Laos takes steps to ease business registration

THE Lao Ministry of Industry and Commerce’s Department of Enterprise Registration and Management has eased the registration process for foreign investors, local entrepreneurs and those who want to start a new business in Laos.

At a meeting held in Vientiane on Friday, the department announced t hat t he process of business registration will be made easier, wit h t he aim of raising Laos’ globa l ranking in t his regard to a t wo-digit ranking next year instead of t hree as at present.

The World Bank placed Laos 181st in a global ranking of 190 countries this year on ease of starting a business.

Speaking at the meeting, department director-general Somphuang Phienphinith, said: “We have improved the process of enterprise registration for those who want to start a new business. We have cut the earlier 10-step process down to three steps.

“This excludes the step to obtain a business permission licence.”

The meeting was attended by other representatives of the department, the World Bank, the European Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Laos, the Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Laos, the Lao National Chamber of Commerce and Industry, and international investment consultants.

“The current registration process takes 30 days, while the earlier method took 178 days,” Somphuang added.

Any individual or new investor needs to carry out these three steps, which are – registration of the business with a background check, obtaining a business stamp, and registering the workforce.

Entrepreneurs no longer have to fill in so many forms and provide so many documents and will also pay less. Business operators are asked to report officials who are impeding the registration process.

The process to speed up business registration was launched in late 2018 and was completed last year.

Somphuang said Laos was at the bottom of the ease-of-businessstarting rankings this year because investment consultants in Laos, international chambers of commerce and related sectors believed that enterprise registration and obtaining a business permission licence were the same process. However, they are two separate processes.

Prime Minister’s Order No 3 on ease-of-business-starting was issued on Friday, to improve regulations and coordination mechanisms in doing business in Laos.

This aims to improve Laos’ position in the World Bank Group’s doing-business ranking.

The order aims to mobilise and attract quality investments, bolster the competitive capacity of domestic businesses, and minimise constraints to doing business in Laos.