The fourth ASEAN-EU Business Summit was held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, on August 23, bringing together over 250 business leaders, policy makers and scholars from the two sides.

As Vietnam is deeply integrating into the global and regional economy, the region covering Ho Chi Minh Ciy and neighboring provinces have many opportunities for an economic breakthrough that it will likely miss if an acceleration is not in place, an expert in competitive advantage research told Tuoi Tre(Youth) newspaper in an interview.

Opportunities and challenges for Vietnamese businesses during their East Asian economic integration process were discussed at a workshop in Hanoi on August 22.

(VOV) - With the advent of the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) coming into existence prior to the end of 2015, Vietnam once again finds itself fretting about the many possible pitfalls of totally eliminating import duties.

Dan Svensson, portfolio manager of the Vietnam Debt Fund (VDeF) under Dragon Capital granted an exclusive interview to a reporter from The Saigon Times Daily over Vietnam’s monetary policy and related issues in the short and middle terms. 

The State-run Bank for Investment and Development of Vietnam (BIDV) has become a trustful investor in Laos and an example of bilateral cooperation development, Lao Deputy Prime Minister Bounpone Buttanavong said.

International organisations lauded the exchange rate and amplitude adjustments made by the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) as a timely and appropriate move to cushion external shocks.

Officials of southern Binh Duong province and the Japanese prefecture of Yamaguchi had a working session on August 21 to mull over ways bolstering cooperation in the time ahead. 

The August consumer price index (CPI) in Ho Chi Minh City declined 0.12% from the previous month, contributing to an annual 0.66% rise in the southern economic hub’s average eight-month index. 

US oil prices traded below US$40 a barrel for the first time since the 2009 financial crisis, ending 2 percent lower on August 21 on signs of US oversupply and weak Chinese manufacturing and notching the longest weekly losing streak in almost three decades.

(VOV) - Vietnam’s livestock industry on which the livelihoods of nearly 10 million people depend will most likely be put on the chopping block by the 11 other signatory nations to the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade accord.

If Electricity of Vietnam’s (EVN) exclusive role cannot be removed, private businesses will not be able to join the electricity market, even though the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MOIT) has decided to open the market to all businesses that can meet the requirements.

(VOV) - Despite economic difficulties, Vietnam has exerted efforts in implementing the Party guidelines and government policies on agriculture, farmers, and the countryside.

Concerns about public debt arose again after the Ministry of Finance (MOF) asked for VND30 trillion from the State Bank.

Various kinds of agricultural insurance designed for coffee trees in Vietnam were discussed in depth during a seminar in Buon Ma Thuot city, the Central Highland province of Dak Lak on August 21. 

Vietnam's enterprises have a positive outlook on the business climate for the third quarter, according to the General Statistics Office (GSO) under the Ministry of Planning and Investment.

Tran Bac Ha, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Bank for the Investment and Development of Vietnam (BIDV), said that the bank would raise the total available credit in Mekong Delta region. 

(VOV) -Measures to resolve difficulties and support the business and investment activities of overseas Vietnamese (OV) enterprises were discussed in a conference held in Ho Chi Minh City on August 21.

Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung has given a nod to a project to build a large-scale fisheries centre in the northern port city of Hai Phong to serve fishing activities in the Gulf of Tonkin.

Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Cao Duc Phat urged the livestock sector to enhance the competitiveness of chicken farming during a workshop in Hanoi on August 21.

The Central Institute of Economic Management (CIEM) held a workshop on August 21 to enhance linkages between domestic and foreign businesses and boost the development of the support industry in service of six industrial sectors prioritised in Vietnam’s modernisation strategy within the framework of Vietnam-Japan cooperation.

Representatives of Hanoi apparel and footwear businesses met Czech entrepreneurs face-to-face in Prague on August 20 to seek opportunities to make inroads into East European markets via the Czech Republic after a long hiatus.

Ships bringing tourists to explore the famed Ha Long Bay in the northern Vietnamese province of Quang Ninh will now depart from a new international port capable of docking cruise ships, instead of the old, deteriorated wharf.

(VOV) - Over the past five years, the country has been experiencing something of an industrial renaissance— creating millions of jobs with output growing at the fastest pace ever, according to official statistics.

(VOV) - Ho Chi Minh City is sailing into another real estate boom with construction of residential housing units picking up steam throughout the metropolitan area and buyers snapping up new homes just about as fast as they hit the market.

All frozen chicken meat from the US has been certified as meeting food safety standards of the US Department of Agriculture before they are imported to Vietnam, according to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development. 

The Vietnamese Embassy in Slovakia has pledged to help the FPT Slovakia, a subsidiary of Vietnam’s IT giant FPT, in expanding its operation in the 2015-2020 period. 

The 47th ASEAN Economic Ministers’ Meeting (AEM 47) will be held in Kuala Lumpur from August 22-25 to put the finishing touches on the formal establishment of the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) by the end of this year.

(VOV) - Walmart stores will import and distribute different products of Vietnamese tra fish (pangasius-Vietnam) in its retail chains in the US.

(VOV) - Wow! Taiwan Selects exhibition will take place at Aeon Mall Tan Phu in Ho Chi Minh City from August 27 to September 2.