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Tag: Vientiane

  • Lao Rugby Kicks of 2020 by Hosting the DHL Vientiane 10s

    Lao Rugby Kicks of 2020 by Hosting the DHL Vientiane 10s

    This story about the Vientiane 10s has been kindly provided by the Lao Rugby Federation Later this month rugby players and enthusiasts from Lao PDR, Vietnam, China, Singapore, Thailand, the United States, UK, and Australia will come together in Hanoi and Vientiane for the second consecutive DHL sponsored rugby 10s series.

    Formerly known as the Vientiane International Rugby Championship, the DHL Vientiane 10s is the LRF’s flagship competition. In 2019 the Lao Rugby Federation (LRF) partnered with neighboring Hanoi 10s to create a multi-tournament series spanning two weeks in January.4/

    The second year of the series will kick off in 2020 with a single-day tournament in Hanoi on 18 January and a multi-day tournament in Vientiane on 25-26 January. More than 20 local and international teams will compete in Men’s, Women’s, and U18 Girls and Boys contact competitions, as well as U13 tag rugby.

    In the largest year of the Hanoi 10s competition, 12 senior teams will participate in the men’s and women’s divisions joined by 8 U18s boys’ and girls’ teams from Vietnam’s newly-formed rugby clubs including Coui Ha Club, Hop Dong Club, Thong Tien Club, Nuong Dam Club, Kim Truy Club, and Du Sang Club. In the senior divisions, DAC Weredragons will be returning to the DHL Hanoi 10s to defend their Cup Championship.

    The Kim Boi Wild Cats, DAC Rejectors and Hanoi Dragons will also be returning in this year’s men’s division joined by tournament newcomers, Raw Dogs and Hanoi Ghost Dragons. In the women’s division, the Kim Boi Wild Cats will return for the second year of the tournament joined by five teams making their first appearance at the DHL Hanoi 10s including DAC Weredragons, Hanoi Barbarians, NUS Singapore and Alexandre Yersin.

    Three visiting international teams from DAC Weredragons will travel to Hanoi prior to the tournament in order to learn about and support the development of rugby in the country through participating in some activities with Vietnamese ChildFund Pass It Back teams.

    The ChildFund Pass It Back curriculum, which was piloted in rural Laos from 2012-2014, endeavors to help young people build knowledge and skills through rugby in topics like leadership, gender equity, future planning, safety and health.

    Today, more than 3,000 young players are registered and actively participating in the curriculum in Laos and over 1,000 in Vietnam.

    In addition to the action on the pitch, the Kim Boi Wild Cats from Hoa Binh Province in Northern Vietnam will be supporting most of the DHL Hanoi 10s tournament management.

    In the first year of the competition in Hanoi, the LRF was proud to send Lao staff to support in lead management roles for the largest 10s international competition held in Vietnam to date.

    This year, the LRF’s Vietnamese colleagues will be building on the skills they learned in 2019 and taking the reigns as match officials in the U18s competition and as senior first aid and technical leads in the senior competition.

    The LRF has been partnering with ChildFund Vietnam since 2015 to support rugby development in the country. Over the 5 years of the partnership, Lao Coaches have supported many exciting developments from the first international tag competition in 2017 through to the first women’s 15s match in 2019 where the Kim Boi Wild Cats faced off against the DAC Lao Nagas in a historic match in Hanoi.

    The Kim Boi Wild Cats are current or former ChildFund Pass It Back Coaches who have been developing their skills in rugby administration and leadership roles in their local community since 2015.

    This group of young Vietnamese leaders has recently registered their clubs with the Vietnamese government and now be applying their skills on the international stage as the DHL Hanoi 10s prepares for this record-breaking year.

    Following the excitement in Hanoi, the LRF will welcome 32 teams for the 14th year of the DHL Vientiane 10s on 25-26 January.

    Twelve men’s teams in the senior elite division will be bolstered by returning 2019 DHL Vientiane 10s Men’s Cup Champions, Royal Thai Police and include series competitors DAC Weredragons, Hanoi Dragons and Raw Dogs. The Lao Barbarians and Vientiane Buffalos will represent Laos in the men’s top division joined by the Royal Thai Navy, Bangkok Southerners, Bangkok Warriors, Changzhou Giants, DAC Rejectors and Regency.

    2019 DHL Vientiane 10s Women’s Cup Champions, the Vientiane Lions will return in the women’s senior division alongside the Vientiane Buffalettes and Xieng Khoung RFC from Laos.

    The returning Banger Belles will be joined by DAC Weredragons, Made in China and MSU Pretty Crabs, all of which will be competing in Vientiane for the first time in what promises to be an exciting women’s senior competition. Additionally, 8 U18s boys’ and girls’ teams will compete in the U18s division including Lao teams from the LRF’s newest clubs: the Vientiane Province Gold Crabs and the Kham District Golden Elephants.

    “Year after year the competition draws top University and Club teams from across the region for a weekend of rugby,” comments LRF President Mr. Virayouth Rathikoun. “This is set to be the biggest 10s series in the region to date and competition will be fierce.

    The LRF is proud to play a role in supporting not only a budding club scene in Laos, but also strong tournament administration and rugby development beyond our borders.”

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  • InterContinental Vientiane to Open 2021 in Laos

    InterContinental Vientiane to Open 2021 in Laos

    Set to open in 2021, the new-build InterContinental Vientiane will become the company’s second hotel in Southeast Asian country, following the existing Crowne Plaza Vientiane. It will also become one of the Lao capital’s largest hotels, with more than 400 rooms.

    Built by Lao International Development, the hotel will form part of the new World Trade Centre complex – a mixed-use development that will include a large retail mall, medical centre, conference centre, office tower and residential towers.

    “Laos is currently one of the region’s fastest growing nations with close to five million international arrivals each year and future infrastructural and industrial developments underway to continue boosting economic growth and attract foreign investment,” explained Leanne Harwood, IHG’s vice president of operations for Southeast Asia & Korea. “It’s a great time to be bringing the InterContinental brand into the country to tap on this potential.

    “InterContinental Vientiane is… set to be positioned as one of the city’s most prominent hotels which will welcome distinguished guests such as visiting dignitaries and heads of states as key government meetings are planned to take place in the adjoining conference centre,” she added.

    Among its 400+ rooms, InterContinental Vientiane will feature a range of club rooms and suites which provide access to the hotel’s club lounge. Other facilities will include several F&B outlets, a swimming pool, spa and fitness centre.

    “It’s an exciting time to be investing in Laos as the country sees improved intra-regional connectivity through the completed Kunming-Vientiane-Bangkok highway connecting China, Laos and Thailand and the upcoming high-speed rail project that will link China to Laos,” said Xiao Long, CEO of Lao International Development. “We are confident these infrastructural developments will boost tourist arrivals, especially from surrounding nations, and the opening of InterContinental Vientiane will cater to the influx of travellers.

    “We are very pleased to partner IHG to develop what we are confident will be one of the most highly sought-after hotels in Vientiane,” he added.

    Across Southeast Asia, IHG now operates 14 InterContinental hotels and resorts, with 10 more due to open in the next five years. There are several international hotel brands currently present in Vientiane, including ibis, Best Western and Crowne Plaza, but InterContinental will be one of the first international luxury brands to enter the city.

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  • Miniso Laos opens first store at Vientiane

    Miniso Laos opens first store at Vientiane

    Chinese fashion and novelty retailer Miniso has opened its first store in Laos as it continues its rapid Asian expansion.

    The Miniso Laos store is located on the 1st floor of KL’lar Huk K’kee Mall in Vientiane, the nation’s capital.

    The flagship store in Laos gained much attention from the local government, five major banks in Laos installed ATMs at the store.

    First day turnover exceeded RMB 50,000 (US$7500).

    “For a developing country with a population of 6 million people, this was a miraculous sales record,” a Miniso spokesman said in a statement.

    Miniso Laos

    Phouphet Khamphounvong, Laotian Minister of Finance, and his wife, Miyake Jyunya, (pictured) global co-founder of Miniso, Ye Guofu, global co-founder of Miniso, Laotian representatives of business cooperation, officiated at the opening.

    Queues formed to be first to try the Japanese-styled store which sells own-brand fast fashion accessories, electronics, homewares and beauty products.

    Since its establishment in 2013, Miniso has opened more than 1400 stores across the globe. In 2015, its annual sales exceeded RMB 5 billion ($750 million), which it claims makes it the fastest-growing brand in offline retailing.

    This year, Miniso plans to open another 1800 stores globally, and to double its annual turnover.

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  • Maybank widens presence in Laos with second Vientiane branch

    Maybank widens presence in Laos with second Vientiane branch

    Malayan Banking Bhd (Maybank) has expanded its network in Laos with a second branch in the capital Vientiane, thus establishing a greater presence in one of the fastest expanding economies in Asean.

    The branch, located in the commercial district of Nongduang, offers a full spectrum of banking services, and aims to serve the needs of the local community as well as customers from across the region having trade and investment links in the country.

    The new branch was officially launched by Bank of the Lao PDR (central bank) deputy governor Vathana Dalaloy at an event hosted by Maybank chairman Tan Sri Megat Zaharuddin Megat Mohd Nor.

    Maybank international CEO Pollie Sim said the opening of the Nongduang branch will strengthen Maybank’s presence in Indochina and enhance its ability to meet the banking needs of customers, particularly the growing investor base into the country.

    “Laos is among the strongest performing economies in the region, with steady economic growth of around 8.5% for the past four years and is anticipated to achieve 7.5% real gross domestic product growth on average from 2016 to 2020, according to the government’s eighth development plan.”

    Sim said the first Maybank branch in Vientiane, which was opened in 2012, has experienced encouraging growth with loans and deposits rising at an annual average of 46% and 78% respectively over the last two years.

    “We anticipate that the opening of this second branch will further boost our franchise in the country and lift our loans and deposits growth to over 70% and 100% respectively by end of 2016,” she added.

    Services offered by the two Maybank branches in Laos include retail and business banking, foreign exchange, remittances, treasury as well as ATMs. The retail offerings include mortgages and personal loans while business banking services include term financing and trade financing.

    The two branches have a paid-up capital of LAK200 billion (about RM100 million) a staff strength of 30 in total.

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  • Duty free mall planned for Vientiane

    Duty free mall planned for Vientiane

    A consortium of Lao and Thai investors is building a shopping and hotel complex in Laos’ largest city, Vientiane as the two nations prepare for the new Asean Economic Community.

    The US$290 million project will be built on a 32 hectare site in downtown Vientiane. In the first stage a 37,000 sqm duty free mall will be built with tenancies for 200 brands.

    Stage two will include a larger shopping mall, a hotel, theme park and commercial buildings. A logistics and distribution centre is also planned.

    The first retail facility – to be called the Laos Duty Free Mall – is under construction already with an opening scheduled for February next year.

    Targeting Chinese, Thai and Lao shoppers, the centre is expected to draw about 10,000 customers a day.

    The project is being undertaken by BM Group, 51 per cent owned by Lao’s, including coffee and duty free business Dao-Heuang Group, and 49 per cent owned by Thai company Sayam International.

    BM Group is also planning four more duty free malls within four years in Laos: in Pakse, Vientiane, Savannakhet and Luang Prabang.

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