Economy

9 September 2024
Markets in Laos offer an array of tempting treats, but locals are struggling with dwindling purchasing power. (Photo by Ken Kobayashi)
John Lee, center, in Ho Chi Minh City. He is the first Hong Kong chief executive to visit Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos. (Photo by Lien Hoang)
Trade

Hong Kong has ASEAN backing to join RCEP trade pact: John Lee

City goes on charm offensive after COVID-19, security law dent reputation

6 August 2024
Laos recently ousted the head of its central bank as authorities in the debt-laden country scramble for scarce foreign currency. (Nikkei montage/Source photos by Ken Kobayashi)
Economy

Laos central bank shake-up reveals forex crisis, China dependence

Vientiane may need more help from Beijing to stem cash outflows

14 July 2024
Laos' weakening currency threatens faster food price inflation. (Photo by Kenya Akama)
Economy

Laos, other debt-laden Asia-Pacific nations under pressure from strong dollar

ADB boosts funding for vulnerable countries amid debt trap fears

7 May 2024
The Laotian kip has depreciated by more than 10% from a year earlier. (Photo by Ken Kobayashi)
International relations

ASEAN finance chiefs to seek progress on cross-border payments

Host nation Laos looks to soften economic fallout from China slowdown

5 April 2024
The Nam Ou hydroelectric plant, consisting of seven dams, is one of the largest power generation facilities in Laos' north. (Photo by Kenya Akama)
Energy

China goes big on Laos power projects, boosting Southeast Asian sway

Belt and Road Mekong River dams help Beijing secure renewable energy

12 March 2024
A ship transports containers down the Mekong River. Recently installed Cambodian PM Hun Manet said the $1.7 billion China-backed canal project would allow his country to "breathe through our own nose," diverting its goods for export directly to its own coast rather than via the Vietnam-controlled Mekong Delta. (Photo by Jack Brook)
Asia Insight

Cambodia to divert Mekong trade via China-built canal, vexing Vietnam

Planned Phnom Penh-coast link raises alarms amid regional influence tussle

12 March 2024
Luang Prabang, the historic royal capital and spiritual heartland of Laos, is a prime tourist destination in the Southeast Asian nation. (Photo by Kenya Akama)
Travel & Leisure

New railway from China boosts tourism in Laos' ancient capital

Sector is on the rise, but high inflation is threatening economic recovery

11 February 2024
Laborers stand on top of the illuminated grand temple of Lord Ram ahead of its opening in Ayodhya in India.
Your Week in Asia

India opens Ayodhya Hindu temple, BOJ meeting, Hyundai Motor earnings

Your weekly lineup of Asia's biggest business and political events

21 January 2024
Patuxai monument in Vientiane: Between 2017 and 2022, the volume of public and publicly guaranteed debt in Laos rose to 112% of GDP from 52%. (Photo by Ken Kobayashi)
Opinion

Laos is getting a handle on its debt

Controls on borrowing to be tightened and revenue collection improved

15 January 2024
Chinese President Xi Jinping and foreign leaders, including Russian President Vladimir Putin, pose for a group photo at the Third Belt and Road Forum on October 18, 2023 in Beijing, China.
Belt and Road

On topic: A decade of China's Belt and Road

A collection of stories to catch up on a recent hot topic

21 October 2023
Bets are placed at a small gambling hall in the Golden Triangle Special Economic Zone. (Photo by Alastair McCready)
Asia Insight

Will Laos' economic zones boost growth or bring in criminals?

Amid bold plans, experts say border hubs like Boten face uncertain prospects

10 October 2023
A recently erected ChinaAid sign stands in front of Laos' national monument in Vientiane. (Photo by Alastair McCready)
Economy

Laos debt at 'critical level' with China payments still opaque

Economists say ASEAN nation obscuring true scale of crisis

22 September 2023
Tourists use kayaks on the river in Vang Vieng, Laos, in July 2022.
Economy

Laos' tourism-driven economic recovery hinges on China

New cross-border railway brings in Chinese money, and concerns about influence

7 June 2023
A former member of the Myanmar parliament trains in an area controlled by ethnic Karen rebels.
Myanmar Crisis

Myanmar clashes stall completion of Southeast Asia economic corridor

Fighting along border with Thailand drives shipping costs to soar 50%

18 May 2023
The Laotian central bank's test of its digital currency will involve consumers using the currency to pay for purchases at stores. (Photo obtained by Nikkei)
Currencies

Laos begins digital currency trial with Japan blockchain company

Southeast Asian country explores cross-border payments to get ahead of the curve

7 February 2023
An unexploded cluster bomb dropped by the U.S. military half a century ago is unearthed in Kasi, northern Laos.
Economy

Laos struggles with unexploded bombs 50 years after Paris Accords

Hidden dangers from another era hinder economic development

28 January 2023
A high-speed train pulls into Boten Station in Laos. The Laos–China High-Speed Railway marked the first anniversary of its opening on Dec. 3, 2022. (Photo by Ken Kobayashi) 
Belt and Road

Ambition, concern drive Lao-China high-speed rail project

December marks one year since Vientiane's bet on China's Belt and Road

14 January 2023
Food stalls are seen behind a hotel in a special economic zone in the northern Laotian town of Boten, on the border with China. (Photo by Ken Kobayashi)
Belt and Road

Thriving on China's Belt and Road, Laos border town ditches kip for yuan

But rail cargo still weak due to zero-COVID while debt to Beijing looms large

27 November 2022
A customer hands over Sri Lankan rupee banknotes at an open market in the capital, Colombo. The country is currently experiencing its worst economic crisis in decades. 
The Big Story

Asia's ticking debt bomb: Sri Lanka crisis sounds alarm bells across region

Disaster looms in Laos, Bangladesh and elsewhere as China seems reluctant to take losses on Asian loans

3 October 2022
People line up for gas in Vientiane on June 20 when the Laotian capital almost came to a standstill. (Photo courtesy of U.N. Department of Safety and Security)
Opinion

Laos' financial crisis can be an opportunity for reform

Country's previous growth trajectory was not sustainable

8 September 2022
Laos owes more than half its foreign debt to China, including "hidden obligations," and experts say the Southeast Asian country could end up bartering away land and resources for relief.
Asia Insight

Laos' debt pressure raises specter of a China vassal state

Echoes of Sri Lanka on the Mekong as muzzled public seethes over economic woes

6 September 2022
Drivers line up for fuel at a gas station in Vientiane during mid-June. (Photo by Kosuke Inoue)
Supply Chain

Laos grabs for Russian lifeline as it fights fuel shortage

But cheap fuel risks steep foreign policy price for neutral Vientiane

7 July 2022
Workers at a Chinese-backed hydroelectric dam construction site in Bokeo Province, Laos in 2017. The country's foreign debt is estimated at $1.3 billion, which it must settle by 2025.
Economy

Laos faces public backlash as economy teeters toward default

Debt crisis triggers rare anger against communist leaders on social media

23 June 2022
Laotian President Thongloun Sisoulith has high hopes for a high-speed railway linking the southwestern Chinese city of Kunming with Vientiane. (Source photos by Reuters) 
Transportation

Laos' logistics vision for ASEAN: All rails lead to Vientiane

Government eyes capital as link from Southeast Asia to China

4 April 2022