Lao PDR Competitiveness and Trade Project

The objectives of the Competitiveness and Trade Project are to simplify business regulations, facilitate trade, and improve firm-level competitiveness. There are four components to the project, the first component being improving the business environment. The pillar aims to improve the transparency and efficiency of the general business environment to reduce the costs it currently imposes on all enterprises, and SMEs that find it more difficult to deal with complex and nontransparent procedures that are applied based on deals, rather than rules. As a result, regulatory reforms are expected to particularly benefit such companies. Throughout this pillar, emphasis will be on ensuring that reforms and initiatives benefit particularly SMEs and proportionally benefit women-led enterprises. The second component is the facilitating trade and connecting to markets. This component is designed to support the Government of Lao PDR in implementing the provisions of the WTO TFA.20 Full and effective implementation of the TFA commitments is expected to reduce the high trade costs and delays resulting from administrative procedures to obtain trade documents and clearance for imports and exports, to increase certainty and reliability of imports and exports, and to increase trade transparency. The third component is the improving firm-level competitiveness will be implemented through component C.1 (Business Assistance Facility). This component is to complement improvements in the overall business and trade environment, this pillar will support individual private enterprises in accessing business development services through a matching grant facility. The intervention aims to reduce costs internal to firms by improving company management and innovation in terms of products, markets, and distribution channels such as e-commerce. Finally, the fourth component is the supporting better and more inclusive policies.