Ease of Doing Business and Corruption

Ease of Doing Business Ranking –Laos’s ease of business ranking depicts a complex and opaque business environment, with barriers to regional trade and integration that limit its attractiveness as an investment destination. Investors complain about high costs of doing business and the absence of a transparent, dynamic, and streamlined business environment. The following chart gives a comparison between major ASEAN countries and their ease of business rankings which shows how Laos is the second worst country holding the 154^th rank, only after Myanmar holding the 165^th rank.

IPRI Ranking– The IPRI ranking of Laos isn’t available.

Perceived Transparency Score –.The following table below shows the Corruption Perceptions Index rank of Laos in 2019 compared to that of other ASEAN countries. It shows that Laos is the most corrupt country after Cambodia in the ASEAN along with Myanmar, as both the countries hold 130^th rank in the world. This proves to be a massive hindrance in the development of Laos. The Ministry of Public Works and Transportation uncovered 1,002 separate cases of corruption from state employees in 2018— the majority of which were related to infrastructure development projects. Of these, only 91 cases resulted in jail time. A further 61 were charged with economic crimes. The remaining 850 cases did not result in legal proceedings. Any effort to tackle corruption will be unable to scratch the surface while Laos remains a one-party state, which doesn’t allow for checks on the government.