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.

The software industry this year is expecting growth of roughly 30 per cent – as it achieved in the 2005-08 period – according to industry insiders.

A workshop on potential risks and risk management was held in the city on March 20 to help businesses make strategic plans to minimize the risks.

Hanoi’s economy recovered sufficiently in the first quarter of the year with an estimated GDP growth rate of 8.7 percent, a more than twofold increase compared to the same period last year, according to the Hanoi Statistics Office.

The Housing and Urban Developmennt Corporation (HUD) on March 21 began construction of a high-class Office Block (HUD Tower) in Thanh Xuan district, Hanoi with a total investment capital of VND1,900 billion.

More than 400 domestic and foreign delegates discussed ways to develop Vietnam’s cashew industry through 2020 at a workshop in the southern province of Binh Phuoc on March 21.

More than 500 representatives from 22 southern provinces attended a forum on agricultural promotion in Dong Xoai town, Binh Phuoc province, on March 20.

A festival was held in the southern province of Binh Phuoc on March 20 to promote Vietnamese cashew products to the wider world.

The Lao Ministry of Planning and Investment met with executives of more than 70 Vietnamese businesses in Vientiane on March 20 to iron out snags in an effort to boost investment in Laos.

Traditional Vietnamese handicrafts are being showcased at the 15th International Fine Arts and Handicrafts Exhibition, which opened in Algiers, Algeria, on March 18.

Prospects for economic development in the key central economic region was discussed at a forum jointly held by the Quang Ngai provincial People’s Committees and the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT) on March 20.

The first electronic cashew trading floor, sponsored by Saccombank, opened on March 20 in Dong Xoai town, Binh Phuoc province in the hope of making Vietnam become one of the world’s leading cashew exporters in 2010 with a turnover of US$1 billion.

The southern province of Binh Phuoc on March 20 announced the Prime Minister-approved master plan to develop the Hoa Lu border economic zone through 2025 and inaugurated the Hoa Lu international border checkpoint. 

Qatar plans to invest US$1 billion in a project to grow high quality rice on 25,000ha in the Mekong Delta province of Tra Vinh.

Vietnam is making efforts to promote trade cooperation with Myanmar as the country is emerging as a potential import market.

The value of Hanoi’s industrial production saw a 21.6 percent increase in March, bringing the figure in the first quarter to 12.4 percent.

The Vietnam Housing and Urban Development Holdings (HUD) Group will make its debut on March 24 following the Prime Minister’s decision, says the HUD Company’s General Director, Nguyen Dang Nam.

2010 marks the 50th annual World Consumer Rights Day. During the past five decades, Vietnam, like other countries, has made every effort to establish a secure commodity market offering a variety of financial services and goods for consumers.

Vietnam’s construction exporters have a good chance to expand their business in the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia (UAE) as they are considered potential markets for construction materials.

A “From deep-water ports to marine economic zones” forum aiming to develop Vietnam’s marine economy took place in the central coastal city of Quang Ngai on March 19.

Nearly 3,000 Vietnamese entrepreneurs will participate in the 107th China Import-Export Fair, scheduled to take place in Guangzhou from April 15 to May 5.

Vietnam hopes to generate 5 percent of its electric power from renewable energy sources by 2020.

The fifth Conference of the Joint Coordination Committee for the Development Triangle of Cambodia-Laos-Vietnam (CLV) took place in Banlung City, Ratnakiri province (Cambodia), from March 16-18, opening new prospects for trade promotion among these countries.

The potential for tourism in Hangzhou city, in China’s Zhejiang province, was featured at a meeting of travel agents in Hanoi on March 18.

 US sandwich chain Subway plans to open its first Vietnamese store in HCM City in August, said Fred DeLuca, president and cofounder of the chain.

Approximately180 leading businesses from 22 countries and territories will attend the third International Livestock and Dairy Expo (ILDEX), scheduled to take place in Ho Chi Minh City from March 25-27.

A representative of the Department for Trade Promotion says market share for Vietnamese products in Cambodia increased sharply in the first quarter of 2010.

The Vietnamese tourism sector is shifting the focus of its promotional programme onto Russia, says an official from the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism.

The Republic of South Africa is a potential market for Vietnamese exports such as rice, coffee, tea, pepper, cashew nuts, tropical fruits, textiles and garments, and electronics. In return, South Africa can provide high-quality minerals for Vietnamese mechanical and jewelry industries.

Deputy Minister of Finance Tran Xuan Ha signed 5 agreements on official development assistance (ODA) with the Head of the Japan International Cooperation Agency, Monotori Tsuno, in Hanoi on March 18.