This Law, consisting of 32 sections divided into seven Chapters, on State Assets has the function to define the types of State assets and to set out provisions for their management, use, protection, and effective development in accordance with their purpose and objectives, and with laws and regulations, with the aim to contribute to national socioeconomic development, including the protection of national resources and the environment. It specifies that a State asset refers to any property that exists in nature and/or is created by mankind, ownership of which belongs to the nation, being movable and immovable assets that exist on the surface of the land, underground, on the surface of water, underwater, and in airspace, within the boundary of the Lao PDR, including the assets of the Lao PDR in foreign countries. State assets of the Lao PDR are owned by the national community and are centrally and uniformly controlled by the State. The State designates organisations or individuals to manage, use, lease, or hold concessions in such assets, and to protect and develop them in a sustainable way. The State protects the legitimate rights of organisations or individuals who have been designated to manage and use State assets.