Laotian government finance officials, businessmen and experts yesterday contributed their comments on a draft decree which is intended to make Laos’s Special Economic Zones more attractive for investors. The draft was presented for discussion in a meeting at the ICTC in Vientiane. The decree covers rules and regulations, policies and establishment measures for the implementation and management of special economic zones and specific economic zones in Laos. The draft will be reviewed again at a higher level meeting for further recommendations, and after that it will become law. At the meeting, a road map for the strategic development of special economic zones was also presented. Laos’s first such zone is the Savan-Seno Special Economic Zone (SSEZ) in Savannakhet province. It is described on the website of the Department of Domestic and Foreign Investment as “a thriving hub of trade and services in the Greater Mekong Sub-region.” The SSEZ is located on the East-West Corridor which links Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam. It is located mid-way between the nearest Vietnamese sea port of Danang (about 500 km away) and the Thai port of Bangkok (about 600 km away). Planned business activities to be developed in the SSEZ include an Export Processing Zone, Free Trade Zone and a Free Service and Logistics Centre.
Source: Vientiane Times
