Yes Lao is a good place to live. But when it comes to biz that is a different story. No need be a great economist to understand that Lao has a competitive disadvantage due to the fact that it is a landlocked country. Moreover despite the emerging middle class consumption is low (volume and value) compare to other neighboring countries. Under such unfavorable circumstances it is hard to compete on the domestic market (only 3 supermarkets in VTE, importing licenses are still in the hands of few families that might explain few things about high street prices and inflation) or on the international scene (you need to pay for an export license!). The cost of creating a company and maintaining it is prohibitive compare to other developing country (check the data on the world bank site). Unless your are multinational firm and you are planning an RoI at 30 years or even more i would recommend restraint. Do not rush into the melee take your time : do a good market survey! Find your clients first! All that glitters is not gold! Lao is not an Eldorado! But some sectors are good to invest in : agriculture and light industry and logistics of course; tourism is a bit tricky to evaluate is it going to be LAO VEGAS (Gambling, sex, drugs and lamvong ) or a destination for eco tourism (the jewel of the Mekong) remember falangs is only  asmall fraction of the tourists. If you are able to set up a fleet of 20 lorries (trucks), you will be rich for sure. Railways are almost non existent.  You cannot navigate down the Mekong all the way down to Cambodia. You got my point for sure.
Do not take this comment as a do not go, there is opportunities of course. Look at the recent moves of the Lao GVT toward the lao expatiate, they need your technical expertise (and cash) in order to do what they cannot achieve buy themselves. They want you as a firewall against chinese, vietnamese and thai investors. Whatever Lao is a great country  to live and work in if you are humble and do not behave as a conqueror.

Hi Larp Dip  ,

I have heard that the trade on the imported goods is still  under the control (despite some reforms) of few "laoviet" or "vietlao" (depending how you see things) families. I do not have any names. Chinese had been very aggressive in this field lately. I met the Chinese man who is importing a fair share of the glass for construction  (not only Chinese glass but also Thai glass). As you can imagine is building up a fortune!

Concerning my statement about living and working in laos :

I do not belong to the white expats class i have nothing in common with them. These guys are true mercenaries they are in Laos for the bounty, usually they live in their ivory tower behind high walls and do not mix at all with the locals. I exaggerate some are good people and have a genuine interest for lao culture.
When i arrived to Laos 5 years ago my first move was to buy a 40 years lease at the talat sao shopping mall, I was selling decoration stuff (housewares) for 1.5 year but i was not very successful (my Lao girlfriend at that time never really understood the notions of margin, profit, stocks...). As you can imagine i was the curiosity! I do not know how many marriages i attended to during this period but a lot. So quickly i was well known among the traders. At the same time i bought over tools from a friend
intending to set up a workshop to produce handicraft and small furniture. But very quickly expats ask me to build their villas so i moved to construction biz and rented my shop. At the highest point of my activities I had almost 50 workers. I have always refused to work with Vietnamese workers even those with legal papers. I had my share of trouble. Mainly due to drug consumption and fighting among the workers. Twice I have been to the police station to bail out workers caught with yaba. Once for 2 workers that have been fighting (less than 10 mins after the brawling a black limo parked in front of the main gate, i did not hesitate a second i took both of them down to the police station). Each time i have been in person (no translator or middlemen) to sort out the situation. After 2,5 years of hard work i had enough so i give up construction. I had my share of great moments too! I do not know if it is a sign or not but all the guys (few girls also) that have been working with me got good position in lao construction companies or moved to other jobs with descent salaries.
During these 5 years i always kept a low profile, no showing up. No gold chain or rings not even a watch, inexpensive casual dress. Cheap second hand car, second hand cellphone not even a color screen... small house at 100 usd a month extremely difficult to find nowadays.
In my village everybody knows me! On several occasions the head of the village ask me to patrol with the militia can you believe that! I never had any trouble with lao authorities what so ever. With lao mafia yes but that is an another story.
Today I am no longer working but still have my monthly rent of 350 USD. I am not sure about my next move but i have plenty of options as a private investor.

Well Larb Dip, i hope i did answer your questions

All the best, regards

PS : i am french citizen and no one in my family is from Lao origins.

You know what you're talking about. Thank for your input.


Quote:

To Forever young : they mainly need expertise in the private sector (industry)

To Larb Dip :
a worker (kamakon) is 50000 kips a day
a mason (sang) is 80000 kips a day
my lao workers got in troubles not viets i never worked with them
my village is donepamai near talat souanemone
patrol of the militia is less and less frequent and it is reserved to special days (celebrations, international events..) we patrol just to be sure that nothing special happen (mostly the case)
Yes they do have mafia or gangs (american style)
I made enough money to live correctly