So What Is So Great About Luang Prabang?

We have had many people ask us about the benefits of coming all the way over to Asia and then out of all of the obvious choices, decide on Luang Prabang to invest their hard earned money.

Well that is a fair question. Like everyone we are also very cautious when we invest our money. We want to make sure that over the next couple of years, our money will at the very least be safe, and hopefully increase in value.

So below are several bullet points about what is so great about Luang Prabang.

• Less competition than its other Asian neighbors
• Fantastic place to live
• Great for families, including several International schools
• Cosmopolitan feeling
• Thriving expatriate community
• Many opportunities for real returns on investments in several sectors
• A feeling that new things are just around the corner and waiting for someone to start something interesting
• Stable government with a favorable constitution for foreign investment

We will describe each point in more detail

Competition

As a result of opening its doors to the world a relatively short time ago, Laos has been kept away from the outside influence of globalization. However, During the 1980’s, the newly positioned National Assembly agreed to open up its borders and welcome foreign investment. Over the next 25 years, Laos has gradually increased it GDP.

This all means that there is less competition than its Asian neighbors that have been integrated into the world economy for longer such as Thailand, Vietnam and its biggest neighbor, China.

Great to live

The question, “what is so great about Luang Prabang” is answered as soon as you spend a few days here. From the French colonial cafe culture, to the distinctive and beautiful temples scattered around the city, Luang Prabang is a really fantastic place to be.

In between bouts of business, you can relax at one of the many very cheap and relaxing massage parlor or indulge in a muscle melting steam room for the usual 10,000 Kip! (~ $1.20, £0.78, €1.00).

you could even try your hand at meditating in its usual environment. A bit different to the office at home I think!

Family friendly

With several highly regarded international schools and expatriate teachers to teach, Luang Prabang is a great place to set up shop if you have a family and even a young family.

With a brand new children clinic opening soon under the guidance of a Western doctor, the medical facilities are sufficient for minor problems. For anything more serious, Thailand’s internationally recognized hospitals are only a short flight away.

Due to its quiet and nonthreatening nature, Luang Prabang is a wonderful place to start a fresh, safe in the knowledge that your family will be looked after and befriended by most.

With Spouse visa’s available and dependent visa’s also on offer, your family will be able to come with you out of the country and back in multiple times with no hassles.

Cosmopolitan

As a result of Luang Prabang’s colonial past and its new found character as a top tourist destination, Luang Prabang boasts a really calm and relaxed international character.

From its virtue of being a small town, the feeling of two cultures mixing together is unmistakable and a real pleasure to observe. Its cafe culture and wine bars, next to traditional street food vendors is a wonderful sight to see and always brings fresh ideas in the mind of a serious investor.

Investing here would really mean that you can take both a business approach and an emotional one without compromising either.

Thriving expat community

Being the place that it is, Luang Prabang has attracted many foreigners from around the world to come and live here for varying amounts of time. Some will only stay for 6 months at a time, some will get a job for a year and others will decide to begin their lives here.

Whatever you decide to do, you will be rewarded with a friendly community and lots of activities and fun things to do. You do of course have the option of hanging out with your Lao friends in order to get a fast track lesson in Lao culture which is a fantastic thing to do.

Many investment sectors

In Luang Prabang, there is a range of different sectors that you can invest in that can provide a very good ROI and many with fantastic cash flow opportunities.

From running a guesthouse or hotel to setting up a charitable project, you can really use your imagination to understand the depth of things going on here.

If you are a chef, then there is always demand for new eateries, especially unique and interesting ones. Is property development your thing; well real estate is currently thriving and desperate for professional architects and builders.

the amount of business there is to do is astonishing.

Unique opportunities

There is a feeling in Luang Prabang that something new is waiting to start, but no one with the correct skill set to do so. As in the previous point, if you are an architect, why not invest in a school to train the architects of the future? If you are a builder, then how about importing tools into Luang Prabang and starting a leasing shop?

There are also many new things around the corner with established sectors like tourism. You can build Eco hotels, start a tour agency for trips to different province (a new trend is to bring people to the untouched northern provinces).

Investment friendly government

Whilst still a single party, unitary state, the government of Laos has really opened itself up to foreign investment. Many sectors are still unavailable to foreigners and state controlled, but the main ones are ripe for picking.

The very nature of a single party system and a happy population indicate a very safe and secure government which is great for investors.

The constitution of Laos also has written in it specific clauses relating to investments foreign or otherwise, and allow a repatriation of funds back to your home country after relevant taxes have been paid.

There are certain stipulations such as a Lao staff quota and specific licenses to be got, but overall they make a very conducive environment to invest in.

Summary

So there you have it, some answers to the question of why is Luang Prabang so great!

The possibilities for investing your money here are endless and you can take advantage of this by getting into contact with us to see how we can help you.

As usual all initial consultations are free and KK Consulting & Real Estate is always available to contact via email. Our phone number is also available but only during 09.00 – 20.00 GMT+7.

Thanks for reading and we hope to answer your questions soon!