Please find the 2 parts of a report on the capitalization of the National Social Protection Fund (NSPF) of Lao PDR (Laos). In this report, we address: (1) Current state and complexity of social protection in Lao; (2) Problems facing NSPF capitalization; and (3) A brief case study of social protection funds in Thailand.

We picked Thailand as the country has gone through many reiterations of social protection funds and successfully adopted the universal healthcare fund (UHC), which we deem as an important milestone. Thailand is also culturally similar to Laos and we believe it is an easier path for Laos to consider following the Thailand’s model. We did consider Vietnam as Laos’ peer but we believe Vietnam’s market is evolving and still lacks transparency, especially on the debt market. There is also no credible credit rating agency in Vietnam.

Our review of Laos’ social protection situation, a case study in Thailand, and Lao bond trend and capital market exposure leads us to propose solutions in the Key Findings section below, which we will examine further in details in our next report which we will focus on: (1) A range of funding solutions for Laos’ NPSF; (2) Major criteria for selecting an ideal funding solution; and (3) Our recommendation on how to capitalize NPSF.