Foreign Investment: Focus.pdf

The Lao government prioritizes rapid economic growth to graduate from Least Developed Country status by 2020, pursuing an aggressive foreign investment strategy at huge social, environmental, and economic costs. Foreign investors, led by China, are offered incentives such as natural resources, hydropower potential, and low labor costs. However, local people have no protection from the destruction caused by investment projects and no say in the country's development strategy. The majority of foreign direct investment is in the natural resources sector, including large-scale commercial agriculture, timber processing, mining, and infrastructure projects. Hydropower development, including the Xayaburi and Don Sahong dams, has destroyed ecosystems and traditional food sources, displacing thousands of families. Agricultural investments have led to landlessness, unemployment, and food insecurity, while Special Economic Zones have resulted in pollution and exploitation of workers. The influx of investment capital has entrenched corruption, and the expected revenue is often lost, leaving rural areas impoverished and without access to basic services.