Govt seeks to increase bank deposits to 84 percent of GDP
The government has announced its intention to increase deposits in commercial banks to 84 percent of Gross Domestic Product by 2020, up from the 57 percent expected in 2016, in a bid to meet growing development needs. Governor of the Bank of the Lao PDR, Mr. Somphao Phaysith, this week presented the next four-year currency plan to the ongoing ordinary session of the National Assembly following the government’s proposal to revise the four-year national socio-economic development plan. To achieve this target, it would be necessary to increase deposits to 23,067 billion kip annually, he told the session, which is currently debating the proposal to revise the 2017-2020 socio-economic development plan, the budget plan and the currency plan. The move is aimed at boosting economic growth, with the government asking the Assembly to lower the average annual growth rate from the previously approved 7.5 to 7.2 percent over the next four years.
