deals (please don’t mention the bitcoin) that have shaped the economy for two decades. Deputy Finance Minister Phonevanh Outhavong made the pitch at an investment promotion conference this week, leaning on the country's inexpensive hydropower at a moment when global data center spending is gobbling up an ever-expanding share of greenfield investment. No incentive package, land terms or single site is yet public, but officials say they want projects that bring skilled jobs and connect firms to regional supply chains, which is the right aspiration. The bigger question will be if the cost of power alone will be enough to compensate for the missing pieces.

Read more: The Star

Pakngum Lines Up a Sixth Industrial Park

The government cleared a 24-month feasibility study on August 13 for the Vientiane-Lidu Industrial Park, a 307-hectare site in four Pakngum district villages pitched to draw USD 1 billion. Zone A would take mineral processing and power infrastructure, Zone B would handle agricultural processing, and Zone C would house offices, warehouses and worker dorms. It is the sixth SEZ feasibility study cleared under the 2025 industrial zone decree, joining a 6,279-hectare clean-energy and aluminum zone in Oudomxay and a separate USD 165 million estate already underway in Vientiane-Pak Ngum. The country has 21 approved SEZs with registered capital above USD 41 billion. As with the broader investment numbers, registered capital is a flattering version of the story. At the Golden Triangle zone, tax revenue fell 49 percent to USD 1.5 million after 551 businesses closed.

Read more: Laotian Times

Hydropower Becomes an EV Sales Pitch

The government wants to seee a 30 percent electric share of the national fleet by 2030 and has paused imports of gas-fueled cars to speed the shift. The reason is that Laos has both cheap domestic hydropower and needs to import gasoline and diesel, a problem that is exacerbated anytime the fuel supply gets jumpy. Chinese automakers now have room to press into a market where pump supply has become unreliable. No subsidy scheme or charging-network plan has been detailed yet, but the import pause is the sharpest policy lever pulled so far.

Read more: Nikkei Asia

Umoney Gets First Crack at Digital Lending

The Bank of the Lao PDR approved Star Fintech's Umoney in June so they could test digital loans in a regulatory sandbox. Umoney now claims 1.8 million active users, more than 15,000 QR merchant points and more than 5,000 cash-in and cash-out agents in all 18 provinces. It’s been building that network since launching as the country's first licensed mobile money service in 2018. There’s a real credit gap is real. World Bank Findex data shows that 7 percent of adults borrowed from a formal institution or mobile money account in the latest survey, down from 9 percent in 2017 and 2021, despite more than 280 banks, microfinance firms, leasing companies, pawn shops and payment providers already in the market.

Read more: Fintech News

Bolikhamxay Bust Nets Almost Two Tons of Ivory

Police raided a trafficking network in Pakkading district on August 16, detaining 11 foreign nationals and seizing 1,755.6 kilograms of suspected elephant ivory along with two 45.5-kilogram carcasses resembling black panthers. Nationalities have not been disclosed, and investigators say they are still tracing others tied to the ring. The seizure dwarfs every prior case this year, including more than 110 kilograms of ivory, rhino horn and pangolin parts in Luang Prabang in late June.

Read more: The Star

That's all for this week, thanks for reading. Your voice matters to us. Feel we're missing something? Have additional sources to suggest? Don't hold back- hit reply and tell us what you think.

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Horton International is your premier partner for executive search in Southeast Asia. Whether you're a small startup or a global corporation, our reliable and effective recruiting solutions are tailored to meet your unique needs. With extensive experience and offices across the region, we excel at overcoming recruitment challenges and securing top talent for your organization.

Click here to learn how Horton can make your life easier.

The Memo is published weekdays - Cambodia (every Monday), Myanmar (Tuesday), Laos (Wednesday), Vietnam (Thursday) and Thailand (Friday). The Thailand edition is free in its entirety; the others usually abbreviated for non-paid subscribers.

Please go to https://www.mekongmemo.com/account to select country editions you would like to receive without affecting your overall subscription status.

President Xaysomphone Phomvihane Dies at 70

Xaysomphone Phomvihane, son of founding leader Kaysone Phomvihane and president of the National Assembly since 2021, died August 8 at 11.18am from vasculitis, five months after lawmakers re-elected him to lead the 10th legislature. He was 70, but at least one reported his age to be 69. Vientiane told entertainment venues to close for five days and declared national mourning from August 9 to 13, with a funeral at the That Luang esplanade. Vietnam's National Assembly Chairman Tran Thanh Man flew in to lay a wreath in person. That was a respectful demonstration, but also is a nod to how closely Vietnamese lawmakers have worked with Xaysomphone on energy and transportation. He also served as Savannakhet governor, finance minister and ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Assembly chair. No successor has been named.

Read more: Phnom Penh Post (Politburo role), Vietnam News (Vung Ang Port), Laotian Times (birth), Vovworld, Laotian Times (tributes)

Railway Debt Eats an Eighth of the Budget

Annual repayments on the $5.9 billion Kunming-Vientiane railway were $1.7 billion in 2025, up from $370 million in 2016, and now consume about an eighth of the national budget. Education and health between them only get about 4 percent. Debt service to Chinese creditors this year is taking almost 90 percent of foreign exchange reserves, and unsurprisingly, the IMF classifies that sort of performance as “debt-distressed.” Beijing hasn’t forced a default, preferring to roll over deadlines. Vientiane needed $1.79 billion for its 30 percent stake in the railway joint venture but put up only $250 million of its own money. The rest came from one bauxite mine and three potash mines promised as collateral, in addition to a separate joint-venture loan that remains undisclosed.

Read more: Chosun (GDP share), Chosun (mine collateral)

Dam Release Ordered as Rivers Top Danger Lines

Xe Lanong 1 Hydropower Dam in Savannakhet began releasing water on August 11 as heavy rains pushed inflows from 650 to as much as 4,000 cubic meters a second, causing the provincial administration to warn nine downstream districts to move livestock, boats and equipment to higher ground. Nam Theun 2 Power Company paused generation and stopped releasing water into the Xe Bangfai on August 7 to reduce pressure downstream. The Mekong River Commission expected alarm-level water in Vientiane on August 11, followed by Thakhek and Pakse on August 12.

Read more: The Star

Lawmakers Consider VAT Break on Electricity

The National Assembly Standing Committee floated dropping the 10 percent VAT on subsidized residential power to protect low-income households from rate hikes. Lawmakers have not said which households would qualify, how the subsidy would work, or when it might take effect. The VAT has swung before, falling to 7 percent as pandemic relief before going back to 10 percent in March 2024.

Read more: Laotian Times

Satellite Images Confirm Dam Construction

Satellite images show earthworks and access roads at the Pak Beng site, the first concrete (bad pun?) evidence that construction has started on the Chinese-Thai joint venture. It will be the most upstream mainstream dam built on the Mekong. Power generation, mostly for export to Thailand, is expected to begin by 2033. Environmental assessments show downstream fisheries in Thailand and beyond could be affected by sediment and flow changes. There is still no public timeline for resettlement or compensation.

Read more: Eurasia Review

Chinese Rare Earth Mine Goes Quiet

A Chinese-run rare earth mining setup has stopped digging, and the companies involved saying the pause is meant to ensure compliance with local law. They did not say which regulation forced the stop or when work might pick up again. The news is strange because the biggest Chinese rare earth producers have reported some of their strongest first-half earnings on record recently as they ride demand for the magnets and alloys that are used heavily in (among other things) EVs.

Read more: Nikkei Asia

Paris Baguette Picks KOLAO

Paris Baguette opened its first store in Laos on August 11 at KokKok Mega Mall Patuxay in Vientiane. It’s a 360-square-meter bakery cafe run under a 2024 master franchise with KOLAO Group affiliate Grandview Property. It’s the Korean chain's seventh Southeast Asian market and, according to the company, the first Korean bakery to enter the country. The market is still small. World Coffee Portal counts fewer than 180 branded coffee shop outlets (Thailand's Cafe Amazon leads with 104), and things the market will only grow past 222 outlets by 2030.

Read more: Business Korea, News Article Insiders, World Coffee Portal

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Attapeu Gives 10 Officials Life

The Attapeu Provincial People's Court sentenced 15 officials for a corruption scheme that ran from 2021 to 2024, and ten of them are getting life in prison. The ringleader was 37-year-old Sulixay "Mou" Suliyalay, a former deputy section head in the research department. Investigators followed about $7.2 million via defendants who converted dong into kip and baht to (try and) cover their tracks. The court put the province's confirmed loss at millions of dollars. Provincial finance and planning officials took most of the life sentences; lesser terms ran from two and a half to five years.

Read more: Laotian Times

Vientiane Raids Net 63 Scam Suspects

Police hit six rented properties in Sikhottabong and Hatsayfong districts, rounding up 57 Chinese nationals, four Lao, one Cambodian, and one Thai in an alleged telecom fraud setup. Officers also found thousands (thousands!) of phones, dozens of computers, and several unregistered vehicles. Authorities say the Chinese suspects will be handed over to Chinese police after questioning, the Cambodian will be deported, and all 63 are going to be blacklisted from re-entry. The bust comes after a busy July, when 1,044 people were detained, including 589 in a single raid on ST Vegas Company. Six months into 2026, Prime Minister Sonexay Siphandone told the National Assembly that cybercrime arrests already number more than 4,400.

Read more: Laotian Times (national arrests), Laotian Times (July raids)

Vietnam Pipeline Talks Follow March Fuel Crisis

Vietnam and Laos set a $4 billion bilateral trade target for 2026 and $10 billion by 2030 at ministerial talks in Hanoi, building on $3.196 billion in 2025 trade. Ministers Malaythong Kommasith and Le Manh Hung committed to government-to-government fuel procurement and will keep looking into a cross-border fuel pipeline. It’s important to push forward now because Vietnam needed to truck in 50 million liters of emergency fuel in March as more than 1,000 of the country's filling stations sat dry. First-half 2026 trade was $1.305 billion. The pipeline is still in the feasibility study stage, there is no construction current timeline or cost estimate available.

Read more: Laotian Times

Thailand Tenders High-Speed Rail to Lao Border

Thailand will open bidding in December for eight civil works contracts covering the 357-kilometer second phase of its high-speed rail line, from Nakhon Ratchasima (Korat) to Nong Khai on the Lao border. Construction is expected to start next calendar year and finish in 2031. Phase one, from Bangkok to Nakhon Ratchasima, is a little more than halfway built and due to open in 2030, meaning Thailand's high-speed network is likely to get to the border almost a decade after the China-Laos link began running. That railway's annual cargo has almost doubled since 2022, and more than 400,000 cross-border passengers used it in the first half of this year. Xi Jinping put the heat on Thongloun Sisoulith in June to do what he can to speed the corridor up.

Read more: Asian News Network

Savannakhet Border Goes Cashless

Deputy PM and Finance Minister Santiphab Phomvihane took a tour of the Second Lao-Thai Friendship Bridge cargo terminal and Savannakhet Dry Port and told everyone that every customs duty, tax, and government fee needed to be paid through the Ministry of Finance's Payment Gateway. The traffic is the reason for the attention and clarification. $6.65 billion in goods passed through the dry port in 1H ‘26, and the checkpoint collected 1,597.674 billion kip, more than three-quarters of the annual target. Fuel imports delivered 933.2 billion kip, more than double the six-month plan. Officials also showed off a spiffy new vehicle-tracking system for government monitoring.

Read more: Asian News Network

LDB Takes Accusers to Thai Court

Lao Development Bank and the Bank of the Lao PDR met Thailand's Central Investigation Bureau to talk legal action against three Thai social media accounts that connected the bank to scam-connected money laundering networks. The trouble started with a post accusing LDB of running payment gateways for gambling and scam operations and naming a senior executive at Chaleun Sekong Energy, which owns 70 percent of LDB, as directly involved. CIB has not publicly named the three accounts and says it will press charges only if it finds the posts were shared deliberately. Two days before the CIB meeting, the central bank said it found no evidence of money laundering or terrorist financing at LDB.

Read more: Laotian Times

State Fuel Looks at 2030 Stock Listing

Lao State Fuel Company cut its headcount by almost a fifth last year to 504 staff, as net profit rose about 70 percent to LAK 70.24 billion, (~$3.1 million). Fuel loss was down about 8 percent, and the company added LAK 1.023 billion, (~$45,000), to the national budget. Director Viengthong Vongthavilay is bringing in international consultants to audit assets ahead of converting LSFC into a public company with a Lao Stock Exchange listing. The company is aiming for 1.88 billion liters in cumulative sales through 2030 and has signed an agreement with Electricite du Laos to see if fast chargers might find a home at its 19 fuel depots nationwide.

Read more: Laotian Times

Digital ID App Retires the Family Book

Laos launched its LAeID digital identity app nationwide, letting citizens store ID cards, passports, birth and marriage certificates, driver's licenses, and vehicle registrations in a unified wallet that’s wired into the national population database. The app has seen 5,000 downloads thus far (in a country of 7.5 million). The old paper household registration book, along with the previous white and green national ID cards, will no longer be accepted for administrative procedures. The rollout comes after the nationwide issuance of chip-equipped biometric ID cards with QR codes and a decision to retire the Family Book for citizens already in the digital registry. Japan, South Korea, and Vietnam have been keen backers of the digital push.

Read more: Biometricupdate (app background), Laotian Times (ministry push)

Consumers Get an App, Suppliers a Clock

The Ministry of Industry and Commerce's new SIENG app, built with UK aid money and GIZ support, lets shoppers file complaints with photos, videos, and invoices attached. Suppliers have three days to reply and great seven more to resolve the issue. If they can’t muster that, then consumers are anble escalate to regulators, who will invite the supplier to explain within 10 working days and rule within 30 days of getting that explanation.

Read more: VDB Loi

That's all for this week, thanks for reading. Your voice matters to us. Feel we're missing something? Have additional sources to suggest? Don't hold back- hit reply and tell us what you think.

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The Memo is published weekdays - Cambodia (every Monday), Myanmar (Tuesday), Laos (Wednesday), Vietnam (Thursday) and Thailand (Friday). The Thailand edition is free in its entirety; the others usually abbreviated for non-paid subscribers.

Please go to https://www.mekongmemo.com/account to select country editions you would like to receive without affecting your overall subscription status.

No Autopsy, No Charges in Vang Vieng Methanol Deaths

Twenty months after six tourists died from suspected methanol poisoning at the Nana Backpackers Hostel in Vang Vieng, police have closed the case without any charges against the hostel's owner or staff. At a press conference kept closed to foreign media, Police Colonel Khamphong Vongdalasene said investigators lacked evidence that any individual had caused the deaths. The gap was basic and brutal. No autopsies were performed on the victims, who included Australian teenagers Bianca Jones and Holly Morton-Bowles and British lawyer Simone White. A local vodka maker was charged only with running an illegal business and selling products “harmful to health.” Only Australian, UK and Danish diplomats were admitted to the briefing, in addition to local media. Shaun Bowles, Morton-Bowles' father, said the findings were "an excuse." Karsten Sorensen, whose daughter Freja also died, was harsher, saying authorities were trying to cover something up and calling the process corrupt and incompetent.

Read more: ABC

Luang Prabang Dam Almost 3/4 Complete

The Luang Prabang dam is almost three-quarters complete, keeping it on track for a 2030 startup and 1,460 megawatts of run-of-river capacity by way of its seven turbines. Thailand's CK Power owns half the project, Gulf Hydropower holds a fifth, and CH. Karnchang, TTW, and PT Sole split the rest. Most of the electricity will be bound for Thailand. The $5 billion project is about 25 kilometers from Luang Prabang's UNESCO old town, which has been cause for years of heritage warnings. At a recent site visit, officials said the fears had been addressed, without saying how. If the dam is finished as planned, it will become the Mekong mainstream's third dam after Xayabouly and Don Sahong. Six more are planned.

Read more: Laotian Times

Electricity Exports to Vietnam Up 120 Percent

Electricity exports to Vietnam more than doubled in a 120 percent year-on-year increase to a record 2.92 billion kilowatt-hours in Q1 2026. By the end of 2025, Hanoi had approved imports from 47 power projects with a combined capacity of more than 8,260 megawatts. Of that, 2,379 MW is already feeding into the grid. Vientiane also signed a concession for an 80 MW Xekaman 4 hydropower project in Sekong, with all of its output planned to be sent to Vietnam. Bilateral trade was $1.305 billion in the first half, led by gold, potassium chloride, and electrical machinery. Hanoi has also broken ground on the 60-kilometer Vinh-Thanh Thuy Expressway to the border, the first stretch of a planned Vientiane-Hanoi corridor.

Read more: Laotian Times

Hotel Raid Nets 51 in Furniture Scam

Police nabbed 51 foreigners, including Japanese, Chinese, and Taiwanese citizens, at a Xieng Khouang hotel, and have accused them of running an online furniture and home-appliance scam. Officers took more than 100 phones, computers, and other call-center fraud kit from the rooms. The raid came after a tip from a local resident.

Read more: News on Japan

Squishy Toys Pulled From Shelves Over Benzene

Laos ordered a stop on imports and sales of non-certified Squishy toys after inspections found excessive benzene levels in the TikTok-popular stress toys. Authorities say at least three children got rashes, blister-like burns, eye irritation, fever and vomiting after playing with them.

Read more: Laotian Times

Storms Swamp Khammouane's Rice Paddies

Storms Maysak and Bavi dumped ten days of rain on Khammouane's Khounkham district, flooding 3,234 hectares of paddy in 19 villages and leaving 1,365 families evaluating the damage. The district's Disaster Management Committee put losses at LAK 39.7 billion (~$1.75M). Cassava and rubber plantations, irrigation canals, and livestock were also hit. The 2026 flood response plan is tightening oversight of almost a hundred hydropower operators and putting local coordinators on-site at dams.

Read more: Laotian Times

Vientiane Tells Online Sellers to Register

Vientiane's Department of Industry and Commerce says the rule isn’t new, but it’s time to comply. Online sellers have needed a business registration and e-commerce license since 2023, with fines up to LAK 10 million (~$440). Nationwide E-Trust registration became mandatory on February 1, 2026, letting even home-based sellers in remote provinces file online. Rules also require Lao-language labels, pricing in the kip, and a ban on unapproved pyramid or fundraising schemes. The notice draws no distinction between domestic and foreign operators.

Read more: Laotian Times

Gas Pumps Get an Electric Makeover

The State Fuel Company and Electricite du Laos are looking into whether state-owned petrol stations can become EV fast-charging hubs, with chargers built for both the international CCS Type 2 standard and China's GB/T plug. The study also investigates the viability of turning old fuel stops into energy hubs with cafés, restaurants and convenience stores. Petrol and diesel vehicle imports are mostly banned through the end of 2026, and even though Laos runs largely on hydropower, it still pays for every drop of fuel in foreign currency. No cost estimate or rollout date was provided.

Read more: The Star (agreements), Fuel Cells Works (import ban)

Government-Majority Venture to Certify Its Own Products

The Ministry of Industry and Trade has given inspection and certification duties to a new outfit called State-owned Enterprises for Checking Standards and Certifying Product Quality Limited. Fifty one percent of the company is held by the government and 49 percent by Lao Standard Control Co. The company will test goods against national standards and issue certificates of legality before they hit shelves or cross borders. Officials say that consumer complaints filed through the National Assembly hotline as the trigger. No fee schedule or testing timeline was published.

Read more: Laotian Times

Party Turns Heritage Into a Tourism Line Item

The Party Central Committee wants more money out of culture. It approved the Lao Cultural Values Promotion Association, tasking it with turning heritage into a creative economy for artists, performers, and cultural entrepreneurs. Association president Savanhkhone Razmountry says cultural attractions already pull in four to five million visitors a year. The launch came in the wake of Vientiane's first khaen festival, tying the UNESCO-listed instrument to the government's 2026-2030 cultural and tourism strategy. That strategy also covers a pending UNESCO bid for Larb (the food) and a planned nomination for the Su Khuan blessing ceremony. The association's first job will be a national inventory of intangible cultural assets. In a separate development, ASEAN assessors are arriving in mid-August to inspect Nakai-Nam Theun’s 4,000 sq km for Heritage Park status, which officials hope to secure in 2028. UNESCO World Heritage inscription is queued for 2029, with an IUCN Green List bid running alongside. The park is more than four-fifths forest and home to the critically endangered saola. It was added to UNESCO’s tentative list in 2025 and completed its Green List gap analysis last October.

Read more: TravelMole (tourism target), VietnamPlus (khaen), The Star (heritage park)

Southern Laos Development Wish List

Prime Minister Sonexay Siphandone told officials in Champasak to stop shipping raw minerals and start processing, branding and selling them to export standards. He’s pushing a regional plan for the regions of Champasak, Salavan, Xekong and Attapeu that also calls for dry ports, cold storage, solar-powered irrigation and simplified customs procedures.

Read more: Asian News Network

That's all for this week, thanks for reading. Your voice matters to us. Feel we're missing something? Have additional sources to suggest? Don't hold back- hit reply and tell us what you think.

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If you value the Mekong Memo, please consider buying (or gifting!) a paid subscription, sharing it on social media or forwarding this email to someone who might enjoy it. Please also “like” this newsletter by clicking the ❤️ below (or sometimes above, depending on the platform), which helps us get visibility on the Substack network.

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Horton International is your premier partner for executive search in Southeast Asia. Whether you're a small startup or a global corporation, our reliable and effective recruiting solutions are tailored to meet your unique needs. With extensive experience and offices across the region, we excel at overcoming recruitment challenges and securing top talent for your organization.

Click here to learn how Horton can make your life easier.

The Memo is published weekdays - Cambodia (every Monday), Myanmar (Tuesday), Laos (Wednesday), Vietnam (Thursday) and Thailand (Friday). The Thailand edition is free in its entirety; the others usually abbreviated for non-paid subscribers.

Please go to https://www.mekongmemo.com/account to select country editions you would like to receive without affecting your overall subscription status.

Tiger Vodka Owner Could Get a Year in Jail

Lao prosecutors charged the owner of the Tiger Vodka distillery with selling food harmful to health and running an illegal business, charges that together carry up to one year in jail and an A$1,600 fine, after the November 2024 methanol poisoning that killed two Australians, two Danes, a Briton, and an American in Vang Vieng. The Ministry of Public Security says it’s unable to pin the deaths on any one person because no autopsies were done, even though the Food and Drug Research Center found excessive methanol in Tiger Vodka and a Thai hospital confirmed methanol in the two Australian victims' blood. Canberra raised its travel advisory to "exercise a high degree of caution," sent special envoy Pablo Kang, and summoned the Lao ambassador. Foreign Minister Penny Wong said the outcome was "bitterly disappointing" and is going to press Vientiane again at ASEAN talks in Manila. There is still room for a negligent homicide charge.

Read more: NewsNation (travel warning), BBC (MethaKnow campaign), Laotian Times (charges), CP24 (autopsy dispute), The Guardian (Australia response)

Heroin Trail Runs to Melbourne

Authorities arrested two people over a network that was moving product across the Mekong into Thailand, then on to Australia and Taiwan, hidden in silk clothing, coffee sachets, handicrafts, and winter jackets. The case is connected to the 26-year-old Thai Airways flight attendant caught at Melbourne Airport with 1.8 kilograms of heroin stitched into two elephant-embroidered tote bags. Five of six suspects are now in custody in Thailand and Laos; a third suspect is still at large.

Read more: Laotian Times

Decree No. 112 Puts Teeth Behind Late Payments

Miss a land lease or concession payment now and the meter starts ticking up 10% a month, then 20% on a second offense and 30% on the third, under Decree No. 112. Miners will get the same escalating scale on unpaid royalties. Forestry operators and industrial water users also get hit (even harder), with penalties of 200% of the unpaid royalty on a first violation, 300% on a second, and 400% on the third. The same rates will apply to anyone who misreports the amount, quality, category, or type of resource extracted. The decree fills a gap where lease contract law previously didn’t have much to say about penalties, treating nonpayment as a contractual breach rather than a regulatory one.

Read more: VDB Loi

Hong Kong Signs Up to Refine and Trade Gold

Hong Kong's Christopher Hui Ching-yu signed an MOU in Vientiane with Deputy PM and Finance Minister Santiphab Phomvihane, giving "qualified" gold owners access to Hong Kong's accredited refining network and capital markets for pricing and liquidity. The deal is part of Hong Kong's gold buildout, including a central clearing and settlement system that began trial runs earlier this month, plans to push vault capacity past 2,000 tonnes in the next three years, and a new HAU price ticker. Hui suggested it as a way to turn "natural gold endowment" into "investable, transparent assets." The announcement gave no figures for current gold output or export volumes. The agreement also covers work with the Shanghai Gold Exchange.

Read more: The Standard (market), Asian News Network (AML work)

Poverty Falls Nationally, Rises in Cities

The World Bank's new poverty profile puts the national rate at 15% in 2024, down from almost a quarter in 2012, meaning there are about 500,000 fewer poor people despite a growing population. More than four-fifths of poor workers still farm for a living, and urban poverty has been on the rise since 2018, with the urban share of the country's poor rising to almost one-fifth. Hydropower and mining have driven GDP growth without creating many jobs, and young people are more likely than older workers to be economically inactive or stuck in unpaid family labor. The share of households getting remittances has more than doubled since 2018, from about one in eleven to more than one in five.

Read more: World Bank

Permits Before Plug-ins

Homeowners installing EV chargers now need technical approval from the Ministry of Industry and Commerce, under rules from the Ministry of Public Works and Transport. Public stations are going under the microscope too, with developers required to submit site, safety, and grid-capacity plans before starting work. Existing stations built without prior approval need to register with provincial authorities for inspection, but the announcement did not specify a timeframe. New stations are going to be limited to approved sites, shopping centers, hotels, office buildings, transport hubs, airports, petrol stations, and large residential developments.

Read more: Laotian Times

Attapeu Court Orders Nine to Repay $1.26M

Nine defendants convicted by the Attapeu Provincial People's Court must return nearly LAK 28 billion (~$1.26M), to the state for illegal currency trading, unlawful lending, and usury. Each also got a suspended one-year prison sentence and a LAK 10 million fine, (~$455). The nine will also have to cover investigation and court costs.

Read more: Laotian Times

Lavrov Meets Vientiane First in Manila

Sergey Lavrov opened his ASEAN sideline meetings with counterpart Thongsavanh Phomvihane before anyone else (including the hosts), ahead of the 15th anniversary of Russia's strategic partnership declaration with Vientiane. He made a point of mentioning President Thongloun Sisoulith's turn at Moscow's Victory Day parade and Prime Minister Sonexay Siphandone's appearance at the Russia-ASEAN summit in Kazan. Both sides claimed "similar positions" on regional and global matters but offered no detail on substance.

Read more: Anadolu Agency

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