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China Opens Air Force Training Center
China has opened a military support center and pilot academy at Ban Keun Airport in Vientiane Province. Beijing says that China and Laos will run the facilities together in order to train Lao Air Force pilots, but its keeping quiet about the specific personnel, equipment and buildings that will be based there. The ministry has been at pains to assure everyone that the operation threatens “no one.” This is China's third publicly confirmed overseas military outpost.
Read more: Straits Times, SCMP, Global Times, Unn UA, Firstpost
U.S. Sets Triple-Digit Duties on Solar Panels
The U.S. Commerce Department has set anti-dumping margins of 65.43 percent on solar cells and panels from Laos, in addition to countervailing duties as high as 153.67 percent. The decision came as the result of efforts by an American manufacturers' group that includes First Solar and Hanwha Qcells. Commerce says Chinese producers moved their assembly work to Southeast Asia after Washington first put duties on their (Chinese) panels in 2012, and that the same producers are now behind shipments from Laos, India and Indonesia. The International Trade Commission is due to decide on October 14 whether U.S. manufacturers have been harmed. A “yes” decision there would clear the way for final orders in November.
Read more: Solarbytes Info
Thanaleng's Filings Tell Three Different Stories
Thanaleng Dry Port's paperwork doesn’t add up. An IFC filing puts its cost at $91.5 million and says Sitthi Logistics owns nearly all of it. But a 2023 presentation by the port's managing director showed a state-owned company holding a one-fifth stake. Developer press releases have also varied wildly, valuing the dry port and adjoining logistics park at all of $727 million, then $195 million and later $547 million. The China-Laos Railway has carried more than 90 million tonnes of cargo since December 2021, but it’s not clear how much of that has physically passed through Thanaleng.
Read more: Indrastra
Facebook Critic Vanishes Before Asylum Interview
Khieo Lapchanh, 26, vanished in Thailand's Samut Sakhon province on September 15, the day before he was due to seek asylum at the UNHCR office in Bangkok. His Khiew Chennel Facebook page managed to gain 159,000 followers by mocking officials over unbuilt roads in Xayaboury and the Siphandone family's hold on power. That brought online warnings telling him to change his behavior, and he later went quiet because he feared for his safety. The Manushya Foundation, which says it helped draft his asylum letter, suspects Lao authorities are behind his disappearance.
Read more: Radio Free Asia
Swine Fever Empties Vientiane's Pork Counters
African swine fever has forced some vendors to stop selling pork at Vientiane's Phontong Market. Beef has jumped LAK 20,000, or about $0.90, per kilogram, and the higher price is keeping customers away. The Agriculture and Environment Ministry reported 14,002 pigs dead or culled by September 24; family farms took nearly 80% of the losses. Damage to the industry is about LAK 58.8 billion (~$2.6M). Pork imports are currently suspended, and restrictions on pork entering the capital are still in force even when they are sourced from areas that outbreaks have been contained.
Read more: Laotian Times
School Fees, Power Bills Push Inflation to 7.8%
Consumer prices went up 7.8 percent in September, a sliver above the 7.7 percent in August. The new school year raised education costs by nearly a fifth, forcing families to pay more for tuition, uniforms and textbooks. Housing, water, electricity and cooking gas also went up by almost a third after the government increased utility tariffs. Officials blamed higher global oil prices for transport costs that are feeding into other goods. Inflation averaged 7.9 percent in the first nine months of 2026, that’s a number that’s down from 8.8 percent in the year-ago period.
Read more: Laotian Times
Attapeu Audit Finds $4 Million in Losses
Attapeu's anti-corruption agency says an investigation covering 2024 and 2025 and 38 people (including 24 state officials) over alleged corruption, currency violations, unlicensed lending and forged project guarantees has found some results. Investigators specifically flagged LAK 90.12 billion (~$4M) that seems to have left the provincial treasury without original supporting documents, though they stopped short of calling it all stolen. Confirmed losses were about $2.9 million. Authorities say they have recovered $949,000 in addition to land, vehicles, gold jewelry and phones.
Read more: Laotian Times
Xaysomboun Finds Gold Under Stone Permits
Stone and sand permits allegedly became cover for gold mining in Xaysomboun, where provincial inspectors found four companies working outside what their paperwork permitted. AFA Exploration Mining and Agriculture Trading Export-Import was processing gold in Thathom District using a stone and sand permit. Authorities say Kesana Herchaleun was running a similar operation in Anouvong District, where a raid resulted in seized equipment and the detention of seven people. Two other companies were also identified for the same practice in Nam Yon Village.
Read more: Laotian Times
Vientiane Seeks Leg-up After LDC Graduation
Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Thongsavan Phomvihane struck a confident but needy note at the United Nations by saying that Laos is ready to leave Least Developed Country status by the end of 2026, but also asking the body to keep money flowing even after it happens. Laos has cleared all three UN graduation tests, but Vientiane hasn’t said how much it wants from the Lasting Graduation Support Facility. The government is also planning a 2027 to 2031 UNICEF program focused on health, education and nutrition for women and children.
Read more: Nation Thailand, The Star
Meditation Center Shut Over Buddha Claim
Vientiane shut the KM38 Dharma Practice Center after its longtime head, Thongkeo Soumphonphakdy, decided to declare herself the reincarnation of Maitreya Buddha. Authorities ordered her to appear before a counseling committee and to “correct” the claim online, and also told her that a refusal would bring a nationwide ban on her religious work, but she apparently decided to take her chances. Officials have now cancelled the center's operating authorization, and Pakngum district has taken control of the Sangsai village compound.
Read more: Laotian Times
Central Bank Blocks Cards for Foreign Crypto
The Bank of the Lao PDR is telling banks and payment providers to find and block card codes connected to crypto trading on unauthorized foreign platforms. The central bank says customers have been using international cards to buy crypto on unlicensed exchanges. The notice doesn’t say whether the rules also cover licensed operators such as Bitqik, which still advertises the possibility of making purchases with Visa, Mastercard, or bank transfer. The central bank has had some limits restricting card purchases of crypto since 2018.
Read more: Laotian Times
New Train Makes Boten-Vientiane a Day Trip
Train C95 leaves Boten at 8 a.m. and gets to Vientiane at 11:47, a run of three hours and 47 minutes that allows northern residents to do business in the capital and get home the same night. C96 heads back north at 2:05 p.m. and gets to Boten at 6:32, with stops in Nateuy, Muang Xay, Luang Prabang and Vang Vieng. Passenger traffic on the Kunming-Vientiane line has risen more than 50 percent over the past year.
Read more: The Star, Global Times
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