ASIAN DEVELOPMENT BANKDeveloping a local currency government BonD market in an emerging economy after coviD-19case for the Lao PeoPLe’s Democratic rePubLicDecember 2022 AsiAn Development BAnk6 ADB Avenue, Mandaluyong City1550 Metro Manila, Philippineswww.adb.orgDeveloping a local currency government Bond market in an emerging economy after coviD-19Case for the Lao People’s Democratic RepublicThis publication explores how a local currency government bond market is vital to strengthen economic recovery from COVID-19. It focuses on the Lao People’s Democratic Republic, as its market is exposed to many challenges also faced by other developing countries. It examines how this nation can benefit from the experiences of its neighbors in the Asian Bond Markets Initiative: the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, plus the People’s Republic of China, Japan, and the Republic of Korea (ASEAN+3). The publication highlights the essential building blocks for developing an efficient government bond market with sound cash and debt management. about the asian Development BankADB is committed to achieving a prosperous, inclusive, resilient, and sustainable Asia and the Pacific, while sustaining its efforts to eradicate extreme poverty. Established in 1966, it is owned by 68 members —49 from the region. Its main instruments for helping its developing member countries are policy dialogue, loans, equity investments, guarantees, grants, and technical assistance. ASIAN DEVELOPMENT BANKDeveloping a local currency government BonD market in an emerging economy after coviD-19case for the Lao PeoPLe’s Democratic rePubLicDecember 2022 creative commons attribution 3.0 iGo license (cc bY 3.0 iGo)© 2022 Asian Development Bank6 ADB Avenue, Mandaluyong City, 1550 Metro Manila, PhilippinesTel +63 2 8632 4444; Fax +63 2 8636 2444www.adb.orgSome rights reserved. Published in 2022. ISBN 978-92-9269-869-0 (print); 978-92-9269-870-6 (electronic); 978-92-9269-871-3 (ebook)Publication Stock No. TCS220527-2DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.22617/TCS220527-2 The views expressed in this publication are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views and policies of the Asian Development Bank (ADB) or its Board of Governors or the governments they represent. ADB does not guarantee the accuracy of the data included in this publication and accepts no responsibility for any consequence of their use. The mention of specific companies or products of manufacturers does not imply that they are endorsed or recommended by ADB in preference to others of a similar nature that are not mentioned.By making any designation of or reference to a particular territory or geographic area, or by using the term “country” in this document, ADB does not intend to make any judgments as to the legal or other status of any territory or area.This work is available under the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 IGO license (CC BY 3.0 IGO) https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/igo/. By using the content of this publication, you agree to be bound by the terms of this license. For attribution, translations, adaptations, and permissions, please read the provisions and terms of use at https://www.adb.org/terms-use#openaccess.This CC license does not apply to non-ADB copyright materials in this publication. If the material is attributed to another source, please contact the copyright owner or publisher of that source for permission to reproduce it. ADB cannot be held liable for any claims that arise as a result of your use of the material.Please contact pubsmarketing@adb.org if you have questions or comments with respect to content, or if you wish to obtain copyright permission for your intended use that does not fall within these terms, or for permission to use the ADB logo.Corrigenda to ADB publications may be found at http://www.adb.org/publications/corrigenda.Notes: In this publication, “USD” refers to United States dollars. ADB recognizes the Lao People’s Democratic Republic as the “Lao PDR”; Hongkong as “Hong Kong, China”; and Vietnam as “Viet Nam”. In this report, international standards for naming conventions—International Organization for Standardization (ISO) 3166 for country codes and ISO 4217 for currency codes—are used to reflect the discussions of the ASEAN+3 Bond Market Forum to promote and support implementation of international standards in financial transactions in the region. ASEAN+3 comprises the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) plus the People’s Republic of China, Japan, and the Republic of Korea. The economies of ASEAN+3 as defined in ISO 3166 include Brunei Darussalam (BN; BRN); Cambodia (KH; KHM); the People’s Republic of China (CN; CHN); Hong Kong, China (HK; HKG); Indonesia (ID; IDN); Japan (JP; JPN); the Republic of Korea (KR; KOR); the Lao People’s Democratic Republic (LA; LAO); Malaysia (MY; MYS); Myanmar (MM; MMR); the Philippines (PH; PHL); Singapore (SG; SGP); Thailand (TH; THA); and Viet Nam (VN; VNM). The currencies of ASE