The Investment Promotion and Management Committee (IPMC) held its first nationwide meeting on investment promotion and management on 11–12 August 2026 in Vientiane. The first day of the meeting was chaired by Standing Deputy Prime Minister Saleumxay Kommasith. The meeting reviewed progress, challenges, and future priorities for improving domestic and foreign private investment in Laos.
Since 1989, Laos has approved 5,394 private investment projects worth approximately USD 65.5 billion. China, Vietnam, and Thailand are the three leading foreign investors. In the first seven months of 2026, 34 projects worth USD 8.5 billion were approved in concession and controlled business activities, representing a 68% increase compared with the same period in 2025.
The meeting acknowledged several challenges, including lengthy approval procedures, overlapping regulations, weak project monitoring, fragmented investment databases, land-related difficulties, and the need to improve the overall quality of investment.
Going forward, the government will focus on quality, green and sustainable investment, improve investment laws and approval procedures, strengthen monitoring and enforcement, establish an integrated national investment database, and attract investors that create jobs, generate government revenue, add economic value, and reduce dependence on natural-resource exploitation.