Vietnam’s yield of cashew nuts is forecast to reach 300,000 tonnes in 2010, up 4,000 tonne from 2009.

Industrial zones (IZs) in Hanoi attracted US$30 million in the first three months of this year, 2.5 times higher than the same period last year.

Qatar Airways said it has embarked on the second leg of its 2010 expansion programme with the launch of flights between Ho Chi Minh City and Copenhagen.

A business forum designed to help improve trade and investment ties between Vietnam and the Republic of Korea (RoK) was held in Hanoi on April 9.

Piaggio Vietnam, a subsidiary of the Italian-based Piaggio Group, one of the world’s leading manufacturers of scooters and motorbikes, plans to produce 52,000 Vespa scooters this year as part of its programmes to expand its business. 

A workshop to popularise Singaporean franchise businesses in Vietnam was held in Ho Chi Minh City on April 9. 

Domestic gold prices on June 9 rose sharply by VND300,000/tael following minor fluctuations over the past few days.

The NTACO Joint Stock Company on April 8 received a Global Good Agricultural Practice (Global GAP) certificate for its 30-hectare tra fish farm.

The management board of the Cau Treo International Border Gate on April 9 broke the ground on three key projects at the Cau Treo Industrial Zone, with a combined investment capital of more than VND1,100 billion.

Since 2009, several new economic groups have been established, such as the Army Telecommunications Group (Viettel), the Vietnam National Chemical Industry Group, the Vietnam Housing and Urban Development Holdings Group, and the Vietnam Construction Industry Group.

ASEAN finance ministers predicted Southeast Asian will see grow a growth of between 4.9 and 5.6 percent this year, from 1.5 percent last year.

Rice exports in the first 3 months this year reached nearly 1.3 million tonnes, down by 18.54 percent compared to the same period in 2009 but rice export earnings showed an average increase of US$66.42 per tonne to reach US$460.84 per tonne.

Japan's Nissan Motor Co. has begun Vietnamese sales of a passenger vehicle made by a local contract manufacturer, Japanese media reports. 

The InterContinental Hanoi Hotel officially opened in Tay Ho district, Hanoi, on April 8.

The Vietnam-US Business Forum (VUBF) was officially established in Hanoi on April 8 with Minister and Chairman of the Government Office Nguyen Xuan Phuc and US Ambassador to Vietnam Michael W. Michalak taking part.

The US international group Marriot is to build a 200-room hotel in the Saigon-Binh Tan Tourism Complex in the southern province of Binh Thuan.

Ho Chi Minh City’s imports and exports for the first quarter of this year has exceeded US$12 billion, said the City’s Customs Department.

Vietnamese and German police organized a meeting in Ho Chi Minh City on April 7 to review their cooperation in the fight against criminal gangs over the past three years.

The 2010 ASEAN Business Awards (ABA) was officially launched in Hanoi on April 7 by the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI). 

A cooperative in Cai Be district, Tien Giang province, has exported another four tonnes of Hoa Loc mangos to Japan, raising its total amount of mangos shipped to this market to 60 tonnes.

The Ministry of Industry and Trade and Malaysia’s Janakuasa Company signed a memorandum of understanding in Hanoi on April 7 to develop a US$1.5 billion power project in the southern province of Tra Vinh.

The price of rubber keeps rising sharply in the world, domestic businesses should seize this opportunity to accelerate the export of available products, according to Tran Thuy Hoa, general secretary of the Vietnam Rubber Association (VRA).

Vietnam hosts Southeast Asian leaders this week as chair of their 10-nation bloc, shining a spotlight on the political and economic stability that prompted Intel Corp and Toyota Motor Corp. to increase investments, says Bloomberg.

At the start of trading on April 7, domestic gold prices were hovering around VND26.22 million/tael while the world’s gold price kept increasing slightly.

The National Oil and Gas Group (PetroVietnam) notched up a total revenue of nearly US$5 billion in the first quarter of this year, an impressive growth of 76 percent compared with the same period last year.

The State Bank of Vietnam and the Central Bank of Thailand have agreed to increase the exchange of information on inspection and supervision of their state banks.

The last two out of a total of eight bidding packages for the Noi Bai-Lao Cai highway were handed over to a Korean company on April 6.

The Republic of Korea’s (RoK) Posco Group plans to develop a project to produce high-quality hot-laminated steel to serve the shipbuilding and aircraft manufacturing industries in the southern province of Ba Ria-Vung Tau.

The Texas-based New Market Technology, Inc., has announced its plans to expand operations into Vietnam and has sent a Greenfield Partnership Programme Trade Mission to the country.

It is essential to boost production to meet the growing demands for domestic consumption and for export, while curbing the trade deficit, said the Minister of Industry and Trade (MoIT) at an online conference on April 5.