The textile and garment industry should target an export turnover of US$11.5 billion in 2009 to lead local exporters, Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Bui Xuan Khu said at a working session with the industry’s leaders on August 26.

Rubber exports have fetched more than US$1 billion in the past eight months of the year, up 30 percent year-on-year despite a 10 percent decrease in volume, according to the General Statistics Office (GSO).

The Netherlands-based TNT, a leading integrated express services provider, has launched a domestic and international express sorting centre in Hanoi.

The Vietnam Posts Corporation (VNPOST) and HSBC will cooperate in providing banking services following a memorandum of understanding (MoU) signed in Ho Chi Minh City on August 26.

The Vietnam National Oil and Gas Group (PVN) and Venezuelan partners are speeding up the progress of negotiation on oil and gas cooperation projects in the hope of signing contracts and joint-venture regulations in November 2008.

Vietnam’s export turnover in the first eight months of this year reached US$43.3 billion, a year-on-year increase of 39 percent, the General Statistics Office (GSO) reported.

The Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corporation (HSBC) officially launched its e-banking service in Vietnam on August 25 to meet the increasing demand of local businesses.

Economists, scholars and representatives of countries and international organizations have praised Vietnam as a model of economic development for the region at an annual conference on development cooperation between Switzerland and the Mekong River region.

The five biggest domestic tra and basa catfish processors and exporters have met to discuss measures to increase the export price by 5 percent. The move will help end stagnation in the tra and basa catfish market.

The trade revenue between Vietnam and Cambodia is expected to surpass US$1.5 billion this year against US$1.2 billion in 2007.

Industrial Parks (IPs) in the Mekong Delta region are attempting to overcome shortcomings in the southern region by improving the quality of planning, infrastructure and human resources.

The registration fees for under-10-seat cars will increase from the current 5 percent to 10-15 percent of the purchase price as of August 25, according to regulations in Government Decree 80.

According to the world’s leading real estate corporation CB Richard Ellis (CBRE), there are signs of Hanoi’s real estate market picking up in the near future.

Relevant ministries and local authorities have cut down more than VND37 trillion of investment capital for projects in 2008-2009. The prices of coal and electricity are likely to remain the same till the end of the year while petrol has dropped by VND1,000 per litre. All these factors combine to show the local market is promising.

Vietnam and Japan have made progress in negotiating a bilateral Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) with a focus on services, investment and trade, said a senior Vietnamese official.

Hungary is seeking opportunities to invest in economic and educational projects in southern Vietnam, said Hungarian Ambassador to Vietnam Vizi Laslo.

More than 50 Singaporean companies specialising in industry, commerce, services, construction and banking visited southern Binh Duong province on August 22 to seek investment opportunities.

Vietnam should put in a great deal of effort to stabilise its macro economy with the aim of keeping inflation in check, said Dr Vu Dinh Anh, a senior official of the Ministry of Finance (MoF) in an interview granted to the VOVNews.

Vietnam’s Truong Hai Group (Thaco) signed a cooperative agreement with one of Singapore’s leading motor distributors and dealers, Jardine Cycle & Carriage (JC & C), in Ho Chi Minh City on August 21.

The Prime Minister asked groups and state corporations to boost production and business activities in order to reach an economic growth rate of 7 percent this year.

Vietnam will see a boom in car use by 2020, said participants at a seminar held by the Heavy Industry Department of the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MIT) in Hanoi on August 21.

With an annual growth rate of 60-70 percent, the highest in Asia, the Vietnamese mobile phone market has become an attractive destination for foreign telecom groups.

Agricultural leaders from the southern region, the largest rice producer of Vietnam and the world’s second largest rice exporter, flocked to Ho Chi Minh City on August 21 to discuss the national food security strategy for the years up to 2020 and 2030.

The second International Con-Build Vietnam 2008 will be held at the Giang Vo Exhibition Fair Centre in Hanoi from September 9-12 by the Munich International Trade Fairs Pte.Ltd (MMI) from Germany.

The Finance Ministry is working on draft revisions to the law on special consumption tax with the aim of curbing the import of luxury goods.

PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) has made public its annual report on world investment, saying Vietnam remains attractive to foreign investors.

Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung has requested relevant ministries to make public all governmental, prime ministerial and ministerial instructions on prices, market, supply and demand of essential commodities to quash rumors of shortages in the country.

A seminar took place in Hanoi on August 20 to provide Vietnam with Japanese experiences in boosting public-private partnership (PPP) in infrastructure development.

There are signs of rising rice prices in the Mekong Delta region following businesses’ efforts to buy rice for storage, the Prime Minister’s decision to raise rice export prices and the State Bank’s offer of preferential loans for rice exporters.

The Vietnam National Oil and Gas Group (PetroVietnam) in coordination with the Long Son Petrochemical Company Limited will break the ground on a southern petrochemical complex project in Petro-Long Son Industrial Park in Ba Ria-Vung Tau province on September 25.