You are using an outdated browser and your browsing experience will not be optimal. Please update to the latest version of Microsoft Edge, Google Chrome or Mozilla Firefox. Install Microsoft Edge

May 25, 2018

Laos Establishes Investment Promotion and Management Committee

Subscribe to Updates
Informed Counsel

Over the past several months, the Lao government has been introducing a number of measures aimed at promoting foreign investment, including implementing Notification No. 2633/Cabinet/MOIC to abolish minimum registered capital requirements for certain foreign investors, and enacting the new Law on Investment Promotion No. 14/NA (LIP) to facilitate investments among both domestic and international private investors.   

The government’s latest measure was the issuance of the Decree on the Establishment and Operation of the Investment Promotion and Management Committee No. 05/PMO, dated January 5, 2018 (the Decree), which provides further clarification on the establishment and operations of the Investment Promotion and Management Committee (the Committee), one of the main approval authorities envisioned under the new LIP.

Investment Approval Authority

The Committee is entrusted to act as one of the main approval authorities in Laos, and will also provide One-Stop Services, serving as the primary point of interaction between the Lao government and private investors of all nationalities.

To better understand the Committee’s role, one must consider that the registration of a legal entity and investment approval in Laos consists of two coexisting processes. Applications will either be handled by:

  • the Ministry of Industry and Commerce (MOIC), or its related department at the local level (i.e., municipal or provincial levels), for general business activities; or
  • the Ministry of Planning and Investment (MPI), or its related department at the local level, for general business activities that are considered to be controlled activities, and concession activities.

Controlled activities include those which may have an effect on the stability of the country, or its order and organization, and the social environment and nature. Requests to conduct such activities in Laos are thoroughly appraised by relevant authorities and government agencies. Controlled activities are currently enumerated under a list that may be subject to wide interpretation by authorities. However, a new list, which may provide better clarity, is expected to be issued during the course of the year.   

Concession activities are investments for which the government grants a land concession for the development of a specific project. These may include the development of a special economic zone or industrial zone, the exploitation of natural resources such as a mine or power plant, airline companies, or activities that are operated in the telecommunications sector.   

The Committee will be the pivotal authority for consideration and approval of investments, and will include representatives from the MOIC, MPI, and other relevant government agencies. Two different levels of the Committee may be involved in the approval process, the Central Committee or Provincial Committees, depending on the nature and amount of the investment. Consideration and approval for controlled activities and concession activities that may have an adverse impact, as well as approval for the development of a special economic zone, will remain under the ambit of the Central Committee only.   

The Committee’s role does not end once investment approval has been granted, and subsequent approvals will be required during the course of the investment and throughout the existence of the legal entity conducting the business activity in Laos if modifications to the initial investment/project are contemplated. The Committee also has the authority to suspend or cancel licenses granted to investors if requirements are not met.

Promotion of Investment Climate in Laos

The Committee also has the role of supporting the central and local governments in a number of areas, including conducting research and formulating policies to manage private-sector investments; proposing amendments to relevant laws and regulations; and monitoring the progress of relevant government policies, plans and resolutions.

One-Stop Services

Both the Central and Provincial Committees will share the duty of managing and improving the efficiency of the One-Stop Service in serving as a single point of contact for local and foreign investors in Laos.

At the Central Committee level, the One-Stop Service will be based out of the Department of Investment Promotion, Ministry of Planning and Investment, and will include a representative from the relevant government agency, who will be tasked with considering different investment requests. At the provincial level, the One-Stop Service will be based out of the Division of Promotion Investment, Department of Investment Promotion of each province, and will also include a representative from the relevant government agency.

The Decree stresses that the Committee has the duty of facilitating private sector investment and easing the difficulties investors may face during the different stages of their business operation in Laos. Thus, private investors may notify the Committees about problems that they are facing during their investment. Additionally, the Central Committee will be able to organize meetings with domestic and international investors to inform them about new regulations or policies that may impact the local investment climate, and to discuss obstacles encountered by investors to seek solutions to accommodate investments in Laos.

Although not expressly mentioned, the Decree may also help to promote and facilitate harmonious interpretation and implementation of laws in Laos, where the application of laws can vary from one province to another.   

The Decree and the Committees it establishes send a positive signal for the investment climate in Laos, and are expected to play a key role in harmonizing investment laws and practices across the country, while expediting investment approvals and other essential processes for investors.

Download Full Article
Related Professionals

Practices

Corporate/M&A

Location

RELATED INSIGHTS​ 

April 22, 2026
A new decree in Vietnam brings significant implementation clarity to the country’s existing extended producer responsibility (EPR) legal framework. An EPR mechanism was first codified in Vietnam in the 2020 Law on Environmental Protection amid ongoing challenges surrounding the collection and treatment of product and packaging waste. The mechanism was progressively detailed through Decree No. 08/2022/ND‑CP and its successive amendments, but the regulatory framework remained insufficiently developed, notably in terms of support mechanisms for waste collection, recycling, and treatment. The newly launched regulations in Decree No. 110/2026/ND-CP (Decree 110), issued on April 1, 2026, and taking effect on May 25, 2026, stipulate fully and clearly the responsibility of manufacturers and importers to recycle products and packaging and to treat waste. Some key provisions of Decree 110 for manufacturers, importers, and related stakeholders are presented below. Subjects of EPR The Law on Environmental Protection assigns responsibility to manufacturers and importers for product and packaging recycling (under Article 54) or waste collection and treatment (under Article 55), depending on the type of products and packaging they produce or import. Decree 110 elaborates on these EPR provisions by specifying the responsible entities and listing out the types of products and packaging subject to recycling and waste treatment responsibilities. Decree 110 clarifies the responsible entities in special cases, such as when products under the same brand are made by multiple manufacturers, when there is a contract manufacturing or entrusted import relationship, and when the manufacturer or importer is part of a corporate group. Notably, exemptions may be applied in some scenarios, such as for manufacturers and importers of products and packaging exclusively for export, temporary import and re-export, or research and testing purposes, as well as for entities with annual revenue from related products not exceeding VND 30 billion. Recycling Responsibilities Decree 110
Read More
April 15, 2026
On March 31, 2026, Vietnam’s government issued Decree 102/2026/ND-CP (Decree 102), which amends Decree 75/2019/ND-CP on administrative sanctions for competition law violations (Decree 75). Effective from May 20, 2026, the new decree introduces a number of significant changes aimed at strengthening enforcement, revising penalty structures, and broadening the range of remedial measures, primarily for violations related to economic concentration. Revised Penalties for Economic Concentration Violations Decree 102 significantly revises the penalties for violations related to economic concentration. Failure to notify an economic concentration; implementing an economic concentration before clearance Under the new framework, Articles 14 and 15 of Decree 75 have been amended to impose a range of monetary fines, rather than relying solely on percentage‑based penalties as under the previous regime, for violations involving the failure to notify an economic concentration or the implementation of an economic concentration prior to clearance. The fines range from VND 500 million to VND 1 billion for each enterprise participating in a concentration with combined assets, revenues, or purchase value below VND 3,000 billion in the preceding fiscal year, capped at 5% of the violating enterprise’s total turnover in the relevant market. For concentrations meeting or exceeding the VND 3,000 billion threshold across those same metrics, the fines increase to VND 1 billion to VND 2 billion per enterprise, also subject to the 5% cap. These differentiated thresholds allow penalties to better reflect the size of the transaction and its potential competitive impact. Non-compliance with conditional approvals Enterprises that do not implement or only partially implement the conditions specified in a conditional economic concentration approval decision face fines ranging from 1% to 3% of total turnover in the relevant market during the fiscal year preceding the violation. Decree 102 also adds a new remedial measure requiring enterprises to fully implement all conditions
Read More
March 31, 2026
Against the backdrop of Vietnam’s rapid economic and technological transformation and its ambition to build a knowledge-driven economy, the National Assembly of Vietnam adopted Law on Higher Education No. 125/2025/QH15 on December 10, 2025, The new law took effect on January 1, 2026, replacing Law on Higher Education No. 08/2012/QH13 of 2012 and its subsequent amendments after more than a decade of implementation. The new law reflects a significant policy shift toward enhancing the institutional autonomy of higher education institutions (“HEIs”)—universities and other university-level institutions. By granting broader autonomy, Vietnam aims to enable HEIs to operate more proactively, better respond to market needs, and improve the quality and efficiency of education and research activities. Comprehensive Institutional Autonomy in HEIs The new law marks a significant shift by granting HEIs comprehensive autonomy as a statutory right, within the bounds of the licensed scope of educational operation and the legal framework, rather than a conditional right as provided under the former law. Under the new law, HEIs are empowered to exercise autonomy over their academic expertise, training, scientific research, international cooperation, organizational structure, personnel, finance, and other higher education activities. The expansion of institutional autonomy is also accompanied by a correspondingly strengthened framework of institutional accountability. However, Vietnam maintains a certain degree of control and imposes restrictions on institutional autonomy in sensitive and strategically important areas. These controls and restrictions include limitations on training autonomy in the majors of teacher training, national defense, and security; and restrictions on financial and personnel management autonomy for HEIs under the administration of the Ministry of National Defense and the Ministry of Public Security. New Model for Curriculum Development The new law removes the concept of “opening a training major” and focuses regulation on how training programs are developed and delivered. Under the previous regime,
Read More
March 31, 2026
Thailand’s Department of Business Development (DBD) has issued a regulation imposing additional requirements for amending a company’s directors and signatory power to designate a foreign national as an authorized signatory of the company. This measure, effective April 1, 2026, has been introduced in response to the widespread use of Thai nationals as nominees to conduct business on behalf of foreigners, a practice considered to have an adverse impact on the country’s economic stability and security. The new measures are particularly concerned with changes to the authorized signatory structure of companies that originally had only Thai directors authorized to sign for and bind the company. Under the new rules, any amendment that results in a foreign national becoming an authorized signatory—whether solely or jointly—for such a company will be subject to additional verification. Directors signing an application to register such an amendment to the company’s authorized signatory structure are now also required to provide a statement confirming that all shareholders of the company have made genuine contributions and no Thai national has assisted with, supported, or participated in business activities in a nominee capacity. Implications Companies intending to appoint foreign directors as authorized signatories should be aware of the increased regulatory requirements and assessments. Additional documentation and confirmations may be required as part of the registration process.
Read More