Laos will adopt many measures to cope with inflation, Minister of Planning and Investment Somdy Douangdy said.

According to the minister, the government has decided to increase monthly salaries for State employees by 16 percent to between 500,000 kip (62 USD) and 2 million kip (248 USD) per month, from October this year.

The decision is made as Laos ’ tax collection has exceeded its target and the government expects the salary increase will help maintain consumer purchasing capacity.

The Lao government has also asked its National Assembly to approve projects to assist State employees working in isolated and remote areas, and provide free medical checks-up for pregnant women and under-five children.

At present, the Lao government is exerting efforts to boost domestic production to supply more goods to the market while reducing imports as a solution to reduce inflation./.