Vientiane traders failing to display Lao kip
Vientiane traders failing to display Lao kip
A majority of the traders in Vientiane have not been advertising the price of goods in Lao kip despite being ordered to do so by local authorities.
The Vientiane Industry and Commerce Department launched a campaign in the past few months to encourage traders to advertise the price of their goods in Lao kip as part of an effort to promote the use of the national currency.
Many newspapers, as well as radio and television channels have reported on the campaign, aiming to inform vendors of the necessity of advertising in Lao kip.
However, many vendors still do not follow the orders given to them by the local authorities, the department's Domestic Trade section Head, Ms Somphet Alounthong told Vientiane Times last week.
In order to promote the campaign, the department has directed district and market authorities to take follow up action in local shops and markets, Ms Somphet said.
However, she said it was not easy to encourage all the vendors to follow the order because some of them were not aware of the information being published in newspapers or on the radio and television, while some still lacked understanding on the government policy, she said.
Some markets are following the policy and have been labelled ‘model markets' in Vientiane as they have good management and authorities have received good participation from vendors.
In the past, the price of goods would usually be displayed in Lao kip but was not as effective as anticipated as there was a lack of cooperation from vendors and concerned sectors, Ms Somphet said.
To make this work, they nee d close cooperation from different sectors at the central and local levels, as well as good participation from the business units, Ms Somphet said.
To raise awareness and increase understanding of vendors in Laos, especially in Vientiane, the department in cooperation with relevant sectors such as the Bank of the Lao PDR, along with district and market authorities needs to continue promoting the use of the national currency.
The department stressed that district industry and commerce offices and market authorities should take high responsibility in enforcing this measure.
The department believed that it would take many months to make all the traders underst and and follow the policy.
However, the department accepted the need for shops an d service centres in some areas to continue using other currencies as they may be located in airports and border checkpoints or need to consider import and export service fees.
According to the policy, first time violators will be warned and trained. In the second instance, they will be fined and the third strike will result in seizure of the store's goods.
vientiane times
