The Lao Kip has been the official currency of Laos since 1952, when it replaced the French Indochinese Piastre at par. At the time, the Kip was sub-divided into 100 att. The symbol for the Lao Kip is ₭.
Economy
Laos's economy depends heavily on investment and trade with its neighbors, Thailand, Vietnam, and especially in the north, China. Pakxe has also experienced growth based on cross-border trade with Thailand and Vietnam.
In 2011, the Democratic Republic of the stock market began trading.
Laos is rich in mineral resources, oil and gas imports. Metallurgy is an important industry, and the government hopes to attract foreign investment to develop the important coal deposits, gold, bauxite, tin, copper and other precious metals.
Abundant water resources of the country and mountainous terrain enable them to produce and export large amounts of hydroelectric power. Potential capacity of approximately 18,000 megawatts, about 8,000 megawatts have been committed for export to Thailand and Vietnam.
History
The first version of the Lao Kip was released in 1945-1946. The Free Kip government in Vientiane issued a series of paper money in denominations of 10, 20 and 50 att and 10 Kip before the French authorities took control of the region.
In 1952, the Lao Kip was reintroduced, replacing the French Indochinese Piastre at par. Coins were issued in denominations of 10, 20 and 50 cents or inscriptions att French and Lao. All were minted in aluminum and had a hole in the center, like the Chinese cash coins. The only year of issue was 1952.
In 1957, the government issued notes denominated solely in Lao Kip. The notes were 1, 5, 10, 20, 50, 100 and 500 Kip.
In 1963, 200 and 1,000 Lao Kip notes were followed by 5,000 Kip notes in 1975. All were printed in France.
