Bangkok - Communist Laos, buffeted by the global economic crisis, considers revising its foreign investment law to attract more companies to the country, radio reports said Monday. Lao Prime Minister Bouasone Bouphavanh, in an opening speech to the National Assembly, painted a grim economic picture for the under-developed nation of less than 6 million people, Radio Laos said in a broadcast monitored in Bangkok.
Bouasone noted that exports had fallen this year, tax collection was down and unemployment was up.
He said the government will need to consider revising its foreign investment law to attract more investment, the state-run radio said.
Laos is a land-locked country, with few industries but an abundance of hydro-electric potential. At least seven major hydroelectric dams are planned on the Mekong River in Laos.
National Assembly President Thongsing Thammavongse noted that the economy now faced three major challenges, including the global economic crisis, global warming and the H1N1 swine-flu virus, that had adversely affected tourism.
The legislative body's session opened Monday and is scheduled to close on July 6.
