Laos

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The Big Story

Asia's scamdemic: How COVID-19 supercharged online crime

Internet predators are often the prey in Thailand's lawless border zones

16 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
Chainalysis said Thailand and Vietnam saw high web traffic to marketplaces for non-fungible tokens.
Cryptocurrencies

Thailand and Vietnam emerge as ASEAN crypto trading hot spots

Each country logs over $100bn transactions in a year, topping Singapore

21 September 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
Singapore uses rooftop solar panels, but their generating capacity is limited.
Energy

Singapore opens taps on renewable-energy imports with Laos deal

Far-reaching strategy stretches to Australian desert, but carries risks

18 August 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
Sanya Souvanna Phouma inside Funky Lam, a restaurant launched by the serial entrepreneur in Bangkok. "I was burning to create something new," Sanya says of his early days in the Thai capital after leaving France. (Courtesy of Sanya Souvanna Phouma)
Life

Bangkok's king of clubbing plots fresh projects

Lao impresario Sanya Souvanna Phouma returns to his roots

17 June 2022
Sirichalernxay CEO Soulixay wants LoudChat to become an essential part of Laotian's daily life. (Screenshot by Kosuke Inoue)
Technology

Laos launches first homegrown messaging app

Rollout raises concerns of increased government surveillance

6 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
A containership off Singapore: Europe accounts for 9% of ASEAN exports, according to Maybank.
Ukraine war

ASEAN faces 'collateral damage' from Ukraine war's Europe impact

From Singapore to Thailand, spillover threatens COVID-hit economies anew

27 March 2022
Wildlife for sale last year at a market in Khammouane Province, Laos. (Courtesy of WWF-Greater Mekong)
16 March 2022
From period poverty to menopause, women's health issues have historically been sidelined by the medical industry. Ahead of International Women's Day, we take a look at some of Asia's femtech startups that are addressing women's unmet health care needs. 
The Big Story

Asia's femtech revolution: the quest for better women's health

Underserved by mainstream health care, women from India to Japan turn to technology

2 March 2022
Suriyan Vitchtlekarn, executive director of the Mekong Institute, spoke to Nikkei Asia.
Interview

U.S. needs careful Mekong strategy to counter China: expert

Mekong Institute executive director says region is key focus for superpowers

6 February 2022
The railway was built by a Chinese state-owned company at a cost of around $6 billion, 70% of which was borne by China.
International relations

China-Laos railway begins with limited service

Southeast Asia's first high-speed link to stop at Chinese border for now

3 December 2021
The China-Laos bullet train will compress what is normally a two-day road trek through rugged mountain terrain into a brisk three hours or so.
Belt and Road

China-Laos high-speed railway set to roll through COVID cloud

Southeast Asian country's rising infections reduce pomp of Friday's launch

30 November 2021
Left: A model of the statue that a Chinese company plans to build in Vientiane. Right: The Pha That Luang stupa in Laos. (Source photo by Reuters and Vientiane's Special Economic Zone Promotion and Management Office)
International relations

Chinese developer provokes ire in Laos with 100-meter Buddha statue

Locals who follow another sect protest structure set to become capital's tallest

28 October 2021
The ambassador of the permanent representative mission of Afghanistan to Geneva listens to a statement during the Human Rights Council special session at the European headquarters of the United Nations in Geneva on Aug. 24.
Opinion

States can no longer turn a blind eye to jailed human rights defenders

Urgent issue concerns every United Nations-member state

14 October 2021
A night market in Laos: The country's central bank will study the possibility of issuing a digital currency.
Currencies

Laos enlists Japan startup for study on digital currency

ASEAN member is latest China-linked economy to seek new payment options

3 October 2021
Chinese Vice President Wang Qishan said on Friday that Beijing will "treat ASEAN as a priority."
Belt and Road

China promises to raise imports from ASEAN ahead of new rail link

Train line to Vientiane, third connection for the bloc, due to open Dec. 2

10 September 2021
Thai e-commerce unicorn Flash Express is joining with AIF Group to develop Laos market.  (Photo courtesy of the company) 
Business deals

Thai unicorn Flash Express partners with AIF Group in Laos

E-commerce startup looks to expand later in Cambodia and Vietnam using Lao network

9 September 2021
Gold medalist Sunisa Lee of the U.S. celebrates her victory in the women's gymnastics all-around event.
Tokyo 2020 Olympics

Sunisa Lee's gold medal stirs hopes for Hmong in US

Gymnast's grit in face of hardship resonates with Laotian group's past

3 August 2021
This Chinese-financed expressway connecting Vientiane with Vang Vieng in Laos opened at the end of 2020.
Belt and Road

Laos deepens reliance on China for key transport projects

Construction cost could amount to around $18bn amid 'debt trap' concerns

12 July 2021
A food seller sails her boat at Cai Rang floating market on Mekong river in Can Tho, Vietnam, on May 5: more than 70 million people rely on the river for their livelihood.
Opinion

Why we should care about fate of the Mekong

Worsening environmental degradation will impact millions

12 July 2021