With supply forecast to outstrip demand in the global market, the country's rubber industry is expected to have a difficult time over the next few years, according to the Vietnam Rubber Association.

Of the 268 businesses that owed the Hanoi Government back taxes, 136 have paid up more than VND700 billion (US$32.1 million) after being publicly named last week, according to the city tax department.

A slump in tourism has hit the Ho Chi Minh City's hotel market, which saw a drop in the average rate of reserved rooms in the first six months of the year compared to the previous five years.

Digiworld Corp (Digiworld), the IT product distributor, has announced that its initial public offering (IPO) will be held on August 3 at the HCM Stock Exchange with the code DGW.

The country's property market attracted US$1.69 billion in foreign direct investment (FDI) for 15 projects in the first seven months of 2015, according to the Foreign Investment Agency.

The use of public property must be managed transparently to minimise legal loopholes that results in the misuse of the property by individuals and agencies, it was agreed at a recent meeting held by the Ministry of Finance on the matter.

Many American billionaires have made investments in Vietnam because they believe they can find great opportunities here, though Vietnam is a developing country with a different business culture.

Japanese Economy Minister Akira Amari said on July 31 each nation's interests clashed over an intellectual property issue and they could not reach a Pacific Rim trade deal.

Pacific Rim trade ministers failed to clinch a deal on July 31 to free up trade between a dozen nations after a dispute flared up over auto trade between Japan and North America, New Zealand dug in over dairy trade and no agreement was reached on monopoly periods for next-generation drugs.

Vietnam ranked first among the ASEAN countries for the number of country code top-level domains registered, with 318,812 domain names added by June 30.

The Prime Minister has given the “green light” for a project on management of imports in compliance with international commitments until 2020.

(VOV) - On July 31, the Ministry of Industry and Trade held an exchange entitled “Proud of Vietnamese trademarks” in Hanoi with the aim of promoting the National Trademark Program and the campaign “Vietnamese people prioritize using Vietnamese products”.

Deputy Prime Minister Hoang Trung Hai has ordered the implementation of measures to remove difficulties and promote the export of agro-forestry-aquatic products.

Representatives of the Japan External Trade Organisation (JETRO) Japanese businesses worked with leaders of northern mountainous Ha Giang province on July 31 in an effort to help the locality lure more Japanese investors.

(VOV) -On July 31, a Japanese joint venture unveiled plans to construct a logistics centre to accommodate tenants at the Nhon Trach 3 Industrial Park in Dong Nai Province.

Vietnam’s pepper export revenue in 2015 is set to exceed the target of US$1.1 billion given that in the first seven months of the year, pepper shipments to foreign markets saw stellar performance with 98,000 tonnes worth US$920 million, according to the General Department of Vietnam Customs.

The Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) said on July 31 that it will continue to fund a technical assistance project to enhance the efficiency of the Vietnam Automated Cargo and Port Consolidated System and the Vietnam Customs Information System (VNACCS/VCIS).

Six Vietnamese enterprises are taking part in the three-day Singapore Gifts and Premiums Fair 2015 from July 29.

(VOV) -Japanese enterprises continue to consider Vietnam and Ho Chi Minh (HCM) City in particular, as a destination with numerous prospects for investment and business, an annual forum promoting Vietnam-Japan trade and investment ties in HCM City heard on July 31.

The VNREA EXPO 2015, the first large-scale real estate fair held in Vietnam, opened in Hanoi on July 31.

Deputy Chairman of the Ho Chi Minh City People Committee Le Thanh Liem on July 31 received a United Arab Emirates (UAE) business group seeking investment cooperation opportunities in the southern city.

(VOV) - The top diplomatic accomplishment in Vietnam-US relations over the past two decades was the historic visit by Party Secretary General Nguyen Phu Trong to meet with President Obama at the White House.

(VOV) - The Vietnam Association of Foreign Invested Enterprises (VAFIE) in collaboration with Samsung Vietnam held a seminar on July 31 in Hanoi highlighting the importance of developing the nation’s supermarket supply chains. 

The Nhan Co bauxite refinery plant in the Central Highlands province of Dak Nong is running test productions through the end of September, said Head of the project’s management board Nguyen Thanh Liem on July 30.

(VOV) - As the government prepares to seal a fresh trade deal with the twelve-nations of the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP), a new survey has revealed that most Vietnam business owners neither understand nor make use of existing ones.

(VOV) - Sembcorp Industries – a leading energy, water and marine group –  based out of Singapore, has opened a logistics hub located at the Vietnam-Singapore Industrial Park in the port city of Hai Phong.

(VOV) -British businesses can find opportunities in one of the fastest and most dynamic countries in the world, said Prime Minister David Cameron during his trip to Ho Chi Minh City on July 30.

(VOV) - The number of Japanese restaurants is rising rapidly in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City to around 350, said Hirotaka Yasuzumi, managing director of the Japan External Trade Organisation (JETRO) in HCM City.

(VOV) - Da Nang city should build and develop their own trademark with industrial clusters, said Dylan Yee, Director, Urban Planning, CPG Consultants Pte. Ltd. (CPG Group, Singapore) at the July 30 meeting with Da Nang People’s Committee. 

Vietnam National Coal and Mineral Industries Group (Vinacomin) has again proposed the Ministry of Finance cut the environmental protection fee on its bauxite projects by 90%.