라오스 기업법

Abstract

The National Assembly of Laos approved amendments to the 1994 Business Law, in the form of the new Enterprise Law in October 2005. The Enterprise Law of Laos was officially promulgated by the President in April 2006. It is the key piece of legislation governing the establishment, operations and closure of businesses in Lao PDR. This paper introduces the framework of the Enterprise Law comparing the Korean law in some points. It significantly improved the process for forming a new company. The Enterprise Law creates more transparent procedures for private businesses, significantly simplifies regulations and procedures to start businesses, and moves from discretionary licensing to automatic registration, by way of the implementation of a negative list of restricted or prohibited activities. However, the ambiguity in licensing and regulatory procedures impedes the daily work and growth opportunities of enterprises. Furthermore, the continued state domination of the national economy limits the opportunities for robust private enterprise in Laos. Therefore, more comparative studies on the enterprise law of advanced industrial nations including Korea can be essential for the development of enterprise law in Laos.