More than 250 businesses have registered to take part in the 2010 Trade Fair of Vietnamese High-quality Products in Ho Chi Minh City, April 27 to May 2.

About half a million tourists are expected to attend the Ha Long Tourism festival beginning in on April 29, annouced the Quang Ninh provincial People’s Committee on April 20.

Vietnam's consumer electronics market is predicted to be worth about US$4.3 billion in 2010 and likely to hit US$6.6 billion by 2014, said a Vietnam Consumer Electronics Report Q2 2010. 

The State bank of Vietnam has permmited Vietinbank to issue long-term bonds in 2010 with a total value of US$800 million this week. 

The US’s decision to impose anti-dumping measures for Vietnamese shrimps is not subject to the anti-dumping agreement or any agreements under the World Trade Organisation (WTO).

Since early March fertiliser prices have kept rising and businesses put this down to a scarce supply and price hikes on the world market.

Hanoi’s consumer price index (CPI) in April was down by 0.2 percent compared to March but up by 9.44 percent from a year earlier, according to the city’s Statistics Office.

The Asian Banker magazine officially announced on April 20 that the Asia Commercial Bank (ACB) has been chosen to receive the title “The Strongest Bank in Vietnam 2010”.

The first day of the fruit festival in Tien Giang province attracted a large number of visitors and businesses.

Trade turnover between Vietnam and Mexico reached nearly US$720 million in 2009, an increase of 4.73 percent over 2008, announced the Secretariat of Finance and the Bank of Mexico on April 19.

An additional VND21 billion will be provided to promote tourism and the national action programme on tourism this year, raising the total to VND71 billion so far according to the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism.

The 22nd Joint Meeting of the UN World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) Commissions for East Asia and the Pacific, and South Asia will be held in Hanoi from May 10-12.

The Diamond Princess cruise ship, with over 1,700 tourists aboard, anchored in the central city of Nha Trang on April 19, after visiting Ho Chi Minh City.

Vietnam Airlines has cancelled two flights scheduled for April 19 – the VN534 Paris-Hanoi and VN544 Frankfurt-Hanoi - due to ash from an erupting volcano in Iceland.

Six major East Asian energy-consuming countries, including Vietnam, can stabilise their greenhouse gas emissions by 2025 without compromising growth, says a new WB report via a video conference on April 19. 

Vietnam’s first-ever national fruit festival got underway in the Mekong Delta province of Tien Giang on April 19.

An Australian agricultural research expert has highlighted the quality of Vietnam’s fruit trees and the country’s achievements in creating high-quality fruit varieties for export. 

The Prime Minister has agreed to send a Vietnamese delegation led by Governor of the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV), Nguyen Van Giau, to attend the 43rd Annual Meeting of the Board of Governors of Asian Development Bank (ADB).

It is essential to build a popular national maritime trademark and a green certificate for all sea areas, businesses and sea-borne sectors to ensure adequate environmental resources for sustainable development.

Two-way trade between Vietnam and the US in the first quarter of this year hit a record high compared to the same period of previous years, according to the Customs Department’s statistics.

The Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT) has asked cities and provinces to boost production and control the price of steel.  

The State has invested extensively in the central region’s key economic zone; however, the effectiveness of this investment is limited because of a poor coordination between provinces.

The drop in world gold prices on March 17 has pulled domestic down gold prices by VND180,000 per tael.

The US International Trade Commission (USITC) has finally determined that Vietnam’s Polyethylene (PE) retail carrier bags will be subject to anti-subsidy and anti-dumping tariffs.

Vietnam Airlines plans to increase the number of domestic flights to serve holiday makers during the celebration of the Liberation of South Vietnam (April 30) and May Day.  

Rubber export prices have rocketed to a record high over the past two years to reach US$2,520 per tonne, an increase of nearly 88 percent from the same period last year, announced the Vietnam Rubber Association.

Vietnamese tea exports to most major markets have increased considerably in the first three months of this year with regard to both volume and value. The export of this product saw a surge in the United Arab Emirates, which imported 1,200 tonnes of Vietnamese tea worth US$2.22 million.

A contract to establish the Vietnam-Laos Vung Ang Port Joint Stock Company was signed in Vientiane on April 16, helping the port develop more rapidly and effectively. 

Nissan’s Chef Executive Official Toshiyuki Shiga said that his group has invested US$10 million to establish a company in Vietnam.  

Tuna exports have grown strongly in the first quarter of the year, reaching US$80 million, an increase of 170 percent over the same period last year.