Laos recorded 6,396 approved investment units worth US$42,293,415,206 in the country table for 1989–2021. Within that total, Lao projects accounted for 2,802 approved units valued at US$14,737,063,556, while the largest named foreign-investor totals came from China, Thailand, and Vietnam. The figures below are from the Investment Summary Country 1989-2021 and Investment Summary Sector 1989-2021 tables; they describe approved units and approved investment value, not a separate measure of paid-in capital or completed projects.
Contents
- How to read the figures
- Largest investor countries
- Other reported investor countries
- Investment by sector
- Project counts and investment values by sector
- Investment structures
How to read the figures
The country figures cover the period from January 1, 1989, through December 31, 2021. “Units” is the terminology used in the source table for approved projects or investment units. Values are stated in US dollars. The country table’s 6,396-unit total and US$42.29 billion total should be read as the table’s reported totals, because the listed country rows include both Lao projects and foreign-investor entries.
The sector table uses the same 1989–2021 period but groups approvals by activity. Its sector categories include electricity generation, mining, services, agriculture, industry and handicraft, hotels and restaurants, public health, construction, telecom, banking, wood industry, trading, garment, consultancies, and education. Sector totals are useful for seeing where approved investment value was concentrated, while project counts show a different pattern: some sectors had many smaller approvals and others had fewer, higher-value projects.
The source label for the country rankings is Investment Summary Country 1989-2021. The source label for sector and investment-type figures is Investment Summary Sector 1989-2021. These are historical legacy figures and are presented as reported; they were not independently verified here.
Largest investor countries
China ranked second in the country table with 911 approved units worth US$13,423,315,302. Thailand ranked third with 762 units worth US$4,728,253,493, and Vietnam ranked fourth with 426 units worth US$4,323,594,190. South Korea ranked fifth, recording 310 units and US$758,803,817. France ranked sixth with 226 units valued at US$558,341,263.
The largest country entries can be compared directly in the table below. The ranking labels and amounts retain the wording and order of the source.
| Country or investor | Ranking stated in source | Approved units | Approved investment value |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lao* projects | — | 2,802 | US$14,737,063,556 |
| China | 2nd | 911 | US$13,423,315,302 |
| Thailand | 3rd | 762 | US$4,728,253,493 |
| Vietnam | 4th | 426 | US$4,323,594,190 |
| South Korea | 5th | 310 | US$758,803,817 |
| France | 6th | 226 | US$558,341,263 |
The next group included the United States, Japan, Malaysia, Australia, Singapore, Taiwan, the United Kingdom, and Hong Kong. United States investors had 118 approved units worth US$148,949,732. Japan had 105 units worth US$121,125,674. Malaysia had 101 units worth US$767,128,844, while Australia had 90 units worth US$194,662,582.
Singapore investors recorded 83 units and US$362,349,918. Taiwan recorded 76 units and US$120,538,116. The United Kingdom recorded 55 units and US$167,031,258. Hong Kong recorded 52 units and US$644,457,259. These entries show why project count and investment value should be considered together: Malaysia and Hong Kong had fewer units than the United States but higher reported values.
Other reported investor countries
The country table also recorded 43 Canadian units worth US$69,184,488; 31 German units worth US$7,833,128; 25 Russian units worth US$39,488,900; and 22 Indian units worth US$23,880,932. The Netherlands had 15 units worth US$399,366,484, while Switzerland had 15 units worth US$44,492,192. Sweden had 14 units worth US$79,019,558, and Belgium had 13 units worth US$3,694,852.
Cambodia recorded 12 approved units worth US$118,363,324. Italy recorded 9 units worth US$4,478,813, and Denmark recorded 8 units worth US$611,384. Sri Lanka recorded 7 units worth US$1,035,000. Norway recorded 6 units worth US$346,435,550, while New Zealand recorded 6 units worth US$1,592,000.
Myanmar and Israel each recorded 5 units. Myanmar’s reported value was US$1,230,000, and Israel’s was US$2,692,600. North Korea recorded 4 units worth US$1,652,800. Bangladesh, the Philippines, Finland, Pakistan, Hungary, and Indonesia each recorded 3 units. Their reported values were US$250,000, US$218,000, US$1,249,065, US$489,784, US$380,000, and US$1,719,551, respectively.
Spain, Austria, Nepal, Iceland, and Bolivia each recorded 2 approved units. The values were US$202,800 for Spain, US$390,000 for Austria, US$400,000 for Nepal, US$164,000 for Iceland, and US$230,000 for Bolivia.
Several investors appeared with one approved unit each. Tajikistan recorded US$1,000,000; Ukraine US$200,000; Angola US$37,500,000; Burkina Faso US$1,530,000; Panama US$1,750,000; Peru US$3,000,000; Cuba US$185,000; Luxembourg US$200,000; and the International Finance Corporation US$1,590,000.
The remaining one-unit entries were Mali at US$40,000,000 and Turkey at US$100,000. These figures are included because the source table reports them, but a one-unit result should not be interpreted as a broad measure of investment activity from that country or institution.
Investment by sector
Electricity generation led the sector table by approved investment value, with 60 projects and US$16,246,500,960. Mining recorded 403 projects and US$9,319,255,010. Services recorded 757 projects and US$6,340,061,461. Agriculture recorded 994 projects and US$3,142,904,362.
Industry and handicraft recorded 938 projects worth US$2,247,394,517. Hotels and restaurants recorded 429 projects and US$1,040,013,120. Public health recorded 26 projects worth US$853,309,013. Construction recorded 151 projects and US$836,474,694.
Telecom recorded 19 projects with US$685,508,895 in total investment. Banking recorded 34 projects and US$659,780,081. Wood industry recorded 210 projects and US$410,041,376. Trading recorded 353 projects and US$326,021,111.
The lower-value sector entries were still substantial in project count. Garment recorded 110 projects and US$95,000,447. Consultancies recorded 217 projects and US$94,215,140. Education recorded 108 projects and US$45,450,705.
Project counts and investment values by sector
The sector data places electricity generation at the top by value despite its 60-project count. Agriculture had the highest reported project count at 994, followed by industry and handicraft at 938 and services at 757. This contrast indicates that sector scale depends on both the number of approvals and the value attached to them.
| Sector | Projects | Total investment |
|---|---|---|
| Electricity generation | 60 | US$16,246,500,960 |
| Mining | 403 | US$9,319,255,010 |
| Services | 757 | US$6,340,061,461 |
| Agriculture | 994 | US$3,142,904,362 |
| Industry and handicraft | 938 | US$2,247,394,517 |
| Hotels and restaurants | 429 | US$1,040,013,120 |
| Public health | 26 | US$853,309,013 |
| Construction | 151 | US$836,474,694 |
| Telecom | 19 | US$685,508,895 |
| Banking | 34 | US$659,780,081 |
The remaining five reported sectors were wood industry, trading, garment, consultancies, and education. Together, their individual reported values were US$410,041,376, US$326,021,111, US$95,000,447, US$94,215,140, and US$45,450,705, respectively. Their project counts were 210, 353, 110, 217, and 108.
Investment structures
The investment-type portion of the Investment Summary Sector 1989-2021 reported 1,644 domestic-business projects with a total investment-type value of US$7,261,982,314. Projects classified as 100% foreign investment numbered 2,002 and had a reported value of US$10,382,070,308.
Joint ventures accounted for 1,158 projects and US$24,608,666,584. Business cooperation by contract accounted for 5 projects and US$89,211,686. These categories describe the source table’s investment-type classifications and should not be combined with the country rankings as though they were separate country totals.
| Investment type | Projects | Total investment-type value |
|---|---|---|
| Domestic business | 1,644 | US$7,261,982,314 |
| 100% foreign investment | 2,002 | US$10,382,070,308 |
| Business cooperation by contract | 5 | US$89,211,686 |
| Joint ventures | 1,158 | US$24,608,666,584 |
The structure figures provide a second way to describe Laos’s approved investment record during 1989–2021. The country table emphasizes investor origins, the sector table emphasizes economic activities, and the investment-type table emphasizes ownership or cooperation arrangements. Because each table answers a different question, the safest reading is to keep the categories separate and retain the source labels when comparing them.