Representatives from the US Mazzetta company and the Vietnam-France Animal Feed Production Joint Stock Company (Proconco) have worked with the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development and the Ministry of Industry and Trade in an effort to boost the export of tra and basa fish to the US.

A congress to set up the Vietnam Dairy Association (VDA) took place in Ho Chi Minh City on March 25.

A large construction group began operation in the country on March 25 under the Prime Minister’s Decision dated January 12.

An international exhibition to help boost the capacity of sectors involved in meat, fish and animal products - ILDEX Vietnam 2010 - kicked off in HCM City on March 25.

Overseas remittance to Ho Chi Minh City in the first quarter reached US$964 million, up 18 percent compared to the same period last year, announced the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV).

The Asian Banker Journal has selected Saigon Thuong Tin Commercial Joint Stock Bank (Sacombank) as Vietnam’s best retail bank in 2009.

The government’s decisions to raise the prices of several commodities in March, and the minimum salary for employees, starting on May 1, will not make the State budget deficit increase, Finance Minister Vu Van Ninh has confirmed.

Vietnam has emerged as one of the world most potential market for beer, attracting foreign investors, according to the latest report in food and beverage released by the Business Monitor International (BMI).

The agricultural quality control arm of the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) has agreed to help Ho Chi Minh City devise and monitor hygiene standards for pork.

The General Statistics Office (GSO) has announced the country’s consumer price index (CPI) in March rose 0.75 percent over February this year and 9.46 percent over March last year.

The Vietnam Housing and Urban Development Holdings Group (HUD Holdings) made its debut in Hanoi on March 24.

The Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) disbursed in March reached a record number of US$1.4 billion, raising the total FDI disbursement in the first quarter of this year to US$2.5 billion, says the Ministry of Planning and Investment.

The second Asian Conference on Intelligent Information and Database Systems (ACIIDS 2010) was held in Hue city on March 24, with 200 scientists from 34 countries and territories taking part.

Vietnam is in 4th position among ten leading countries in the world in footwear exports.  

A joint Vietnam-Korean bio-diesel production plant was inaugurated in Yeochu city, Kyeonggi province, the Republic of Korea (RoK) on March 23.

The Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI) will create favourable conditions for Spanish businesses to establish partnerships and operate efficiently in Vietnam, says a VCCI executive.

The 5th Security World 2010 Conference and Showcase opened in Hanoi on March 23, featuring the theme “Building a practical information security strategy in today’s challenging business environment”.

An overview of the Danang real estate market was presented to 200 investors in Ho Chi Minh City on March 23.

In the first quarter of this year, Vietnam’s export turnover hit US$14.2 billion, a slight increase over last year’s figure of US$13.479 billion. However, some key export items are facing difficulty as the global economy shows no clear signs of bouncing back.

If Vietnam adopts more effective policies, it is likely to achieve an economic growth rate of 8 percent in 2010, says an executive from the International Monetary Fund.

The world’s rice market in recent times has shown optimistic signs, announced by Pham Van Bay, Vice Chairman of the Vietnam Food Association (VFA) in Ho Chi Minh City on March 22.

An international consumer conference on the import and export of cashew nuts was held in Binh Phuoc province on March 22 in an effort to establish a global cashew nut association (GCA).

The International Monetary Fund opened a forum entitled “Post-crisis Growth and Poverty Reduction in Developing Asian Countries” in Hanoi on March 22.

During these days, salt producers in south-central provinces are in the doldrums due to a sharp decline in salt prices on the heels of a good harvest. Meanwhile, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD)’s proposal to import an additional 260,000 tonnes of salt has posed a difficult dilemma for salt workers.

The Ha Long Shipbuilding Company, under the Vietnam Shipbuilding Industry Group (Vinashin), handed over a 53,000-tonne vessel to the Orange Ocean Company of Germany on March 22.

Vietnam’s export turnover to the ASEAN market reached US$850.6 million in the early months of 2010, up 8.4 percent and 60.6 percent over December 2009 and the same period last year, respectively.

80 outstanding young rural businesspeople and 20 business models were honoured at a ceremony held at the Ly Thai To Statue on March 21 by the Hanoi Youth Union.

Vietnam is a great potential market to which Italian businesses have not yet paid due attention.

The Vietnam Business Association (VBA) in Russia held a meeting in Moscow on March 21 to review work in 2009 and devise tasks for 2010.

The three-day Banking Vietnam 2010 workshop and expo on computer programme (ICT) applications will be held in Hanoi from May 26-28 to focus on modernising the banking sector on the verge of economic recovery.