(VOV) - Although Vietnam-Chile Free Trade Agreement came into effect as from January 1, 2014, investment and trade cooperation between the two countries still faces obstacles.

(VOV) - The Vietnam Competition Council (VCC) and the European Trade Policy and Investment Support Project (EU-MUTRAP) reviewed ten years of implementing the Competition Law in the country and lessons learnt at a seminar in Ho Chi Minh City on December 16.

(VOV) - The Vietnam Embassy on December 15 sponsored an international marketing seminar in Mexico City, providing an opportunity to discuss ways it could assist Latin American businesses in promoting investment and inbound tourism to Vietnam.

(VOV) - The United Arab Emirates (UAE) is one of Vietnam’s most dynamic economic partners in the Middle East and North Africa region with the two-way trade turnover in 2013 jumping 180% on-year in value, striking US$4.46 billion.

Vietnam and Algeria are aiming for US$1 billion in two-way trade by 2020, Vietnamese Ambassador Vu The Hiep said at a workshop in Algeria’s capital city on December 15 to seek ways to boost trade exchange between the two countries. 

(VOV) - Potentially one of the most monumental and important free trade agreements that Vietnam has ever entered into is poised to be signed. The Vietnam-Russia trade deal could create billions of dollars in new markets for Vietnam exporters.

There are good prospects for Vietnam-France trade in 2015 once the Vietnam-EU free trade agreement is signed, Trade Counselor at the Vietnamese Embassy Nguyen Canh Tuong said at a recent roundtable on the two countries’ economic ties in Paris.

Many streets in HCM City, including major downtown ones, big and small shopping malls, and stores are beautifully decorated as people prepare to welcome Christmas and New Year.

Two more projects with a total registered capital of US$70 million have been granted investment licenses in northern Bac Ninh province, bringing the locality’s total new ones to 130 so far this year.

Vietnamese and Cambodian experts and investors discussed ways to achieve a US$5 billion trade by 2015 during a workshop in Phnom Penh, Cambodia on December 15.

Qatari Minister of Economy and Trade Sheikh Mohamed Al-Thani has committed to raising two-way trade with Vietnam to US$1 billion in the coming years.

A Vietnamese delegation, headed by Nguyen Phong Quang, deputy head of the Steering Committee for the Southwestern Region, have paid a three-day visit to Singapore.

(VOV) -Saigon Newport Corporation (SNP) put into operation its Tan Cang-Hiep Phuoc Port and welcomed the first Container Ship Saigon Bridge in Ho Chi Minh City on December 15.

(VOV) -Deputy Minister of Planning and Investment Nguyen Van Trung and Japan’s Mayor of Hamamatsu city Yasutomo Suzuki on December 15 signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the aim of enhancing the city’s investment in Vietnam and boosting cooperation between the two countries.

(VOV) - Vietnam’s Minister of Industry and Trade Vu Huy Hoang and Minister in charge for Trade of Asia – Europe Economic Committee Andrei A. Slepnhev have signed a joint statement on conclusion of negotiations on the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) between Vietnam and the Customs Union of Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan.

(VOV) - The forestry sector is considering bumping up the annual export target to US$12 billion by 2020 in light of an anticipated expansion of global trade to be ushered in by free trade in the offing. 

The Mekong Delta region targets an economic growth of 10 percent in 2015, the same figure for this year, according to the Steering Committee for the Southwestern Region.

Vietnamese businesses will be granted licences to provide e-wallet services from March 2015, after five years of a pilot programme. 

(VOV) - The Vietnamese seafood sector has expanded its footprint in the global marketplace, particularly live and frozen shrimp, much to the chagrin of China and Thailand, thanks to their high quality and disease free seafood products.

(VOV) - A forum focusing on how young people build career in ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) 2015 took place in Hanoi on December 14 in the lead up to the 7th Congress of Vietnam Youth’s Union.

(VOV) - Dragon fruit of Vietnam has been much sought after in India recently and the import value has risen nearly 20 times over the past two months, according to the Africa, West Asia and South Asia Market Department under the Ministry of Industry and Trade.

(VOV) - Vingroup officially began construction of the tallest building in Vietnam up to now, The Landmark 81 in Ho Chi Minh City on December 13. 

(VOV) - Vietnam’s seafood export value is forecast to achieve more than US$7.7 billion by the end of this year, according to Deputy General Secretary of Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP) Nguyen Hoai Nam.

(VOV) - Vietnam Electricity (EVN) has ceremoniously broken ground on a VND22.700 billion addition to its Duyen Hai 3 thermal power plant located in Mu U Hamlet, Dan Thanh Commune, Duyen Hai District, Tra Vinh Province.

(VOV) - The eighth round of Free Trade Agreement (FTA) negotiations between Vietnam and the Customs Union of Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan took place on December 8-14 in the southern province of Kien Giang.

(VOV) - General Motors Vietnam Limited Company on December 13 officially inaugurated its new 3S agency-Chevrolet dealership in Hanoi’s Ha Dong district.

(VOV) - Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Do Thang Hai introduced a six-point proposal to stimulate trade and investment among CLMV nations at a business forum held December 11-12 in New Delhi.

(VOV) - FPT Information System Company (FPT IS) has won an Asia Pacific Information Communication Technology Alliances (APICTA) award, second prize.

(VOV) - Vietnam is fully prepared for joining the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) in 2015, particularly in institutional and administration reforms in line with international rules and commitments.

(VOV) - In the opinion of many experts and entrepreneurs ‘intellectual property’ is the most valuable asset of a business and may just be the most single important factor impacting Vietnam during the integration process.