Tokyo will open a trade office in Laos next year amid a boost in Japanese companies investing in the South-East Asian country, dpa cited a news report as saying Monday. The government-run Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO) said it would open an office in Vientiane in 2014, as the country had become more appealing because of its political stability, cheap labour and economic growth, the Vientiane Times reported. Although still ranked among the world's least developed countries, the Lao economy grew about 8 per cent in each of 2011 and 2012, according to the Asian Development Bank. There are about 60 Japanese companies investing in Laos, compared with 27 in 2009.
