Second Lao PDR Competitiveness and Trade Project (WB-P512702)

Regions
  • East Asia and Pacific
Geographic location where the impacts of the investment may be experienced.
Countries
  • Laos
Geographic location where the impacts of the investment may be experienced.
Financial Institutions
  • World Bank (WB)
International, regional and national development finance institutions. Many of these banks have a public interest mission, such as poverty reduction.
Project Status
Approved
Stage of the project cycle. Stages vary by development bank and can include: pending, approval, implementation, and closed or completed.
Bank Risk Rating
C
Environmental and social categorization assessed by the development bank as a measure of the planned project’s environmental and social impacts. A higher risk rating may require more due diligence to limit or avoid harm to people and the environment. For example, "A" or "B" are risk categories where "A" represents the highest amount of risk. Results will include projects that specifically recorded a rating, all other projects are marked ‘U’ for "Undisclosed."
Voting Date
Jun 18, 2026
Date when project documentation and funding is reviewed by the Board for consideration and approval. Some development banks will state a "board date" or "decision date." When funding approval is obtained, the legal documents are accepted and signed, the implementation phase begins.
Borrower
Government of Laos - Ministry of Finance; Ministry of Industry and Commerce (MOIC)
A public entity (government or state-owned) provided with funds or financial support to manage and/or implement a project.
Sectors
  • Industry and Trade
The service or industry focus of the investment. A project can have several sectors.
Investment Type(s)
Grant
The categories of the bank investment: loan, grant, guarantee, technical assistance, advisory services, equity and fund.
Investment Amount (USD)
$ 4.99 million
Value listed on project documents at time of disclosure. If necessary, this amount is converted to USD ($) on the date of disclosure. Please review updated project documents for more information.
Project Cost (USD)
$ 4.99 million
Value listed on project documents at time of disclosure. If necessary, this amount is converted to USD ($) on the date of disclosure. Please review updated project documents for more information.
Bank Documents
Primary Source

Original disclosure @ WB website

Updated in EWS Sep 25, 2026

Disclosed by Bank Nov 14, 2025

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Project Description
If provided by the financial institution, the Early Warning System Team writes a short summary describing the purported development objective of the project and project components. Review the complete project documentation for a detailed description.

According to the Bank’s website, the objective of this project is to improve the efficiency of Lao PDR’s regulatory environment for business entry and trade facilitation through digitalization of procedures.

The proposed RETF activities reinforce the complementarity of paperless trade and business entry automation in Lao PDR. The proposed project is designed to build on the successes of Lao Competitiveness and Trade Project (LCTP1) and seeks to further reduce regulatory challenges in business entry and operation and address Lao PDR's high trade costs hindering a more competitive and diversified export sector. The RETF activities are clustered into three components.

Component 1. Trade Facilitation. This component will strengthen inter-agency coordination mechanisms and supporting implementation of initiatives to improve trade facilitation performance. It will also provide expert advice and capacity-building to assist in implementing the Information, Communication and Technology ( ICT) Roadmap and support the better integration of ICT initiatives, as well as the adoption of a paperless trade regime.

Component 2: Business environment. This component will enhance business entry by upgrading the electronic business registration system (eBRS) and strengthen the institutional capacity of the LNCCI to better equip the Lao Business Forum (LBF) Secretariat and relevant working groups to ensure the effectiveness of policy implementation and the sustainability of LBF.

Component 3: Project Management. This Component will provide technical and operational assistance for implementation, monitoring, and evaluation of the project, including fiduciary aspects. Additionally, this component will provide support for gender and disability, communication, compliance monitoring of environmental and social aspects.

Early Warning System Project Analysis
For a project with severe or irreversible impacts to local community and natural resources, the Early Warning System Team may conduct a thorough analysis regarding its potential impacts to human and environmental rights.

The project is advisory/digital in nature with no civil works and no confirmed financing of physical ICT goods or office operations leading to a Low environmental risk, site-specific, and readily manageable. Main potential impacts are minor resource use and waste from trainings/events and possible downstream considerations in TOR-driven analytics. If any equipment or materials are later financed, low-level risks could arise from e-waste, packaging, and energy use; these would be mitigated through proportionate measures embedded in TORs/procurement and the POM/ESCP, applying WBG EHS Guidelines and, if needed, a simple Electronic Waste Management Plan to ensure lawful handling and disposal. No significant, irreversible, or cumulative impacts are expected. The social risk is also assessed to be low considering the advisory/digital nature of project activities with no civil works, land acquisition, involuntary resettlement, livelihood or adverse impacts on IPs.

Investment Description
Here you can find a list of individual development financial institutions that finance the project.

Total Project Cost: US$ 4.99 million
Trust Funds: US$ 4.99 million


Contact Information
This section aims to support the local communities and local CSO to get to know which stakeholders are involved in a project with their roles and responsibilities. If available, there may be a complaint office for the respective bank which operates independently to receive and determine violations in policy and practice. Independent Accountability Mechanisms receive and respond to complaints. Most Independent Accountability Mechanisms offer two functions for addressing complaints: dispute resolution and compliance review.

CONTACT POINT - World Bank

Task Team Leader: Julian Casal
Title: Lead Financial Sector Economist
Email: jcasal@worldbank.org

TTL Contact: Soujanya Krishna Chodavarapu
Job Title: Senior Private Sector Specialist
Email: schodavarapu@worldbank.org

TTL Contact: Konesawang Nghardsaysone
Job Title: Economist
Email: knghardsaysone@worldbank.org

ACCESS TO INFORMATION

To submit an information request for project information, you will have to create an account to access the Access to Information request form. You can learn more about this process at: https://www.worldbank.org/en/access-to-information/request-submission

ACCOUNTABILITY MECHANISM OF THE WORLD BANK

The World Bank Inspection Panel is the independent complaint mechanism and fact-finding body for people who believe they are likely to be, or have been, adversely affected by a World Bank-financed project. If you submit a complaint to the Inspection Panel, they may investigate to assess whether the World Bank is following its own policies and procedures for preventing harm to people or the environment. You can contact the Inspection Panel or submit a complaint by emailing ipanel@worldbank.org. Information on how to file a complaint and a complaint request form are available at: https://www.inspectionpanel.org/how-to-file-complaint

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