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. 

A centre to promote exports will be set up in Russia and go into operation in 2011, offering advantages to Vietnamese businesses in the country, according to the Ministry of Industry and Trade on April 16. 

Representatives from Japanese businesses seeking investment opportunities in the southern province of Binh Duong gathered in the province for a seminar on trade and investment on April 16. 

Vietnam Airlines has cancelled flights to and from Europe due to ash from a volcano in Iceland that has forced the temporary shut-down of two major international airports in France and Germany. 

Garment exports are expected to reach the target of US$10.5 billion this year, as growth of 12.3 percent in the first three months of this year suggests that the industry is on the path to recovery from the global recession. 

A talk between Vietnamese and Nigerian businessmen was held in Hanoi on April 16 as part of Vietnam Expo 2010.

Dr. Nick Austin, Chief Executive Officer of the Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR), will pay a working visit to Vietnam from April 19-22.

A project to enhance the capacity of macro-economic policy advisory, evaluation and supervision agencies was launched in Hanoi on April 15. 

Vietnam exported six million tonnes of rice in 2009, earning US$2.7 billion, the highest figure so far. However, the local rice growers are still finding themselves in a disadvantaged position.

The northern port city of Hai Phong has introduced its potential for trade, investment and vocational training cooperation during its delegation’s recent visit to Germany.

The Vietnam Fund for Scientific and Technological Creations (VIFOTEC) award was presented to 39 winners of the 2009 competition for technical creativity in Hanoi on April 15.

Deputy Prime Minister Hoang Trung Hai called on Belgian investors to do business in Vietnam when receiving the President of the Belgian Chamber of Representatives, Patrick Dewael, in Hanoi on April 15.

An import tariff ranging from 0-5 percent applies to all goods shipped to China or ASEAN as of January 1, 2010, but Vietnam will be exempted until 2015, said an official from the Ministry of Industry and Trade.

A delegation of eight leading Indian companies visited HCM City this week to seek cooperation in a number of fields, including energy, industrial machinery, steel, finance, real estate and tourism.

The PetroVietnam Technical Services Company (PTSC) has won two international tenders to provide an oil and gas vessel and services to Talisman Malaysia, Canada’s largest investor in Malaysia.

Officials from the southern province of Dong Nai on April 14 met with representatives of the province’s foreign businesses.

Vietnam has adopted a suitable monetary policy and introduced effective measures to weather the economic downturn, said the World Bank (WB) Chairman Robert Zoellick.

The central highland province of Dak Lak has bred more than 200,000 swarms of bees and has produced more than 8,000 tonnes of honey since early this year, 1.5 times higher than the same period last year.

The Prime Minister has allowed businesses to buy and stockpile a maximum of 200,000 tonnes of coffee from the 2009-2010 crop.

The annual 14th International Means of Transport, Automobile and Petrol Show will be held at the Tan Binh Exhibition and Convention Centre from June 23-27.

A delegation from eight leading Indian companies visited HCM City this week to seek cooperation in a number of fields, including energy, industrial machinery, steel, finance, real estate and tourism.

The first rural, solar-power grid will be installed in the central province of Quang Binh under an agreement signed by Schneider Electric Vietnam and the province earlier this week.

Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung has vowed to create better conditions for US companies to do business successfully and take the lead among foreign investors in Vietnam.

Commercial banks have begun lowering interest rates on medium and long-term loans in response to recent State Bank of Vietnam measures to ease mounting pressure on rates, say a State Bank official.

Investors from China, Hong Kong and the United States have joined hands with the ATS Investment Joint Stock Company to build a spiritual tourism complex in the northern province of Quang Ninh.

Cement prices are expected to increase slightly in the second quarter of the year due to rising demand, according to the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT).

An international exhibition on garment and textile equipment and components opens at Tan Binh Exhibition and Fair Centre in Ho Chi Minh City on April 14.

Within the framework of the 2010 Vietnam Expo, an exhibition on Vietnamese handicraft products opened in Hanoi on April 14 to promote export to Japan.

The Japanese Pharmaceuticals and Medical Devices Evaluation Centre (JPMDEC) has praised the strict management and hygiene control of Vietnamese seafood exported to Japan.

With the global economy recovering from recession, there has been a surge in the number of orders received by Vietnamese textile and garment businesses, most of which last until the end of the first quarter, even the second quarter.