The Vietnam Automobile Manufacturers’ Association (VAMA) reports that its members saw their sales in April increase by 23 percent over the same period last year to 9,551 units.

Garment exports are expected to increase by 15 percent in 2010 and even reach US$20 billion by 2020, said Le Quoc An, Chairman of the Vietnam National Textile and Garment Group.

The Prime Minister has assigned the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development and the Ministry of Finance to work on quality, safety and hygiene standards for imported salt.

PetroVietnam Fertilizer and Chemicals Corporation (PVFCCo), a member of Vietnam National Oil and Gas Group (PetroVietnam) on May 7 opened its representative office in Cambodia’s capital city of Phnom Penh. 

An Australian business delegation consisting of leading contractors and technology providers in the mining sector will visit Vietnam from May 10-12 to seek business opportunities.

Employee retention is considered the greatest challenge for businesses in Vietnam this year, said Navigos Group, the leading and largest executive recruitment solutions provider in the country.

The world pepper market in 2010 and the coming years will grow benefiting both Vietnamese farmers and processors, said the leader of the Vietnam Pepper Association (VPA).

A seminar was held in Hanoi on May 7 to discuss the value and role of auditing in the current economy, the development of Vietnam’s State Audit Office and the lessons learnt.

Rolls-Royce Marine AS, a wholly-owned unit of Rolls- Royce Group PLC, has acquired the Norwegian ODIM ASA Marine Company after buying 97.3 percent of its shares.  

Domestic gold prices on May 7 rose sharply by VND400,000/tael against the previous day due to a strong increase in the world’s gold prices.

Vietnam ranked third amongst the 17 countries and territories involved in the latest HSBC Trade Confidence Index (TCI), which shows the foreign business community’s increasing belief in the opportunities available in the country. 

Vision Ethique has launched a Vietnam tourist promotion campaign, focusing on its diversity of eco-tourism sites and biosphere reserves, reported the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism (VNAT). 

Agricterra, an alliance of agri-agencies in the Netherlands, has funded a training project on environmentally-friendly aquaculture for farmers in the Red River Delta province of Nam Dinh. 

Vietnam expects to export about 1.3 -1.4 million tonnes of rice in May and June, raising total rice exports in the first six months of this year to 3.3 million tonnes. 

Vietnamese ambassador to the Republic of Korea (RoK) Tran Trong Toan made a number of recommendations at the regular meeting of the Korea Importers Association (KOIMA) on May 6.

The third conference on trade cooperation and development between Vietnam and Cambodia was held at the conference centre in Tan An City, Long An province, on May 6.

Vietnam has secured fourth place in the world’s rankings in terms of tourism growth with a rate of more than 30 percent, just behind Sri Lanka, Saudi Arabia and Israel.

Many French people from all walks of life have attended a workshop in Paris entitled “Vietnam looks to the future”.

Annual adjustments to the minimum salary level are based on the consumer price index, the economic growth rate and wage levels in the market.

Vietnam wants businesses from the Republic of Korea (RoK) to further invest in Vietnam as a leading foreign partner, said the State President.

The fourth retail fair of Thailand opened in Hanoi on May 5 with the participation of 90 Thai businesses.

Foreign investors are expected to make up between 10 and 15 percent of some 500 pavilions at a fair on trade, tourism and investment in southern province An Giang from May 21-26. 

The American Chamber of Commerce (AmCham) has cooperated with the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI) in training industrial executives. 

The leader of Coman Corp, one of the major firms of the Republic of Korea specialising in imports of species and processed food, expressed wish to support Vietnamese businesses to boost exports of foodstuff and farm produce to the country.

The Vietnam Food Association is adjusting the price of rice for export to encourage businesses to sell rice in storage and make room for the summer-autumn rice harvest.

A ceremony was held in Hanoi on May 5 to announce the names of 200 outstanding businesspeople in the first phase of a programme to honour 1,000 businesspeople.

Winners of the Gold Cup are outstanding Vietnamese entrepreneurs that have taken the lead in renewing technologies to ensure environmental protection.

Developing economic cooperation programmes will help to improve the investment environment in the central and central highlands region and add fresh impetus to boosting sustainable development in the near future.

Strategies for small and medium sized enterprises (SME) to deal with the economic crisis was the main topic of a seminar held in Ho Chi Minh City on May 4. 

The Saigon-Da Nang Investment Joint Stock Company (SDN), a member of Saigon Investment (SGI), began construction of a US$110 million resort started in the central city of Da Nang on May 4.