TOPIC

/ location

Laos

The latest news, analysis and opinion on Laos. In-depth analysis, industry insights and expert opinion.

Capital

Vientiane

Head of State

President Thongloun Sisoulith

Head of Government

Prime Minister Sonexay Siphandone

Health volunteers screen children for acute malnutrition in a village in Taoy, Saravan, Laos. Photo: Unicef

Climate change

In Laos, 1 in 3 children has stunted growth – despite surplus rice

In some poorer areas, stunting is even more prevalent. Experts say a lack of dietary diversity is a big part of the problem.

24 Mar 2025 - 3:27PM

Climate change

Opinion | Asia is ground zero for the impact of global glacier loss

22 Mar 2025 - 5:30AMvideocam

Asia travel

Why you should visit relaxing Vientiane and Luang Prabang in Laos now

19 Mar 2025 - 11:15AM

Hong Kong economy

Hong Kong rolls out smoother entry policy for invited Asean professionals

Scheme allows event attendees and those who can contribute to local economy to make multiple trips to Hong Kong over three-year period.

18 Mar 2025 - 7:04PM

Hong Kong is working to bolster ties with the Asean bloc. Photo: EPA-EFE

Asia travel

Women designers showcase Laotian hand weaving in gorgeous garments

An exhibition at Laos’ Sofitel Luang Prabang hotel highlights how artisans are both preserving the traditional art form and modernising it.

15 Mar 2025 - 11:15AMvideocam

Video | Laotian hand weaving on display at Luang Prabang exhibition

15 Mar 2025 - 11:00AM

China trade

After 43 years building a better cow, China signs first export deal with Laos

China’s proprietary Huaxi cattle, the culmination of meticulous breeding to produce optimal growth and high-quality meat, is entering the global value chain.

14 Mar 2025 - 6:00PM

It took China more than four decades to optimise the unique breed of Huaxi cattle (pictured). Photo: Beijing Municipal Bureau of Agriculture and Rural Affairs

Hong Kong economy

Poll reveals which Hong Kong products are winning over Asean online shoppers

Consumers from Thailand, Indonesia lead in buying products from city, while Singapore respondents have highest spend per purchase.

10 Mar 2025 - 10:04PM

Hong Kong

This week in PostMag: 5 women leaders in STEM and a trip to Luang Prabang

We celebrate International Women’s Day this week with brilliant women innovating in science, an artist who uses AI in her work, and a beer brewer who started her own company at age 18.

14 Mar 2025 - 3:09PM

Asia travel

Why is once sleepy Luang Prabang now on tourists’ radar?

A railway from China, an unlikely film festival and a new generation of entrepreneurs are shaking things up in Luang Prabang, northern Laos.

10 Mar 2025 - 3:16PM

Tourists taking part in an alms-giving ceremony by a procession of monks in Luang Prabang. Photo: Getty Images

Hong Kong economy

Hong Kong to become Muslim-friendly city for Asean businesses, tourists: John Lee

Authorities have introduced incentives such as simplifying immigration requirements, offering more halal options, city leader says.

17 Feb 2025 - 8:13PM

City leader John Lee has hailed economic ties between Southeast Asia and Hong Kong at the Post’s conference in Kuala Lumpur. Photo: SCMP

Hong Kong economy

Trump’s reciprocal tariff plan to hurt Hong Kong, mainland producers: experts

But blanket approach may eliminate competitive edge of producers in other Asian countries, insider says.

15 Feb 2025 - 4:58PM

Cambodia

‘People can die’: US funding freeze decimates Mekong demining work

Demining advocates argue the US has a moral obligation to solve a problem it helped create.

14 Feb 2025 - 2:27PMvideocam

Foreigners in China

China grants Asean tour groups visa-free access to Yunnan travel hub

Tourists from Southeast Asian bloc countries may visit Xishuangbanna – known for ethnic minority cultures – for up to six days.

10 Feb 2025 - 4:14PM

Tourists visit a night fair in the southwestern Chinese city of Jinghong in Xishuangbanna Dai autonomous prefecture in February 2023. Photo: Xinhua

Hong Kong

This week in PostMag: from Tilda Swinton to Hegra, Saudi Arabia

In this issue, explore Hmong culture, discover Saudi Arabia’s hidden gem and listen to the Oscar-winning actress’ take on film conservation.

8 Feb 2025 - 12:45PM

Actress Tilda Swinton was recently in Hong Kong and said “snobbery is the very death of good art and a healthy culture” – can we love her more? Photo: Courtesy of Chanel

Thailand

Xi Jinping praises Thailand’s crackdown on Myanmar scam hubs

Thai Prime Minister Paetongtarn meets Xi in Beijing after the kingdom cut power and internet to scam hubs around its border.

7 Feb 2025 - 12:45AMvideocam

Asia travel

What is Hmong New Year – and how is it celebrated in the modern day?

For the Hmong ethnic group, the New Year festival in northern Laos’ Phonsavan is the perfect time to don your finest, honour your clan and go in search of The One.

6 Feb 2025 - 6:15PM

Thailand

Video | Thailand shuts power to Myanmar’s scam hub

Thai prime minister is due to meet President Xi Jinping to discuss the scam crisis

6 Feb 2025 - 2:39PM

02:30

Thailand

Thailand shuts power to Myanmar’s scam hub, PM Paetongtarn vows firm action

Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra is slated to meet President Xi Jinping to discuss issues including the scam crisis.

6 Feb 2025 - 2:47PMvideocam

Thailand

Thailand’s fast train to China runs 9 years behind schedule

By 2030, the US$13 billion Thai network is expected to connect to the Laos-China high-speed railway via a bridge over the Mekong River.

29 Jan 2025 - 2:14PMvideocam

Crime in Hong Kong

Electric shocks, physical assault: inside Southeast Asia’s forced labour camps

Recent high-profile rescue of mainland actor Wang Xing has put the plight of thousands trapped in compounds in focus.

24 Jan 2025 - 3:53PM

Asia travel

From Hoi An to Hanoi: a ride along Vietnam’s twisty Ho Chi Minh Highway

Mountain scenes, quaint villages, chaotic traffic, cheap motels and repetitive noodle soup, punctuated by the occasional flat tyre.

22 Jan 2025 - 10:12AM

The narrow, twisting Ho Chi Minh Highway. Photo: Fiona Ching

Indonesia

In the shadow of US tariffs, Indonesia seeks a Chinese solar boom

With billions of dollars in Chinese pledges and regulatory reforms, Jakarta is betting big on solar – with a weather eye on US trade policy.

18 Jan 2025 - 5:30PM

Hong Kong politics

Explainer | How can Hongkongers protect themselves from Southeast Asian job scams?

Hong Kong authorities have come under renewed pressure to ensure the return of residents believed to be held captive in the region.

16 Jan 2025 - 6:58PM

Crime in Hong Kong

Can Hong Kong task force in Thailand help prevent more ‘high-paying’ job scams?

Lawmaker says it is the right diplomatic move, while another believes it will remind residents to think twice before agreeing to job offers.

13 Jan 2025 - 11:16AM

The task force, led by Undersecretary for Security Michael Cheuk, left for Bangkok on Sunday night. Photo: Elson Li

Accidents and personal safety

Hong Kong woman, 24, back home after suspected abduction in Southeast Asia

Security Bureau says Immigration Department followed up on case and ‘it is understood that the person has returned to Hong Kong’.

12 Jan 2025 - 1:29AM

The Immigration Department followed up on the matter, the Security Bureau said. Photo: Sun Yeung

Pacific nations

7 foreigners hospitalised after drinking cocktails at 5-star Fiji resort

Guests at the luxury Warwick Fiji resort suffered ‘nausea, vomiting and neurological symptoms’, Fiji’s health ministry said.

16 Dec 2024 - 11:40AMvideocam

Singapore

Singapore saw 9,000 phishing takedowns, Meta says in scam centre alert

The company, which owns Facebook, WhatsApp and Instagram, said scammers in Southeast Asia were using sophisticated tactics to lure victims.

11 Dec 2024 - 9:46AM

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Laos

In Laos, 1 in 3 children has stunted growth – despite surplus rice

In some poorer areas, stunting is even more prevalent. Experts say a lack of dietary diversity is a big part of the problem.

Opinion | Asia is ground zero for the impact of global glacier loss

Why you should visit relaxing Vientiane and Luang Prabang in Laos now

Hong Kong rolls out smoother entry policy for invited Asean professionals

Scheme allows event attendees and those who can contribute to local economy to make multiple trips to Hong Kong over three-year period.

Women designers showcase Laotian hand weaving in gorgeous garments

An exhibition at Laos’ Sofitel Luang Prabang hotel highlights how artisans are both preserving the traditional art form and modernising it.

Video | Laotian hand weaving on display at Luang Prabang exhibition

After 43 years building a better cow, China signs first export deal with Laos

China’s proprietary Huaxi cattle, the culmination of meticulous breeding to produce optimal growth and high-quality meat, is entering the global value chain.

Poll reveals which Hong Kong products are winning over Asean online shoppers

Consumers from Thailand, Indonesia lead in buying products from city, while Singapore respondents have highest spend per purchase.

This week in PostMag: 5 women leaders in STEM and a trip to Luang Prabang

We celebrate International Women’s Day this week with brilliant women innovating in science, an artist who uses AI in her work, and a beer brewer who started her own company at age 18.

Why is once sleepy Luang Prabang now on tourists’ radar?

A railway from China, an unlikely film festival and a new generation of entrepreneurs are shaking things up in Luang Prabang, northern Laos.

Hong Kong to become Muslim-friendly city for Asean businesses, tourists: John Lee

Authorities have introduced incentives such as simplifying immigration requirements, offering more halal options, city leader says.

Trump’s reciprocal tariff plan to hurt Hong Kong, mainland producers: experts

But blanket approach may eliminate competitive edge of producers in other Asian countries, insider says.

‘People can die’: US funding freeze decimates Mekong demining work

Demining advocates argue the US has a moral obligation to solve a problem it helped create.

China grants Asean tour groups visa-free access to Yunnan travel hub

Tourists from Southeast Asian bloc countries may visit Xishuangbanna – known for ethnic minority cultures – for up to six days.

This week in PostMag: from Tilda Swinton to Hegra, Saudi Arabia

In this issue, explore Hmong culture, discover Saudi Arabia’s hidden gem and listen to the Oscar-winning actress’ take on film conservation.

Xi Jinping praises Thailand’s crackdown on Myanmar scam hubs

Thai Prime Minister Paetongtarn meets Xi in Beijing after the kingdom cut power and internet to scam hubs around its border.

What is Hmong New Year – and how is it celebrated in the modern day?

For the Hmong ethnic group, the New Year festival in northern Laos’ Phonsavan is the perfect time to don your finest, honour your clan and go in search of The One.

Video | Thailand shuts power to Myanmar’s scam hub

Thai prime minister is due to meet President Xi Jinping to discuss the scam crisis

Thailand shuts power to Myanmar’s scam hub, PM Paetongtarn vows firm action

Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra is slated to meet President Xi Jinping to discuss issues including the scam crisis.

Thailand’s fast train to China runs 9 years behind schedule

By 2030, the US$13 billion Thai network is expected to connect to the Laos-China high-speed railway via a bridge over the Mekong River.

Electric shocks, physical assault: inside Southeast Asia’s forced labour camps

Recent high-profile rescue of mainland actor Wang Xing has put the plight of thousands trapped in compounds in focus.

From Hoi An to Hanoi: a ride along Vietnam’s twisty Ho Chi Minh Highway

Mountain scenes, quaint villages, chaotic traffic, cheap motels and repetitive noodle soup, punctuated by the occasional flat tyre.

In the shadow of US tariffs, Indonesia seeks a Chinese solar boom

With billions of dollars in Chinese pledges and regulatory reforms, Jakarta is betting big on solar – with a weather eye on US trade policy.

Explainer | How can Hongkongers protect themselves from Southeast Asian job scams?

Hong Kong authorities have come under renewed pressure to ensure the return of residents believed to be held captive in the region.

Can Hong Kong task force in Thailand help prevent more ‘high-paying’ job scams?

Lawmaker says it is the right diplomatic move, while another believes it will remind residents to think twice before agreeing to job offers.

Hong Kong woman, 24, back home after suspected abduction in Southeast Asia

Security Bureau says Immigration Department followed up on case and ‘it is understood that the person has returned to Hong Kong’.

7 foreigners hospitalised after drinking cocktails at 5-star Fiji resort

Guests at the luxury Warwick Fiji resort suffered ‘nausea, vomiting and neurological symptoms’, Fiji’s health ministry said.

Singapore saw 9,000 phishing takedowns, Meta says in scam centre alert

The company, which owns Facebook, WhatsApp and Instagram, said scammers in Southeast Asia were using sophisticated tactics to lure victims.

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