Tired of fusty old outposts such as Bangladesh, Nigeria or Mongolia? Try the world's newest -- and possibly smallest -- stock market, the Laos Securities Exchange.

This landlocked, Communist-run nation of six million people is best known for being the most heavily bombed country per capita after the U.S. flew more than half a million bombing missions there during the Vietnam War. More recently, Laos has become an exotic destination for adventure-seeking tourists to take photographs of Buddhist monks.

But Tuesday, it is shaking off some of its socialist constraints and opening its first stock exchange -- a move its leaders hope will eventually reel in foreign and local capital and help transform the fortunes of one of Asia's poorest and least industrialized nations.

Despite what locals say is an auspicious launch date -- 11/1/11 -- this isn't a 'big bang' type of event, or at least not just yet. Just two stocks are listing: a bank, Banque Pour Le Commerce Exterieur Lao, or BCEL, and, significantly, power company EDL-Generation Co., which many investors see as a way of getting some exposure to Laos's burgeoning hydropower industry and its fast-growing electricity exports to other, larger Southeast Asian economies.

Even then, state-run parent company Electricite du Laos will retain 75% of the power company, and some investors still say they worry about speculation among local investors destabilizing the entire market.

The real benefit for Laos launching its equity market, analysts say, might be in highlighting the potential for the country's isolated economy and encouraging its Marxist rulers to spin off other state-controlled businesses and take them to the securities exchange. The Laos bourse is 49%-owned by the South Korean stock exchange and is housed in a glass-front, $10 million building.

'I think we need to be modest in our expectations, but this is the beginning of a process that could end up with 10 or 15 companies listed on the market in the next few years,' says Douglas Clayton, chief executive of fund manager Leopard Capital LP, which invested 21.5 billion kip, or about $2.6 million, to buy 2.32% of EDL-Generation's initial public offering.

James Hookway

• opening [´əupəniŋ] n.开放；开端 a.开始的 (初中英语单词)
• commerce [´kɔmə:s] n.商业；社交；交流 (初中英语单词)
• retain [ri´tein] vt.保持；保留；留住 (初中英语单词)
• economy [i´kɔnəmi] n.经济；机制；组织 (初中英语单词)
• modest [´mɔdist] a.谦虚的；朴素的 (初中英语单词)
• beginning [bi´giniŋ] n.开始，开端；起源 (初中英语单词)
• executive [ig´zekjutiv] a.行政的 n.行政官 (初中英语单词)
• manager [´mænidʒə] n.经理；管理人；干事 (初中英语单词)
• destination [,desti´neiʃən] n.目标地 (高中英语单词)
• socialist [´səuʃəlist] n.社会主义者 (高中英语单词)
• transform [træns´fɔ:m] v.转化，转变；改造 (高中英语单词)
• launch [lɔ:ntʃ] vt.发动 n.发射；汽艇 (高中英语单词)
• exposure [ik´spəuʒə] n.暴露；曝光(时间) (高中英语单词)
• electricity [i,lek´trisiti] n.电；电学；电流 (高中英语单词)
• speculation [,spekju´leiʃən] n.思索，推测；投机 (高中英语单词)
• potential [pə´tenʃəl] n.&a.潜在的；可能的 (高中英语单词)
• billion [´biljən] num.万亿 (高中英语单词)
• initial [i´niʃəl] a.最初的 n.首字母 (高中英语单词)
• eventually [i´ventʃuəli] ad.最后，终于 (英语四级单词)
• southeast [,sauθ´i:st] n.&a.东南(方) (英语四级单词)
• leopard [´lepəd] n.豹 (英语四级单词)
• equity [´ekwiti] n.公平；公正 (英语六级单词)