(VOV) -Marks & Spencer (M&S), the iconic British retailer, has unveiled its plan to open a new flagship store at the Vincom Center Dong Khoi in Ho Chi Minh City this summer.

There have been fresh investments from the US into Vietnam, said Do Nhat Hoang, Director of the Foreign Investment Agency under the Ministry of Planning and Investment.

(VOV) -Vietnamese seafood exporters are facing innumerable difficulties as overseas markets are imposing a variety of trade barriers and challenges, including levying anti-dumping tariffs on imports from Vietnam.

(VOV) - The rate of nonperforming loans (NPLs) in Vietnamese commercial banks rose in the first half of the year from 3.61% in late 2013 to 4.84% in late June 2014, and the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) reports total bad debts stand at VND240,000 billion.

(VOV) - Contractors are stepping up construction work on three infrastructure projects worth billions of US dollars in capital Hanoi to ensure they will be put into operation late this year.

(VOV) - More than 50,000 visitors attended the international grape and wine festival which was wrapped up in Ninh Thuan province on July 19, according to statistics released by the organizing board. 

(VOV) - Vietnam is the sixth largest wood and wooden product exporter in the world and the second largest in Asia, yet the domestic wood processing sector is injured by low-priced, skillfully crafted imports.   

(VOV) -Massive quantities of Chinese agricultural products are routinely smuggled into the Vietnamese market, despite repeated warnings of pesticide residues.

(VOV) - Starbucks, the world’s largest coffee company, has announced plans to open three new cafes in Hanoi over the next year targeting young people and foreign tourists.

(VOV) - The Japanese government has resumed official development assistance (ODA) to Vietnam after a brief suspension over a graft scandal involving the Japan Transportation Consultants Inc. (JTC).

(VOV) -More than 60% of “Made-in-Vietnam” products manufactured abroad and imported back into Vietnam are either pirated or counterfeit.

(VOV) - Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung on July 19 attended a ground-breaking ceremony of Ben Luc-Long Thanh highway (bidding package J2) in Can Gio district, HCM City.

(VOV) -The Central Highland province of Dak Lak will register for European Union recognition of the geographical indication (GI) for its Buon Ma Thuot coffee to protect the brand in this large, lucrative market.

KinderWorld Education Group will soon conduct three investment projects in Vietnam’s northern Vinh Phuc province, said its Chairman Ricky Tan at a roundtable on investment opportunities in the province held in Singapore on July 18. 

Tai Yuan Vietnam Co., Ltd, a Taiwanese firm specialising in yarn and textile products, on July 18 received an investment licence for the construction of its plant in northern Ha Nam province. 

A delegation of Japanese entrepreneurs has made a fact-finding tour of the northern province of Ha Nam to seek investment opportunities in the locality.

(VOV)- Representatives from GlobalGAP Control Union granted a GlobalGAP certification to Nghe An dairy farm under Vietnam Dairy Cow One-Member Co, Ltd (Vinacow), a subsidiary company of Vietnam Dairy Products Joint Stock Company (Vinamilk) on July 18. 

(VOV) - Vietnam exported 133,000 tonnes of raw cashew nuts at US$847 million during the first six months of the year, up 20.1% in volume and 22.1% in value on-year, the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT) reports.

(VOV) -Vietnam – Israel trade relations developed remarkably in the first six months of 2014, with bilateral trade jumping 53% year-on-year to US$426 million.

(VOV) - The evaluation is based on a stable inflow of foreign direct investment (FDI) into Vietnam, according to HSBC global research.

(VOV) -Representatives of the Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC) and Electricity of Vietnam (EVN) group signed a US$338.2 million loan contract for the Vinh Tan 4 thermal power plant in Hanoi on July 17.

(VOV) - Mergers and Acquisitions (M&A) activities in Vietnam are forecast to enter a new period of stronger development, with the total value tallying in at approximately US$20 billion, 30% higher than the first stage (US$15 billion). 

(VOV) - The US Department of Commerce (DOC) will officially impose anti-dumping taxes on oil country tubular goods (OCTG) imported from Vietnam on September 2. 

(VOV) - Domestic and foreign-invested enterprises (FIEs) in the leather and footwear sector continue to experience impressive growth, ranking Vietnam the second largest global exporter of footwear.

(VOV) - The Bank for Investment and Development of Vietnam BIDV has been selected – Best Commercial Bank – by the International Banker, a leading British financial and banking industry news organization.

(VOV) - The Governor of the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) has issued a license authorising National Australia Bank (NAB) to establish a representative office in Hanoi. 

The State Bank of Vietnam has announced that it has started buying the US dollar for an additional VND100 as of July 16.

The Netherland-based FrieslandCampina Vietnam company on July 16 kick-started the construction of a project on expanding large-scale dairy farms in the northern province of Ha Nam, the first financed by the dairy producer.

(VOV) - Three international shoe and leather expos got underway at the Saigon Exhibition and Convention Centre (SECC) in Ho Chi Minh City on July 16, drawing the participation of 150 businesses from 18 countries around the globe.

(VOV) - A workshop aimed at promoting technical cooperation in agriculture and environmental protection between Can Tho city and Hiroshima prefecture, Japan was held on July 16.