For almost a decade, Laos has been warned that its extravagant spending spree on infrastructure carried enormous financial risks that threatened to undermine its sovereignty and efforts to raise living standards among the poor.

Those warnings fell on deaf ears as Vientiane — hell-bent on becoming the “Battery of Asia” — borrowed heavily and built hydropower dams to sell electricity into neighboring countries, plus highways, bridges and railways.

It was an unfathomable wish list.

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