China just became the biggest investor in Laos, and Laos’s neighbors are worried
Land-locked Laos is one of the poorest countries in the world, but it has one thing in abundance: access to the massive Mekong River. The country’s hydropower potential has earned it the nickname “the Battery of Asia” and made it a magnet for investment from its neighbors: Thailand, southeast Asia’s second-biggest economy; Vietnam, a strategic Communist ally since the 1970s; and China, which is writing checks that put the rest to shame.
Adam Pasick
http://qz.com/172350/china-just-became-the-biggest-investor-in-laos-and-laoss-neighbors-are-worried/
