13 Feb, 2026

Laos, United Arab Emirates to Cooperate on Digital, AI, Cybersecurity, Economy

Laos has taken new steps to strengthen its digital security as the government pushes ahead with online services, artificial intelligence, and digital finance.During the World Government Summit 2026 in Dubai on 3 February, Lao authorities signed agreements with the United Arab Emirates (UAE), based partners focusing on cybersecurity, digital finance, and artificial intelligence, areas seen as increasingly critical as Laos moves more government and financial services online.The Lao Ministry of Finance and Kaspersky Middle East signed a Memorandum of Understanding aiming to strengthen protection for digital infrastructure, financial platforms, and online transactions as Laos expands its use of digital services.The partnership also includes technical training, addressing a key challenge for Laos as digital systems develop faster than local technical capacity.A second agreement, signed between the Ministry of Technology and Communications and Menas Capital LLC, aims to link Laos to a wider regional digital and artificial intelligence network through the planned ASEAN Digital and AI Hub. Officials say the initiative could help Laos improve digital public services and allow local businesses to connect more easily with regional technology markets.Beyond technology, the summit also provided a platform for broader economic engagement. Lao and UAE business representatives met in Dubai to discuss logistics, transport, and manufacturing, highlighting interest in using Laos’ rail links and dry ports to support regional trade.The following day, on 4 February, Laos and the UAE also discussed trade and investment opportunities connected to logistics, dry ports and seaports, transport links, railway-based trade, and modern manufacturing. The parties signed two additional agreements to promote trade and investment between their respective private sectors.

09 Feb, 2026

Vietnam Gives Foreign Investors Easier Access to Stock Market

AFP – Vietnam has moved to allow foreign investors to buy shares of local companies through international brokerages, the finance ministry has announced, removing a major hurdle to accessing the fast-growing Asian market.Vietnam’s benchmark stock index surged more than 40 percent last year, despite new 20 percent tariffs on exports to its top trading partner the United States.The easing of investment restrictions comes ahead of Vietnam’s expected upgrade to emerging market status by FTSE Russell, enabling the index provider to start including Vietnamese equities by September.Foreign investors no longer have to open trading accounts directly with a domestic securities company, the finance ministry said on Tuesday of the policy change.Tran Hoang Son, market strategy director at VPBank Securities Company in Hanoi, said the changes help “reduce technical barriers and administrative procedures… making the Vietnamese market more accessible to foreign capital”.“These reforms serve as necessary conditions to activate medium and long-term foreign capital flows,” he added.The new rules do not alter strict foreign ownership limits.FTSE Russell announced in October that it was reclassifying Vietnam as a “secondary emerging market”, a designation that will put it in the same group with China and India.The upgrade from “frontier” status, which is subject to an interim review in March, takes effect in September, the index provider has said.FTSE Russell first added Vietnam to its watch list for an upgrade in 2018, and the country has made sweeping market reforms since then, including scrapping some foreign ownership caps for publicly listed companies.It has predicted that promotion to emerging market status could unlock up to USD 6 billion in capital inflows.Vietnam has proved surprisingly resilient in the face of new 20 percent tariffs imposed by US leader Donald Trump, clocking eight percent growth last year, among the fastest in Asia.