News Feed

Private firms have been active in developing special economic zones in Cambodia, Laos and Myanmar, helping to reduce burdens placed on public resources and to improve the efficiency of managing these spaces.
SEZs also provide investors with preferential tax and regulatory treatment, often along with access to better connectivity, in a limited geographical area of a country.
Laos has pursued a mix of government and private-led SEZ development measures, with the government taking complete responsibility for the development of the Savan-Seno and Thakhek SEZs, according to the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).
The Lao government is also working in cooperation with Chinese firms to develop the Golden Triangle SEZ, Vientiane Industrial and Trade Area and Xaysettha Development Zone.
The development of five other SEZs has been given entirely to Lao or foreign firms, which have been granted long-term leases.
Laos has established 10 SEZs across the country since 2003, each of which has attracted between US$50 million (Bt1.7 billion) and $1.6 billion in investment, according to the OECD report on the “Economic Outlook for Southeast Asia, China and India 2016” that was delivered at the recent Asean-BIS meeting in Vientiane.
SEZs have a long history but became particularly popular in Asia in the 1970s and 1980s as a way of attracting investment.
While these zones may represent a second-best alternative to broader reform to liberalise and improve the business environment, the SEZs may be more feasible politically.
They provide testing grounds for gradual reform and can be used to foster clustering and economies of scale, including in the provision of infrastructure and services.
The CLM countries are taking steps to establish more SEZs in an effort to boost growth and promote economic diversification.
These zones have been established under specifically designed legal frameworks. Investors in SEZs are offered tax breaks and other financial and regulatory incentives.
Already 15 SEZs have been approved in Cambodia since they were first formally introduced in 2005.
In Myanmar, besides 19 existing industrial zones and seven under development, three larger SEZs are being established at Dawei |in Tanintharyi region, Kyauk Phyu in Rakhine state and Thilawa, near Yangon. – Vientiane Times