(VOV) - At the close of the latest round of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) negotiations, chief negotiators were quoted as saying the finish line is in sight and they expect to cross it in the first quarter of 2015.

(VOV) - Construction of a new VND800 billion passenger terminal that has been underway for more than eight months at the Vinh Airport is set to be inaugurated on January 31, marking an important milestone for the airport’s modernisation.

(VOV) - The central province of Quang Nam recently issued an investment certificate for the construction of a US$6 million thread production plant at the Tay An Industrial Park (IP) complex in Duy Xuyen district.

The next round of Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) negotiations will take place in New York in late January, taking up outstanding issues that were not solved at the previous talks in Washington in December 2014.

Vietnam is intensifying quarantine over its vegetables and fruits to facilitate the export of these products to foreign markets, with a focus on the US, Japan, Australia and the Republic of Korea (RoK).

Several measures have been suggested by economic experts to help the banking sector reduce the non-performing loan (NPL) ratio to less than 3% in 2015, as required by the Government.

The Prime Minister has recently approved a project on support for wind power use with a total investment of EUR7 million from the German Government’s non-refundable official development assistance.

(VOV) - A ground-breaking ceremony for the construction of Phan Thiet airport was held in Thien Nghiep commune, Phan Thiet city, Binh Thuan province on January 18.

(VOV) - The People’s Committee of the coastal Binh Dinh province has worked with relevant ministries and departments on the implementation of Nhon Hoi petrochemical and oil refinery project (known as Victory project) in the locality.

(VOV) - A Vietnamese delegation led by Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Cao Duc Phat participated in the seventh Berlin Agriculture Ministers’ Summit in Germany on January 17 as part of the Global Forum for Food and Agriculture (GFFA).

(VOV) - Vietnam’s admission to the World Trade Organization (WTO) as an equal member has positively impacted the country’s economic development, notably in foreign investment attraction, boosted exports and improved the business environment, say domestic and foreign experts.

(VOV) - Vietnamese shrimp exports to the EU market have maintained a high growth rate. 

HCM City is targeting to lure US$700 million of investment into its industrial zones and export processing zones in 2015, said the management board of the city’s Export Processing and Industrial Zone Authority (Hepza).

(VOV) -Vietnamese fruit exports see bright prospects in 2015 after the first batch of fresh longan exported to the US last December, followed by eight others early this month. 

(VOV) - Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung has given the go ahead for an investment project to construct a tourism and entertainment complex along with a casino at the Phu Quoc island district in the southern province of Kiên Giang.

(VOV) - Vietnam has become one of the more favoured investment destinations for Japanese small and medium sized business enterprises (SMEs) as they seek to diversify their investments throughout ASEAN member nations.

(VOV) - Agricultural restructuring was the main theme of a seminar in Hanoi on January 17 co-organised by the Ministry of Development and Rural Development (MARD) and the Vietnam National University of Agriculture (VNUA).

(VOV) - When the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) released its most recent statistics for the tea industry, it had a blunt warning: Vietnamese tea production has been stymied by a lack of branding and niche marketing.

(VOV) - HCM city was honoured at a conference on January 16 as a regional leader in the microchip industry, ranking third in Southeast Asia (SEA). 

The State-run Shipbuilding Industry Corporation (SBIC) is to restructure 152 subsidiaries in 2015, General Director Vu Anh Tuan revealed at a conference setting the year’s tasks on January 16.

(VOV) - Members of the Tsukiji fish market – the world’s largest wholesale market from Tokyo, Japan – introduced high-grade seafood products and food preservation technologies to Vietnamese firms in HCM City on January 15.

(VOV) - Two-way trade turnover between Vietnam and Argentina hit a record high of US$1.9 billion last year, a rise of 20.6% against a year earlier.

(VOV) - The government has set its sights for the nation’s economy to expand at a quicker 6.2% GDP rate for 2015 as strong exports continue to drive growth and it tries to invigorate them to offset weak domestic demand.

Japanese businesses, including those in Osaka city, are interested in studying the investment climate in Ho Chi Minh City, especially in the fields of infrastructure, economy and education.

Honda Vietnam (HVN) sold as many as 6,492 automobiles in 2014, up 41% from 2013, according to Director of the Automobile Division at Honda Vietnam Tomohiro Maruno.

Hashima Vietnam, a 100 percent owned affiliate of Japan’s Hashima Sewing Machine Corporation, opened its first factory in the northern province of Ha Nam on January 15.

Officials from the Dutch city of Eindhoven had a working session on January 15 with authorities of Vietnam’s southern province of Binh Duong, seeking a cooperation deal for both localities’ socio-economic development.

Vietnam is making appropriate strides in tax administrative procedure reform, said Joanna Nasr, a World Bank expert, at a workshop in Hanoi on January 15. 

The Vietnam Shipping Lines Corporation (Vinalines) set to launch initial public offerings (IPOs) in the first quarter of 2015, General Director Le Anh Son announced at the firm’s conference in Hanoi on January 15 to review 2014 results and set targets for 2015 operations.

Deputy Prime Minister Vu Duc Dam has called on businesses to take the lead in e-health investment with its high potential as a large and sustainable market.