Merger Information Sharing Portal
Ministry of Industry & Commerce, Department of Domestic Trade
Phonxay Road, Xaysettha District, Vientiane Capital, Lao PDR P.O.Box 4107
+856 21 412435
The general law on competition, Law on Business Competition (No. 60/NA) was enacted in 2015 and the Lao Competition Commission was established in October 2018. Said law includes provisions on mandatory notification of mergers or acquisitions, depending on the thresholds to be set by the Commission. A transaction will be considered in restraint of competition if it results in exceeding the market share over the threshold defined by the Commission, restricting market access and the development of technology, and creating a negative impact on consumers, other business operators and the country’s socio-economic development.
The law provides that the Commission will examine the notification submission for 7 days, conduct a review of 30 days, which is extendible for another 30 days. As further regulations are needed to operationalize the merger control provisions of the said law, the notification process is not yet implemented.
Lao PDR’s merger control provisions is found in its general law on competition, Law on Business Competition No. 60/NA was enacted in 2015, and the Law on Enterprise No. 33/NA dated 29 December 2022. The Lao Competition Commission was established in October 2018.
No data available.
A transaction will be considered in restraint of competition if it results in exceeding the market share over the threshold defined by the Commission, restricting market access and the development of technology, and creating a negative impact on consumers, other business operators and the country’s socio-economic development.
The law provides that the Commission will examine the notification submission for 7 days, conduct a review of 30 days, which is extendible for another 30 days. No further guidelines has been issued as of date.
Ex-post notification with the Commission is mandatory depending on the thresholds to be set by the Commission. As further regulations are needed to operationalize the merger control provisions of the said law, the notification process is not yet implemented.