Via East Asia Forum, a look at Laos’ economic future: The economic growth trend in Laos started when it first opened to foreign trade and investment in the early 1990s. Three major economic crises have hit Laos since, profoundly affecting the country’s growth strategies. Laos is a landlocked country whose substantial interaction with the outside world […]
Read more »Via East Asia Forum, commentary on Laos’ debt trap: On 23 September the Fitch Ratings agency downgraded Laos’ credit rating to CCC — the second downgrade in 2020, having dropped to B- in May. Much of the blame lies with COVID-19, which has seen Laos’ economic growth drop from 5.5 per cent in 2019 to a projected 0.5 per cent […]
Read more »Via Fair Observer, a report on how – as Laos braces for the economic impact of COVID-19 – China’s Belt and Road Initiative project in the border town of Boten may become a model of economic colonialism in Southeast Asia: The small Southeast Asian nation of Laos stands out as a success story in COVID-19 […]
Read more »Via China Daily, a report on progress on the China-Laos railway: Work on the China-Laos railway, a strategic project under the Belt and Road Initiative, is progressing steadily with work on Vientiane station commencing on Friday in the Laotian capital, despite COVID-19 challenges. The 14,543-square-meter station is the largest of the 20 newly-built stations under […]
Read more »Via Silk Road Briefing, an article on how – with the last major China-Laos railway tunnel completed On Lancang-Mekong corridor – the Mekong River is becoming a major South-East Asian trade corridor: The last significant tunnel to be bored to complete the China-Laotian Railway was completed on March 15th, with track now being laid at […]
Read more »Via The Asia Times, commentary on how China’s Belt and Road keeps steaming ahead in Laos: Under fire for bullying neighbors in the South China Sea, China is patting itself on the back for the progress it is making on the 411-kilometer China-Laos railway through a sparsely populated nation that has barely been touched by the […]
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