(VOV) - The People’s Committee of southern Ca Mau province has issued nine additional investment certificates for foreign aided non-governmental organisations (NGOs) projects with investment capital of over US$2 billion.

Inspectors from the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Industry and Trade and market control officials have plans to levy administrative fines on manufacturers and importers of home appliances and industrial devices that fail to meet energy labeling requirements, according to the Saigon Times Daily.

Ho Chi Minh City saw the smallest increase in its consumer price index (CPI) in July when it expanded by only 0.12 percent from June, said the municipal Statistical Office on July 22. 

Exporters from the Mekong Delta are striving to rake in US$1.3 billion from selling shrimp abroad in the latter half of this year, bringing the year’s export earnings from the product to US$2.6 billion, or an annual rise of 2.2 percent.

(VOV) -France-based Olmix Group plans to invest EUR5 million in building a factory at the Song Than 2 Industrial Park in the southern province of Binh Duong to produce nutritional products for animals and plants.

(VOV) - Cumbersome and complicated import-export procedures cost firms doing business in Vietnam an estimated US$37 billion annually.

(VOV) - With the Government’s open door policy, stable political environment and vast economic potential, many Japanese small-and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) find Vietnam an attractive destination for business in Southeast Asia.

(VOV) - The Central Bank of Myanmar (CBM) has authorised 25 foreign banks, including one from Vietnam, to offer a wide range of domestic and cross-border collection and payment services to foreign investors in Myanmar.

The Government has approved a new development strategy for the auto industry to enable it to meet domestic demand and join world production.

Better policies are needed to improve the capacity of support-industry companies, particularly electronics firms, said Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Cao Quoc Hung.

Vietnam is the most successful country to deploy the rural finance project and is seen as a development model by financial institutions and donors.

(VOV) - A senior French official said she will encourage French businesses to invest in large infrastructure construction projects in HCM City, including metro routes, water drainage systems and Long Thanh airport.

(VOV) -Japan’s Yanmar Company is implementing a pilot project to supply 180 composite vessels to Vietnamese fishermen to help them increase tuna yield and quality.

(VOV) -The Ho Chi Minh City Management Authority for Urban Railways and Japanese consortium contractor Shimizu-Meada on July 21 signed a contract (bidding package 1B) to build two metro stations in HCM City.

(VOV) -The Consumer Price Index (CPI) in Hanoi for July accelerated 0.18% over the previous month and 6.39% over the same period last year, according to the Municipal Statistics Office.

(VOV) -Two-way trade between Vietnam and Australia in the first six months of the year peaked at over US$2.86 billion, resulting in a trade surplus of US$924 million, according to Vietnam Customs statistics.

(VOV) - A Ho Chi Minh City business delegation recently paid a five-day visit to Venezuela, where they sought cooperation opportunities and shared experience in urban development and management.

(VOV) -Marks & Spencer (M&S), the iconic British retailer, has unveiled its plan to open a new flagship store at the Vincom Center Dong Khoi in Ho Chi Minh City this summer.

There have been fresh investments from the US into Vietnam, said Do Nhat Hoang, Director of the Foreign Investment Agency under the Ministry of Planning and Investment.

(VOV) -Vietnamese seafood exporters are facing innumerable difficulties as overseas markets are imposing a variety of trade barriers and challenges, including levying anti-dumping tariffs on imports from Vietnam.

(VOV) - The rate of nonperforming loans (NPLs) in Vietnamese commercial banks rose in the first half of the year from 3.61% in late 2013 to 4.84% in late June 2014, and the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) reports total bad debts stand at VND240,000 billion.

(VOV) - Contractors are stepping up construction work on three infrastructure projects worth billions of US dollars in capital Hanoi to ensure they will be put into operation late this year.

(VOV) - More than 50,000 visitors attended the international grape and wine festival which was wrapped up in Ninh Thuan province on July 19, according to statistics released by the organizing board. 

(VOV) - Vietnam is the sixth largest wood and wooden product exporter in the world and the second largest in Asia, yet the domestic wood processing sector is injured by low-priced, skillfully crafted imports.   

(VOV) -Massive quantities of Chinese agricultural products are routinely smuggled into the Vietnamese market, despite repeated warnings of pesticide residues.

(VOV) - Starbucks, the world’s largest coffee company, has announced plans to open three new cafes in Hanoi over the next year targeting young people and foreign tourists.

(VOV) - The Japanese government has resumed official development assistance (ODA) to Vietnam after a brief suspension over a graft scandal involving the Japan Transportation Consultants Inc. (JTC).

(VOV) -More than 60% of “Made-in-Vietnam” products manufactured abroad and imported back into Vietnam are either pirated or counterfeit.

(VOV) - Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung on July 19 attended a ground-breaking ceremony of Ben Luc-Long Thanh highway (bidding package J2) in Can Gio district, HCM City.

(VOV) -The Central Highland province of Dak Lak will register for European Union recognition of the geographical indication (GI) for its Buon Ma Thuot coffee to protect the brand in this large, lucrative market.