(VOV) - Vietnam is implementing a contract on exporting rice to the Philippines while negotiating with Malaysia on the same issue.

Vietnam has become a significant site for factories of Samsung, Intel, Microsoft (Nokia) and a number of manufacturers of clothing and footwear. 

Toyota has proposed a series of tax breaks for locally assembled cars so that the Japanese automaker can increase the localization rate and open new factories in Vietnam.

Import tax on polyester staple fibre (PSF) might be increased from zero to 2%, as the Ministry of Industry and Trade has proposed to encourage domestic production.

Vietnam's credit growth rate reached 2.78% in the first four months this year – the highest in three years, according to the National Finance Supervision Council (NFSC).

Vietnamese household-appliance companies are concerned that ASEAN-imported products will dominate the local market, especially in traditional markets and supermarkets, in the near future.

Vietnam continued reducing import taxes on oil products, beginning April 4, according to the Ministry of Finance.

Hanoi is set to simplify at least 20% of its tax payment procedures, effectively cutting 45.5 hours of tax filing and payment this year per entity. 

Negotiations on the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement have reached their final discussions, with talks expected to be wrapped up by June. EU-MUTRAP technical assistant team leader Claudio Dordi analyses the hallmark agreement’s potential impacts on Vietnam’s economy.

(VOV) - Saigon-Hanoi Commercial Joint Stock Bank (SHB) has been awarded “Best SME Bank” and “Best Customer Service Bank” in Vietnam for 2015 by UK’s prestigious, online magazine, Global Banking and Finance Review.

As the government mulls over plans to lift the ban on Vietnamese citizens gambling in local casinos, Andrew W Scott, chief executive officer of World Gaming Group Ltd. and founder of the World Gaming Magazine, writes on this contentious issue within a wider international context.

(VOV) - On May 5, Industry and Trade Minister Vu Huy Hoang and the Republic of Korea (RoK) Minister of Commerce, Industry and Energy, Yoon Sang-jick, representing the two governments formally signed the Vietnam-Korea Free Trade Agreement (VKFTA) in the presence of Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung.

The Government, for the first time, has instructed relevant ministries to create a legal mechanism to allow for part of foreign currency reserves to be used to fund development projects.

An international symposium encouraged Vietnamese banks to provide loans using intellectual property (IP) assets as collateral to small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).

Metalex Vietnam, an international exhibition on machine tools and metalworking solutions, will return to HCM City this October, promising to offer a supreme sourcing destination of advanced metalworking technologies and solutions for local industrialists and manufacturers.

(VOV) - China has invested nearly US$1.4 billion in 204 projects in southern Binh Duong province, said Tran Thanh Liem, Vice Chairman of the provincial People’s Committee.

Vinamilk, the country’s leading dairy processor, has been in negotiations over the acquisition of a milk processing plant in Europe, said Mai Kieu Lien, chairwoman and general director of the firm, at the recent annual general meeting.

Hanoi has devised a number of incentives to encourage hi-tech and sustainable agriculture development. 

The Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) of Vietnam rose to 53.5 in April from 50.7 in the previous month, thereby signalling a solid improvement in business conditions, said HSBC Vietnam and Markit Economics Limited. 

The Ministry of Industry and Trade held a conference in Hanoi on May 4 to discuss a number of possible solutions for difficulties faced by the agro-fishery sector.

Bio-based products such as biofertilizers and biofungicides (PGPR) are playing an increasingly important role in promoting sustainable farming, according to local and foreign agriculture scientists. 

(VOV) - Last year, foreign direct investment (FDI) in real estate accounted for 40% of Vietnam’s total foreign investment. 

(VOV) - Vietnam domestic agribusinesses have new opportunities to boost exports and break into key Australian markets with the implementation of landmark trade agreements in 2015. 

Suitable incentives are essential to enhance the competitiveness of enterprises in the support industry to develop the domestic automotive sector, according to Chairman of the Vietnam Federation of Civil Engineering Association Do Huu Hao.

The Bank for the Investment and Development of Vietnam (BIDV) has successfully invested abroad, particularly in Laos, according to a leader of the bank. 

In the first four months of the year, 28,235 new enterprises were recorded nationwide, likely generating jobs for 427,900 labourers, the General Statistics Office has said.

Scores of Swedish enterprises will come to Vietnam this year in the hunt for investment and business opportunities.

Car sales have shown a positive trend this year with the distribution number for high-end imports on the rise.

Many real estate billionaires around the world have, directly or indirectly, invested in Vietnam since 2006. 

A new wave of Taiwanese investments is expecting to hit Vietnam off the back of the country’s Free Trade Agreements (FTAs).