Laos, other debt-laden Asia-Pacific nations under pressure from strong dollar

ADB boosts funding for vulnerable countries amid debt trap fears

20240506N Laos Luang Prabang

Laos' weakening currency threatens faster food price inflation. (Photo by Kenya Akama)

YOHEI HIROSE and HANA SLEVIN OHAMA, Nikkei staff writers

TOKYO/TBILISI, Georgia -- Currency weakness against the dollar has raised concerns that Laos and other vulnerable Asia-Pacific nations are at risk of falling into a debt crisis.

"Debt vulnerabilities remain severe in some middle-income countries, as well as low-income countries," Japanese Finance Minister Shunichi Suzuki said at the annual Asian Development Bank (ADB) meeting held over the weekend in Tbilisi, Georgia.

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