Nice! They need to do something with those powerlines eh..

I just think he meant it doesn't look safe.

ba dac wrote on 20^th Feb, 2013 at 8:49am:


It shouldn't be a danger to the general public from up there.

I believe so.

Telephone lines are also laid overhead in Laos.

Seems like a new bank opens in Laos every week.

How many banks do we need?

CDs?  Well, yes.  You can deposit Lao currency in a Lao bank and get 10%+ interest a year. This compares massively favorably with interest rates of <2% in most developed countries.

There is a business 'scheme' called the 'carry trade'. 

In this, you borrow money from, say, a US bank at 5% interest, invest it in a country's bank (like Iceland or Laos) which gives a much higher rate of return, and make a huge killing.

Only downside is you have to have some belief in the short-term viability of the currency.

You can exchange Lao kip for US dollars at moneychangers in Vientiane.

You will lose money on the exchange rate, that's how they make money. Banks are in business to make money from your own money, that's why there are so many banks in this world.
For a country that is known for poverty, it's interesting that there are so many banks operating in the country. Someone mentioned that these banks hide the money from corruption by transferring it around between them until it gets lost, money laundering. The average salary of a person in Laos is about 1-300 dollars and the population is around 5 million and there are 127 banks, so you guys can do the math. Now if we take a look at the foreign aid amounts that the country receives and then do the math with that, then I think we might have a correlation. Who needs Swiss accounts when you can start your own bank and hide the money by yourself.