When generations talk in Laos

It is a interesting experience when you listen to oversea Lao people who are coming back to Laos. The country as they know it is quite difficult from what it is now. On the other hand, the now young generation has no idea how Laos was when their grand parents left. So both of them now have to adapt to each other. What is not so easy: Sometimes young people are quite bored about the stories of the old Laos. Sometimes the old people don't want to accept the way it is now. But the permanent reality check let them come closer. It can have an interesting effect for the society: Not only young Lao people get a different picture of life abroad (with all advantages and disadvantages), they also get first hand knowledge about the life before the war in Laos. They may recognize that what they learned in school is different from what their family members tell them (and what they see on the internet). Also, returning Lao people face reality when they settle down here, experience bureaucracy and corruption on an extend they may have not expected. As an older Lao mentioned: "You can't get proper tools here. Not even proper chairs. Why my Lao people don't produce stuff instead of importing everything from Thailand."

Take it easy cafe

I really really like coffee shops, you may have noticed that already. There is a new one in town, and I kinda felt in love with it (although it was closed when I came the first time). It was Sunday, I actually met someone in front of it, and the owner (a older Lao who lived in the US for a long time) was sitting with some friends outside. He told me that he has no staff for the Sunday, that's why he can't really open, but offered some water for free. We then were chatting for 3 hours. When I came back, I tried the ham and cheese croissant, and it is really good: They brought ham and cheese from Paris. It is not the most fancy place, it is not as cosy as Cafe Nomad, but it does have some charme. Free Wifi is a huge Plus for me, good coffee even more important. I also like it when the owner actually works there, and when it does have a local touch. Aircondition is available inside (outside it is a bit noisy). Location: The riverside road, pass by Don Chan Palace on the way out of town, then it is on the right side (next to Lobos, the not so good German restaurant). Opening hours 7 am to 8pm.

Umbrellas for what?

I read this article in the Vientiane Times today. No ideas what was the reason they published it, since it shows how projects are failing. Bu read first:

"Bamboo umbrellas made in Xieng Khuang province are finding markets
further afield, and are now on sale in popular tourist spots in Luang
Prabang, Vangvieng and even across the border.

The colourful umbrellas, which are individually crafted by villagers
in Phoukoud district, are proving increasingly popular with tourists,
according to Mr Thanongsone Xaisongkham, who is the marketing officer
for the Rural Income through Sustainable Energy project.

“What I know is that traders from these places come to us to buy the
umbrellas to sell. But because most of the people who make them are
farmers, they don't have enough time to make umbrellas in large
quantities and are unable to keep up with demand,” Mr Thanongsone
said.

The colourful umbrellas with bamboo handles are mostly sold in tourist
destinations because they are more artistic than functional.

They can be used to provide shade but are not sturdy enough to be
waterproof in heavy rain, and might also get damaged.

They are used mainly for decoration and are mostly bought by tourists
as a souvenir of Laos.

Mr Thanongsone said umbrella making is an old tradition in Xieng
Khuang province and the pastime dates back to long before the project
began.

“There are currently about 10 people in the province who make
umbrellas and our project encourages them to find new markets for
their products.”

Mr Thanongsone said the venture has generated a good income for the
umbrella makers and some families can earn up to 20 million kip a
year.

Bamboo is plentiful in the northern provinces, especially in Phoukoud
district.

Umbrella production is supported by the Rural Income through
Sustainable Energy project, which began in 2001, and operates in
Phonesaarth Tai village, Paek district, Xieng Khuang province."

So, 10 people producing umbrellas and cannot even meet the demand. Beside of not mentioning how big this demand is, I ask myself why this is even called a project. How much money was wasted for the programm and the programm officer?

To make it clear: There might be a souvenir market for these umbrellas, bu but for now Luang Prabang is actually lacking tourists. And other destinations have the same problem. So if you really want to sell this umbrellas, make sure the supply change is in place and the market as well.

Chao Anouvon park

Thats how people apparently appeiciate the donation of the Chao Anouvong park. Garbage everywhere.

Open fire and climate change

It is always easy to give general advice or analysis about climate change. But not many people actually follow the "think global, act local" idea. One problem about climate change is not just the CO2 emissions of the western countries, but also the smoke of the third world countries. A study shows:

Total average annual fuelwood production in developing countries increased=approximately 16.5% over the past decade to about 1.55 billion cubic meters. Worldwide, it is estimated that nearly 3 billion people use fuelwood as their primary source of energy. In developing countries, especially in rural areas, 2 billion people rely solely on fuelwood for heating and cooking.

There are actually different threats for climate and health:

Empirical studies have shown that cooking stove smoke can contain hundreds of chemicals components. The most well-studied products include total suspended particulates (TSP), polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH), and carbon monoxide (CO).... mConsiderable evidence has been accumulated linking indoor air pollution from biomass cooking stoves to a variety of different diseases. Tobacco research suggests that cooking smoke might also cause peptic ulcer disease, cardio-vascular diseases, otitis media and other ailments.

So if you really want to improve environment, tell people to stop open fire. Don't burn trash or waste from the garden. Use gas or electricity for cooking, not charcoal. It might be a Lao tradition to use open fire, but the consequences are sickness and pollution. So maybe time for a change.

Lao Business Environment worst than Afghanistan

So the Worldbank issued a report about business environments.

Below are select highlights for the data included in the profile. Laos is ranked 171st out of 183 economies in Doing Business 2011. According to the latest Enterprise Surveys (2009), Tax Rates, Access to Finance and Inadequately Educated Workforce constitute the top constraints to firm investment in Laos. Among the firms surveyed, 43% of them identify tax rates as a major constraint to investment. Only 18% of the local firms report having a line of credit or loans from financial institutions, compared to 40% regionally, and 34% for all countries surveyed. Laos’s economic freedom score is 51.3, making its economy the 141st freest out of 183 countries in the 2011 Index. Its overall score is 0.2 point better than last year, with improvements in monetary freedom and property rights offsetting a large drop in labor freedom. Laos is ranked 31st out of 41 countries in the Asia–Pacific region, and its overall score is below the world and regional averages. The economy is growing quickly, in part because of large inflows of Chinese and Vietnamese investment into its mining sector.

Laovoices just quoted and article about spare parts for automobiles.

Minister of Industry and Commerce Dr Nam Vinhaket said last week the government had no intention of resuming the import of used vehicle spare parts for the purpose of reassembly, after finding the business is having a negative impact on consumers and the environment.

I am sure this was not because of the pressure of automakers who want to sell new cars. Oh, and also very important and urgent is the degree, that you cannot say Laos anymore in your company name. It must be Lao. I guess that will cause a huge boom in business.

The "war" in the telecom market in Laos

Last week the there phone operators Lao Telecom, ETL and Unitel cut their lines with Beeline, the recently rebranded former Tigo. The reason was apparently a Beeline promotion during the boat racing festival for free SMS. Some weeks ago the government urged the providers to stop certain marketing campaigns where they offered free service such as SMS and SIM cards. The 4 operators agreed to stop it. Now Beeline seems to violated it and the competitors too the harsh measures. So what does it mean: First of all, the government said it is concerned about dropped tax revenues. Lao Telecom what is the market leader reported a drop of 19 percent in revenue. But if you take a closer look, then you will see that actually LTC is the most vulnerable company because of it"s poor performance. Some weeks ago shareholder Thaicom announced that they consider to pull out, because of the difficulties they have with their partner in revenue performance. It seems that too much money is lost in certain channels at LTC, as usual. ETL may face the same problem, while Unitel is a Vietnamese company that may loose their money in the homeland (and has a more strategic reason to be in the Lao market then revenue in the first place). So why the alliance against Beeline, if there is not even a government order? Because it is too convenient for them. Competition is not really established in Laos, and if a company find a way to hurt the competitors, they will do it. In a still developing market happens what happend in the bank sector in Vietnam before: Too many players with agressive marketing were first destroying their own market and then themselves. What Laos has to learn is how a market works, and what regulations are neccessary to allow MANY players to be in the market, not just a few. No idea why Beeline committed nearly suicide with the SMS promotion, maybe the big boss was out of the country and the subordinates thought they were smart (happens more often than you might think). For now, nobody except Beeline subscribers can call Beeline. And Beeline itself is very poor in communication. They call it a technical problem. What is a lie.

They risk their business, because nobody will register with them if they don't fix the problem now (and talks are announced for this week, not earlier) In addition, the government announced that from November on all subscribers must be registered. Not sure yet if there will be a limit for SIM cards as well. We will see how the governments measures and involvement in a market, where it is not just the regulator, but also a player, will effect the purely private companies. We know from Vietnam, that there is still a priority: state owned first, then local, then foreign companies. Since Laos is a small country where foreign investment is often more strategic based then in current revenues, it might be a problem to make it even more difficult to invest.

A desire for milk products in Laos

When I ask my neighbor if I can bring anything for her from the supermarket, she usually says "Milk". She is a 30 year old Laotion, and the common knowledge tells me that she can not drink milk, since most Asian people are lactose-intolerant. What is true. But does it mean they cannot drink milk? No. Just watch kids - they drink milk and diary products a lot and get fat, but not sick. How ist that possible? First of all: Milk is considered good for health, but also a statement of lifestyle. This is why Asian people want to have it. Although not used to the taste, the demand is so big that some years ago China was buying so much milk from Germany that Germany got a domestic supply problem. What in particular Chinese factories do, is getting the lactose out of the milk. Also, they produce yoghurt what is basically lactose free, ice cream and milk powder. In Vietnam. Vinamilk is one of the biggest companies - it would not be possible if people can't use their products. Also, even if you are lactose intolerant, you probably safe if your daily consumption is less than 100-150 ml. It is usually not life threatening anyway, you just get a intense diarrhea.