(VOV) -The government’s monthly meeting for March reported that in the first 3 months of this year, Vietnam’s GDP grew 6.03%, the highest rate of growth in 5 years. 

Foreign investors have recently poured more money into housing projects, instead of tourism estates, in Vietnam and they have had more confidence in the property market as well at a time when the revised real estate law is about to take effect.

While local consumers and scientists are concerned about the commercialization of genetically modified corn in Vietnam, two companies have received the most important nod to distribute the maize in the country.

After one year of application, the Vietnam Automated Cargo and Port Consolidated System/Vietnam Customs Information System (VNACCS/VCIS) has greatly benefited enterprises, especially in saving time for customs clearance, reported the Vietnam Customs.

Japanese businesses were updated on Vietnam’s new taxation and customs policies at a dialogue held in southern Binh Duong province on April 3, which is expected to smooth the way for their operations.

The Brazilian Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Food Supply (MAPA) has lifted the import ban on Vietnamese tra fish, said the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development’s Department of Animal Health (DAH). 

The World Bank has debarred American architectural and engineering design firm Louis Berger Group, Inc. (LBG) for one year for allegedly bribing government officials under two WB-financed projects worth around US$500 million in Vietnam.

The ceiling foreign ownership ratio may be up to 100% instead of 60% as initially planned, sources said. If this comes true, this will be a breakthrough in the policy makers’ thinking.

(VOV) - The popularity of tuna for sushi and sashimi – thinly sliced raw meat or fish, like tuna or salmon – has caused global stocks of tuna to decline and prices to soar.

The Saigon Thuong Tin Commercial Joint Stock Bank (Sacombank) has been named a good growth bank in commercial sponsorship activities by the American bank Wells Fargo.

(VOV) - The country’s exports in the first quarter of this year grew by 6.9% to US$35.7 billion against the same period of last year. 

(VOV) - The automotive industries of Vietnam and Thailand should cooperate for common development rather than competing each others, said President of Thailand Automotive Institute (TAI), Vichai Jirathiyut during the talks in HCM City on April 2. 

The number of Vietnam’s rich households with financial assets of US$100,000 to US$2 million is expected to reach 347,000 by 2020, a study shows.

Korean giant Lotte, after inaugurating last September Lotte Center Hanoi, a mixed-use development with offices, a shopping mall, hotels, and apartments, is now eyeing a similar project in Ho Chi Minh City.

Worried about a significant drop in agricultural exports, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) has decided to establish a steering committee that will gather information on problems faced by traders and identify possible solutions.

Closer coordination between customs and agencies concerned is required to enable speedier customs clearance, shared participants of a teleconference in Hanoi on April 2. 

Representatives from over 25 member universities of the ASEAN University Network (AUN) gathered at the annual Steering Committee Meeting of the ASEAN Credit Transfer System (ACTS) in Hanoi on April 1-2.

Eleven Japanese banks, including Mitsui Sumitomo Banking Corp and Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC), will provide a JPY81 billion (US$680 million) loan for the Electricity of Vietnam (EVN) to build a thermal power plant.

(VOV) -The National Assembly recently passed and the Prime Minister signed into law a new resolution outlining major tasks and solutions for improving the business environment and national competitiveness over the next two years.

Nearly 50 exhibitors from Ho Chi Minh City are showcasing their products at the Vietnam-Cambodia Trade-Service-Tourism Exhibition 2015 (Ho Chi Minh City Expo 2015) in Battambang city, 300km to the northwest of Cambodia.

(VOV) - HDBank and Japan’s Credit Saison have finalized capital contribution formalities for a strategic cooperative plan to promote the retail and financial sector in Vietnam towards stronger socio-economic development. 

If you thought Asia's manufacturing giants are just China, the Republic of Korea and Thailand, say hello to a new one: Vietnam.

Vietnam’s per capital GDP reached US$1,908 a year in 2013, ranking it seventh in the 10-member ASEAN region, according to the General Statistics Office (GSO).

Many Japanese companies are expected to promote foreign investment. Vietnam is capable of receiving a new wave of investment from Japan.

The State Bank of Viet Nam (SBV)'s foreign exchange policy will be based on macroeconomic management and harmonised with the benefits of all industries and sectors, and not exports alone.

The Singapore-based Maybank Kim Eng held a workshop in the country on March 31-April 1 to highlight business opportunities in ASEAN in 2015 and onwards. 

The Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) will maintain close coordination with the Vietnamese Government as the biggest official development assistance (ODA) partner of Japan, according to JICA Representative Chief Mori Mutsuya. 

Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung requested continued efforts to sustain macro-economic stability during the government’s monthly meeting in Hanoi on April 1. 

Vietnamese dairy firm TH True Milk opened a US$1-billion dairy in a Moscow suburb, Vietnamese Ambassador to Russia, Nguyen Thanh Son, said March 31.

The Ministry of Science and Technology launched a month-long campaign yesterday to commemorate the World Intellectual Property Day (April 26) with the support of the Software Alliance (BSA).