Laos raises ceiling on foreign investments in stock market

Vientiane - Communist Laos has raised the ceiling on foreign ownership in the country's fledgling stock exchange to 20 per cent of the two listed companies' shares, media reports said Tuesday.

"Lao Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Mr. Somsavat Lengsavad has signed an agreement to allow total foreign ownership of 20 per cent of shares listed on the stock market," Lao Securities Exchange Chairman Dethphouvang Moularat told a press conference.

Under previous regulations, foreigners were allowed to own only 10 per cent of listed companies’ shares, the Vientiane Times reported.

The Lao Securities Exchange opened for trading on January 11, 2011, with only two listed companies - EDL Generation-Public Company, which is a subsidiary of the state owned energy company, Electricite du Laos (EDL), and Banque Pour Le Commerce Exterieur Lao (BCEL).

Three more companies - Enterprise of Telecommunications Lao, Lao World Group and Indochina Group- plan to list on the stock market in the near future, the Vientiane Times reported.

"The Lao Securities and Exchange Commission postponed an agreement to allow EDL to list last year, saying the global economic downturn did not provide a favorable environment for the state-owned enterprise to sell its shares to the public," the state-run newspaper reported.//DPA