The Lao government and private sector have discussed the three main issues hindering improvement to business operations in the country and complete integration with the region and world.

The issues are business taxation, the cost of domestic and international freight and barriers to tourism development.

While some issues have reported good headway following discussions others have not made any progress, the Lao Business Forum heard.

Good progress was made in the cost of domestic and international transport of goods, export of finished wood products and wood product export procedures, access to import-export data, business registration and licensing, access to finance for SMEs and access to information on public procurement.

However, no progress was reported on value-added tax for the services sector, value-added tax refunds on export production, taxes on online sales, competition from informal practices and businesses without licences, barriers to tourism development, fees related to product trademarks, registration fees related to food and drug certificate registration, and government policy in supporting startups. – The Vientiane Times

HCM City set to host tourism fair

More than 30 travel firms in Vietnam’s Ho Chi Minh city will sell nearly 60,000 domestic and outbound tours at 15-50 per cent discount at the HCM City Tourism Fair to be held from April 12 to 15.

The annual fair, which has the theme “Exploring Summer” this year, seeks to stimulate travel demand during the upcoming summer season, said deputy director of the city Department of Tourism, said.

It is a forum for localities and travel firms to interact with potential customers and offers locals a chance to buy quality tours at reasonable prices, he said.

Tour operators, hotels, restaurants, airlines, and transport providers will showcase their products and services at 150 booths and offer discount vouchers, gifts, lucky draws, buy-one-get-one tours and others. Vietnam Airlines will offer 2,400 tickets on international and domestic flights at 30 per cent discount.

The event, to be held at September 23 Park in the city’s downtown, is expected to attract 400,000 visitors. |– Viet Nam News

Indonesia AirAsia records loss due to tax burden

Publicly listed firm AirAsia Indonesia, parent company of low-cost carrier Indonesia AirAsia (IAA), has announced that it recorded 512.96 billion rupiah (US$35.9 million) in losses in 2017 due to the tax burden.

The company noted that it had actually reaped 300.29 billion rupiah in profit in 2017 before taxes, a considerable jump from 92.49 billion rupiah in the previous year. The jump in profit, before taxes, was due to operational efficiency. – The Jakarta Post