Laos central bank shake-up reveals forex crisis, China dependence

BANGKOK -- Two years after a shake-up at the central bank of Laos paved the way for Bounleua Sinxayvoravong to take over as its head, he has been removed by the communist government in the latest sign of trouble for the debt-strapped Southeast Asian country.

But the jury is still out among commercial bankers and seasoned observers whether Bounleua was reassigned to a more challenging role in the bureaucracy or fired in early July, which marked the end of the midyear sessions of the country's rubber-stamp national assembly.