The State Bank of Vietnam is drafting a circular to tighten control over the expansion of commercial banks’ networks in a move to minimise risks to the banking industry.

Vietnam’s timber exports are in danger of losing their market share in the US and the European Union (EU) markets when the US enforces the Lacey Act on forestry on April 1 and the EU implements its Forest Enforcement Law in 2011.

The Vietnam multi-level marketing (MLM) association made its debut in Hanoi on March 31 in the hope of creating a professional system of MLM companies.

Vietnam needs to muster all of its internal forces to remain competitive, especially in the transport sector, to attract more foreign investors.

Vietnam holds 16th position in the latest Grant Thornton emerging markets opportunity index, which rates world markets in terms of size, development pace and economic growth.

“Vietnam and China plan to increase their two-way trade value to US$25 billion in 2010,” announced Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Nguyen Thanh Bien at the Shaanxi – Hanoi investment and trade seminar in Hanoi on March 31.

Metro Cash & Carry on March 31 broke the ground on a new commercial centre in Long Xuyen, An Giang province.

Vietnam exported 23,000 tonnes of pepper in the first quarter of this year, earning nearly US$66 million.

The country’s footwear industry expects robust export growth this year despite ongoing concerns about the European Union (EU) anti-dumping duties.

The US has treated Vietnamese imports unfairly after imposing anti-dumping duties on polyethylene (PE) retail carrier bags imported from Vietnam, reports the Vietnamese Trade Office in the US.

A Laotian-English magazine named “ LANEXANG Business Culture Magazine” was launched at a press conference in Vientiane, Laos on March 30.

The core shipping activity of the Maersk Line, has announced the introduction of a direct service between southern VN and the US West Coast with its premier Trans-Pacific 6 string (TP6).

Japanese investors are eyeing deep-water sea ports in VN as well as high-speed railway and highways.

Export revenues from the foreign-invested sector in HCM City reach US$1.13 billion in the first quarter of the year, an increase of 32.2 percent from the same period last year, said the city’s Department of Industry and Trade.

The Lion Group plans to open more Parkson shopping centres in Vietnam to maintain the chain’s development and expand their retail network.

The Taekwang Group from the Republic of Korea is planning to build a US$4.5 billion coal-fired power plant in the Red river province of Nam Dinh.

Some 3,600 enterprises, with a total registered capital of VND25.5 trillion, were created in March, said the Ministry of Planning and Investment.

Standard Chartered Bank will provide US$30 million in loans for the Vietnam-Singapore Urban, Industrial Service Project (VSIP) in the southern province of Binh Duong.

The city of Hanoi will establish a hotline to help businesses remove obstacles to their operations, municipal authorities announced at a meeting with local businesses on March 30.

The world’s banking circles on March 29 provided various assessments of Vietnam’s trade deficit in the first quarter of 2010, saying the deficit has not yet reached a dangerous level.

The Electricity of Vietnam (EVN) on March 30 signed an engineering-procurement-construction (EPC) contract with China’s Dong Fang Electric Corporation for the construction of the Duyen Hai thermo power plant, with a total investment capital of US$1.4 billion.

International maritime cooperation will help Vietnam to ensure sustainable development and strengthen national security in the context of global integration.

Vietnam Food Association (VFA) businesses have purchased one million tonnes of rice to be kept in reserve, said Pham Van Bay, VFA Vice Chairman.

Vietnam will attend the third investment forum of the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA), scheduled for mid April in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt.

Ho Chi Minh City’s economy has developed well in the first quarter of this year, earning more than VND74.1 trillion in GDP, a rise of 11 percent over the same period last year.

The Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC) will provide US$150 million in credit to the coal development projects of the Vietnam National Coal-Mineral Industries Group (Vinacomin).

As many as 120 enterprises nationwide have won strong brand awards 2009, announced organisers in Hanoi on March 29.

A 100 million euro credit agreement was signed in Hanoi on March 29 by the Ministry of Finance and the French Development Agency (AFD) as part of the public investment reform programme, co-sponsored by the World Bank (WB).

The private business sector accounts for up to 60 percent of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP). However, private economic groups still need further recognition from the state and society to achieve stronger growth.

A trade fair and an investment promotion forum are being held in Zhongshan from March 28-30 to boost economic ties between Vietnamese businesses and Zhongshan city, Guangdong province of China.