Following Xprizo’s successful Asian Tour last month and in response to positive feedback, I was asked to return to Laos to finalise agreements and meet with the CEOs and Presidents of our clients. A core focus was on KCC and PTHL, as well as other positive leads in Laos, Vietnam, Thailand, and Cambodia.

Laos

Laos – not an easy place to travel from Dubai, with a layover at Hanoi, where I have to thank Emirates and the Hanoi Lao Airways meet and greet team for treating me like a celeb. The flight to Laos is always on time and very uneventful, maybe teach our western no frills airlines something about punctuality. 

For those of you that are not familiar with Laos, it’s often regarded as a smaller brother to Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam. It was famously dubbed the most bombed country in the world during the Vietnam and American war. It borders China, Myanmar, Cambodia, Thailand and Vietnam.

With a population of roughly 7 million, and its capital is Vientiane, where I was heading. Laos is not as rich as its neighbours but what it lacks financially it makes up for with its breathtaking landscapes and heritage. Shame I wasn’t able to do much sightseeing. 

The four weeks spent there were eye opening, power cuts and being stuck in a lift for 20 minutes, to tropical thunderstorms and localised flooding, I saw it and experienced it, whilst also suffering from fever and aches.

Business seems to go on and I was grateful that our client provided a driver for our meetings and even a private space in their coffee shop for me to hold meetings and work from. Signing agreements and working with Laotians is a very patient affair and you have to understand that, if your mentality is “fast and furious” then doing business in Laos is not for you. Most places shut between 10pm and 11pm – so for all those that like a drink or late snack Laos is definitely not for you, having said that I did discover three places that were open late until 2am, so when I was able to go out during my four weeks I was grateful for a weekend to at least have a beer or two and not be worried about having to finish at 11pm. 

On the other hand due to lots of Chinese influence there are a few clubs that have opened up and do operate a late licence until 3am on weekends, so all is not slow for clubbers, and even here in clubs deals were being struck and I did have some interesting conversations on how Xprizo could help Chinese OFWs to make the most of their money and use our solution locally.

My clients were hospitable and friendly, but very professional and business minded.  Agreements were reviewed and counter reviewed and finally sent to their solicitors to finalise the draft for signing. Of the four potential partnerships two are pending, one looking to review our agreement in October and possibly start work with us in December and the fourth on hold due to regulatory permission.

I am looking forward to visiting Laos again partly because two of our clients want to do a PR campaign around signing of the agreements.

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