La Company Formation

---
name: la-company-formation
description: "Source-cited draft: company formation & entity choice for Laos (tax year 2025) — rates, thresholds and rules with primary-source citations. Unverified; pending local-accountant review."
license: "AGPL-3.0-or-later (code) / OpenAccountants Guide License v1.0 (content)"
metadata:
  source: openaccountants
  openaccountants_url: "https://www.openaccountants.com/skills/la-company-formation"
  jurisdiction: "LA"
  tax_year: "2025"
  last_updated: "2026-07-13"
---

# Laos Company Formation & Entity Choice

## Common entity types

The Law on Enterprises governs business forms in Lao PDR. The limited liability company is the most common vehicle for foreign and domestic investors. Details below are an unverified draft.

- **Limited liability company (LLC)** — 1 to 50 shareholders; liability limited to capital contributions  _(Law on Enterprises (Lao PDR) — https://multilaw.com/Multilaw/Multilaw/Global_Business_Entities_Guide/Laos_-_Limited_Company.aspx)_
- **Sole limited company** — Single-shareholder limited liability company  _(Law on Enterprises (Lao PDR) — https://laos.acclime.com/guides/how-to-register-company/)_
- **Public company (PLC)** — Minimum 7 shareholders and 3 directors; may offer shares to the public  _(Law on Enterprises (Lao PDR) — https://chandrawatpartners.com/incorporation-of-limited-liability-company-in-laos/)_
- **Branch / representative office** — Foreign companies may establish a branch or representative office subject to sector approval  _(Law on Enterprises (Lao PDR) — https://laos.acclime.com/guides/how-to-register-company/)_

## Capital, steps and compliance

Lao PDR has largely removed universal minimum-capital rules, though sector-specific thresholds apply and registered capital must be genuinely contributed.

- **General minimum registered capital** — No universal statutory minimum; abolished for foreign investors except where sector regulation sets a threshold  _(Law on Investment Promotion (Lao PDR) — https://www.tilleke.com/insights/laos-minimum-registered-capital-requirements-abolished-foreign-investors/)_
- **Registered capital contribution** — Must be genuinely contributed in cash or assets; loans in the enterprise's name cannot form registered capital  _(Law on Enterprises (Lao PDR) — https://ilawasia.com/blogs/legal-and-policy-framework-for-the-contribution-of-registered-capital-in-the-lao-pdr)_
- **Step 1 — name reservation** — Reserve a unique enterprise name with the Ministry of Industry and Commerce  _(Law on Enterprises (Lao PDR) — https://laos.acclime.com/guides/how-to-register-company/)_
- **Step 2 — enterprise registration certificate** — Register with the Ministry of Industry and Commerce and obtain the Enterprise Registration Certificate  _(Law on Enterprises (Lao PDR) — https://laos.acclime.com/guides/how-to-register-company/)_
- **Step 3 — tax registration** — Register with the Tax Department and obtain a Tax Identification Number (TIN)  _(Tax Administration Law (Lao PDR) — https://laos.acclime.com/guides/how-to-register-company/)_
- **Typical incorporation timeline** — Roughly 2–8 weeks depending on sector and approvals ((approx — confirm))  _(Law on Enterprises (Lao PDR) — https://laos.acclime.com/guides/how-to-register-company/)_
- **Core annual compliance** — Annual profit tax return (by 20 January) and audited/financial statements (by 31 March for a calendar year-end)  _(Accounting Law (Lao PDR) — https://laos.acclime.com/guides/financial-statement-filing/)_

## Today's figures and who stands behind this skill

This file is an AI skill (tax rules your AI follows) from OpenAccountants, copied on 2026-07-13. Rates, thresholds and deadlines change. For the current version of this skill, its official sources and the named accountant (if any) who stands behind it, call `get_skill` with slug `la-company-formation` on the OpenAccountants connector (https://www.openaccountants.com/connect), or read https://www.openaccountants.com/skills/la-company-formation. If neither is available, confirm every figure against the official source pages cited above before relying on it.