Asean Economic Community (AEC)

Lao Economy

AEC Effects Unlikely To Be Seen For Years

It could take up to a decade for substantial changes to be seen after the Asean Economic Community (AEC) goes into full effect at the end of this year, a Bangkok seminar heard yesterday.
The dream of a single market with free flows of trade, labour and investment will take up to 10 years to be realised, and it will take three or four years before the effects of lowered trade barriers will truly be seen, experts said.
Some tariffs have already been lowered but in many cases …..

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Lao Economy

Business Support Crucial For Laos To Join The AEC And Lock In Growth

The accession of Laos to the World Trade Organisation in 2013 was the latest in a series of steps towards achieving economic integration. The next milestone in its integration agenda is the establishment of the Asean economic community (AEC) at the end of 2015.
Laos has committed to realising the AEC. The country is on track to implement its tariff commitments, which are to be kept no higher than ….

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Lao Economy

Asean Economic Community Special Report – Laos: Little And Big Fish

Laos is often viewed by outsiders as some kind of rural Shangri-la that time passed by, but as Asia becomes the engine of global growth the pace of life is quickening, even in rural Laos. China’s unquenchable demand for resources has seen the seeds of growth spread south. The road networks are rolling out as rubber and banana farms proliferate, while mobile and television signal is expanding rapidly and with it outside cultural influences are spreading north.
Looming on the horizon is the next big change, with the Asean Economic Community (AEC) coming into force at the end of 2015, in a little over two years’ time. Ostensibly the onset of AEC will bring into being a single market and production base, enabling a free flow of goods and services throughout the entire region.
Some pundits are skeptical that …..

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