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Headlines:
Economic Engine Chugs Along
Digital Finance for the Unbanked Masses
Southeast Asia's Wind Power Giant Ready to Roar
Uncle Sam's Solar Panel Sledgehammer
China Railway Doubles Down on Laos
Foreign Cash For Agriculture
Public Anger Rises With Power Bill Increases
Cybercrime Crackdown Nets Fraud Ring
Poverty Progress as LDC Graduation Approaches
National Park Gets UNESCO Status
Wildlife Crisis Despite Crackdown
Plastic Waste Swamps the Capital
Severe Flooding Hits Khammuan
Economic Engine Chugs Along
The economy has managed a decent 4.5% in growth for the first half of the year with agriculture and forestry exports hitting $1.12 billion. Under the surface, though, the picture is still murky. Inflation continues to run hot at 11%, and foreign currency reserves are only enough to cover 4.9 months of imports - a razor-thin cushion in the event of any serious economic stumble.
Read more: The Star
Digital Finance for the Unbanked Masses
The Bank of Lao PDR is working with Cambodia and Vietnam to get those who are still unbanked into the system. Women are leading the charge, with account ownership skyrocketing from 37% in 2011 to 73% in 2024, and a new platform called LamoPay just launched for cross-border payments with Vietnam, which should be a boon for both tourism and SMEs.
Read more: Laotian Times (Mobile Banking), Travel and Tour World (Cross-Border Payments)
Southeast Asia's Wind Power Giant Ready to Roar
The $950 million Monsoon Wind Power Project is about to flex, with full operations starting by late August. The 600-megawatt monster - the country's first and largest onshore wind farm - sports 133 turbines that generate 4.51 MW each. All that power will head straight to Vietnam through a 65km transmission line under a 25-year deal, generating (pun intended, sorry) much-needed cash for Vientiane.
Read more: The Star
Uncle Sam's Solar Panel Sledgehammer
The US is proposing (read: threatening) punishing tariffs of up to 3,500% on solar panels imported from Laos (and a few other countries), following complaints from American manufacturers. The extremely high rate is intended to close the door on one of China’s best ways of avoiding existing trade barriers. It’s worth remembering that a reliance on global supply chains comes with risk when trade wars are on the rise.
Read more: AL Circle (Tariff Proposal), Trading View (Industry Petition)
China Railway Doubles Down on Laos
Once upon a time, the China-Laos Railway was little more than a diplomatic showcase. These days, after moving more than half a million passengers since it opened in April 2023, it has turned into a useful (and soon, necessary) travel and cargo route. The company says it will soon double cross-border services with a new daily train run between Kunming and Vientiane. The Fuxing bullet trains run at 160 km/h, so the trip takes 10 hours when all ten stops along the way are accounted for.
Read more: The Daily CPEC
Foreign Cash For Agriculture
International funds are seeing possibility in the Lao ag sector beyond the usual local crops. Vietnamese investors with the Lao-Viet Agriculture Company have committed $3M to get a 50+ hectare land concession for coffee, durian, and blueberries. Separately, Proterra Asia Food Fund 3 is also funding a new blueberry export project.
Read more: Laotian Times (Vietnamese Investment), Fresh Plaza (Proterra Investment)
Public Anger Rises With Power Bill Increases
Household electricity costs have nearly doubled since February's new pricing system kicked in. Low-consumption households now pay LAK 8,900 monthly, heavy users get slammed with bills up to LAK 2.5 million. The government says it will renegotiate electricity purchasing agreements with hydropower producers later this year to try and bring costs down, but patience is wearing thin.
Read more: Asian News Network (Pricing Reforms), The Star (Public Reaction)
Cybercrime Crackdown Nets Fraud Ring
Authorities took down another cross-border fraud operation in the Golden Triangle Special Economic Zone, arresting 59 Vietnamese nationals and 14 Chinese suspects. The gang was running a fake investment platform called ATFX, promising 24% daily returns. The July crackdown involved nearly 200 officers and resulted in the seizure of hundreds of phones and computers, but it remains to be seen if this latest bust will have any lasting effect.
Read more: Laotian Times (Fraud Operation), Bangkok Post (Smuggling), The Real Deal (Golden Triangle)
Poverty Progress as LDC Graduation Approaches
Laos continues to make good progress on one of its more important development goals as several districts have been declared poverty-free this year. Last year’s efforts resulted in more than 31,000 families being pulled out of poverty, but the country still has some way to go as it wants to graduate from Least Developed Country status by 2026.
Read more: Laotian Times
National Park Gets UNESCO Status
Hin Nam No National Protected Area just became the nation's fourth UNESCO World Heritage Site. The 94,121-hectare protected area is the first transboundary natural world heritage site with Vietnam's Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park.
Read more: The Star
Wildlife Crisis Despite Crackdown
Poachers just killed some of the country's rarest animals. One greater hog badger and three red-shanked douc langurs were shot dead in Salavan Province; the douc langur population has crashed 80% over the past 30 years. An investigation by Mongabay recently found more than 20 shops in Luang Prabang and Vientiane still selling ivory, rhino horn, and tiger bones to Chinese tourists.
Read more: Laotian Times (Poaching Incident), Laotian Times (Criminal Prosecution), Mongabay (Illegal Trade Network)
Plastic Waste Swamps the Capital
Vientiane produces 711 tons of household waste every day, with 24% of that being plastic. Somehow, only 500 tons reach landfills, leaving about 18,000 tons of unmanaged plastic waste annually. Things are getting worse as plastic prices fall, cutting waste picker incomes in half while Thailand and Vietnam tighten export rules.
Read more: Laotian Times
Severe Flooding Hits Khammuan
More than 400 households in 25 villages in Khammuan province's Xaybuathong district are underwater, along with 535 hectares of land. Eight roads are currently impassable. The Xebangfay River is getting close to dangerous levels, and more rain is expected.
Read more: The Star (Flooding Impact), Nation Thailand (Typhoon Wipha)
That’s all for this week, thanks for reading.
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