Important legal issues of investing Laos mining sector

Laos is an important participant in the Belt and Road initiative, the Laos’ mining industry gathered a group of large Chinese state-owned enterprises and private enterprise investors.In the future, the opening of the China-Laos railway and lower transportation costs will bring more Chinese investors.Chinese investors need to make prudent decisions to invest in Laos mining, need to have a deep understanding of the relevant laws of Laos mining, grasp the key to reduce investment risk.Based on the latest mining laws in Laos, this paper analyzes and studies the investment access, the acquisition of important certificates and licenses, and the taxes and fees, etc.It is clarified to investors that Laos mining development is divided into many phases, applying for licenses by phase, the term of mining right is relatively short, the transfer of mining right is restricted, mining right cannot be guaranteed for financing, taxes and fees are relatively high, and the government holds shares and other core risk points.Finally, a reminder to the Chinese investors of Laos mining that they shall carry out legal due diligence, design of investment route and tax planning based on their own situations and actual situations of the project before making investment decisions.