Laos, Hong Kong Forge New Path in Gold Market and Financial Services Cooperation

Vientiane: The Lao PDR and the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to deepen cooperation in financial services and support the development of a modern, transparent, and internationally integrated gold market. According to Lao News Agency, the agreement was signed in Vientiane on July 20, 2026, by Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance Santiphab Phomvihane and Christopher Hui, Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China. At the same ceremony, Chanthone Sitthixay, Chief Executive Officer of Lao Gold Bank, and Damien Han, Head of Sales for the Asia-Pacific Region at MKS PAMP, signed a separate business cooperation MoU, witnessed by senior officials from both sides. The government-to-government agreement reflects a shared commitment to expanding cooperation in financial services while promoting the development of an efficient, transparent, and internationally connected gold market. It establishes a framework for collaboration in gold market development, financial market integration, human resource capacity building, regulatory cooperation, modernization, and the strengthening of the gold value chain. Officials said the agreement supports the Lao Government's vision of building a comprehensive gold market ecosystem to promote sustainable economic growth, strengthen financial market infrastructure, and enhance the country's integration with regional and global markets. Under this strategy, the Ministry of Finance has designated Lao Gold Bank as a strategic institution to modernize the domestic gold market and reinforce the country's precious metals financial infrastructure. Lao Gold Bank has played an important role in promoting transparent gold banking services, encouraging the mobilization of domestic gold resources into the formal financial system, and expanding partnerships with leading international financial institutions and precious metals industry stakeho lders. The new MoU further strengthens these efforts by creating a government-to-government framework for knowledge exchange, institutional cooperation, and international partnerships, while deepening financial connectivity between Laos and Hong Kong, one of the world's leading international financial centres and a major global hub for precious metals trading.