This Selected Issues paper examines the reform of state-owned banks and enterprises in Lao People’s Democratic Republic (Lao PDR). It highlights that recurring high levels of nonperforming loans of state-owned commercial banks have been caused by internal factors, including continued weak...

This Selected Issues paper and Statistical Appendix for the Lao People’s Democratic Republic (PDR) review the macroeconomic impact of the resource sector. Lao PDR’s economic performance is becoming increasingly dependent on the activities of the large mining and hydropower projects. The...

This Selected Issues paper examines the main causes for the surge in dollarization in the Lao People’s Democratic Republic (Lao PDR). It explores various strategies that may be adopted to maintain low inflation and thus, indirectly, encourage the use of the national currency. The paper...

This Selected Issues paper and Statistical Appendix for the Lao People’s Democratic Republic underlies debt sustainability analysis. Sensitivity analysis reveals that if the pace of economic reforms falters, the debt burden—high even in the baseline case—could become unsustainable. The low...