Investment policy and regulation
Foreign investors
Myanmar grants more firms to invest this month
Myanmar Investment Commission (MIC) has granted 17 local and foreign firms to make investment in the country this month, sources with commission said on 22 September. Keep reading ...
Laos OKs economic zone for smaller Japanese companies
The Laotian government has given the green light to a special economic zone in the southern city of Pakse, a 625-hectare site dedicated to small and midsize Japanese companies. Businesses operating there will have corporate taxes waived for 10 years starting in the first profitable year, among ...
Mega First shares jump 9.22% on news of Laos power plant
Shares in Mega First Corp Bhd soared 19 sen or 9.22% to as high as RM2.25 on 17 September on news that it has secured a power plant project in Laos worth RM2.15 billion. At 2.53pm, Mega First narrowed its gains to trade at RM2.22, still up 16 ...
Mega First gets hydropower concession in Laos
Power and quarry player Mega First Corp Bhd said an 80%-owned unit has secured a 25-year hydropower concession in Laos. The 260MW run-of-river project will cost the firm about US$500mil (RM2.15bil) and the company planned to fund it using internally generated funds and long-term debt. Keep reading ...
Myanmar expects a more vibrant post-election economy
Foreign investors are being wooed to invest more in Myanmar to take advantage of the country’s ASEAN membership and geographic location, which should enhance its attractiveness after the election in November. “By the end of this year, the ASEAN Economic Community will be launched. That means our market will ...
Vietnamese Prime Minister attends launch of giant potash mine in Laos

Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung and his Lao counterpart Thongsing Thammavong on 13 September attended the opening of a large potash mine in Laos. It will be one of Vietnam’s largest international projects. The ground breaking ceremony was held in Nongbok district in Khammouane province. Keep reading ...
Coca-Cola bottler ThaiNamthip opens first Coca-Cola plant in Laos with US$30 million investment
Lao Coca-Cola Bottling Co., Ltd., a joint venture between Coca-Cola bottler in ThailandThaiNamthip Limited and Lao firmPT Sole Co., Ltd., recently inaugurated the first Coca-Cola bottling plant in the Lao People’s Democratic Republic at a ceremony presided over by Mr. Muhtar Kent, Chairman and CEO ...
Vietnam's Deputy PM seeks Laos’ support to Vietnam-invested projects

Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc received Lao Minister of Planning and Investment Somdy Douangdy in Hanoi on 10 September, during which he proposed that Laos support the implementation of Vietnam-invested projects there. Keep reading ...
Analysts: Vietnam primed for financial derivative market

Vietnam’s financial market holds promising potential and the basic foundations to develop derivative products, financial experts told a seminar held by the Hong Kong-based Asia Risk magazine in Singapore on 9 September. Keep reading ...
In Laos' economic zone, a casino and illicit trade beckon in 'lawless playground'
Kings Romans Casino is the centerpiece of the Golden Triangle Special Economic Zone, a 39-square-mile private concession in northwestern Laos, an impoverished communist country of 6.7 million between Thailand and Vietnam. As the name suggests, it is within the Golden Triangle, the area where Thailand, ...