Dispossession, semi-proletarianization, and enclosure: primitive accumulation and the land grab in Laos

By Miles Kenney-Lazar

Introduction: In April 2008, the Vietnamese corporation Hoàng Anh Gia Lai Joint (HAGL) signed a memorandum of understanding with the Government of Laos (GoL) agreeing to finance the construction of a $19 million athletes’ village. HAGL financed this property complex in support of the Southeast Asian (SEA) Games, a biennial regional sporting event that the GoL was hosting for the first time from December 9th to 18th, 2009, in the capital of the Lao People’s Democratic Republic (Lao PDR), Vientiane . The aid provided by HAGL was divided into two parts: a $4 million cash grant and a $15 million interest-free loan. In return, the company was given the rights to explore for mineral potentials in Sekong and Attapeu provinces of southeastern Laos, log timber from and plant rubber on a 10,000-hectare (ha) plot of land in Attapeu, construct two rubber processing factories in Attapeu, and develop a real estate complex in Vientiane (VietnamNet Bridge 2008). The $15 million loan would be repaid in part via rental fees on the 10,000 ha.