The European Commission Council has decided to discontinue the Generalised System of Preferences for selected goods imported from Vietnam for the 2009-2011 period.

Vietnam obtained an export turnover of US$6.25 billion in July, the highest so far this year, according to the General Statistics Office.

The Ministry of Planning and Investment (MPI) has adopted three main solutions to disburse more than US$2 billion in official development assistance (ODA) this year.

The State Bank of Vietnam has assigned the Vietnam Bank for Industry and Trade (Vietinbank) to implement a US$75 million land system modernization project in the country.

There has long been a paradox in Vietnamese agriculture: Farmers aren’t happy even when they reap a bumper crop because their products are unsalable or priced cheaply. It’s urgent to find out the root of the problem.

Businesses and people have to find ways to cope with the situation.

Techmart Hanoi 2008, which introduces and trades new technology and equipment, will be held in the capital city from September 18-21 this year, with a focus on technologies in the fields of biology, information, electronics and telecommunications and automation.

Vietnam’s consumer price index (CPI) saw a month-on-month rise of 1.13 percent in July, the lowest increase since early this year, according to the General Statistics Office (GSO).

The Vietnam National Oil and Gas Group (PetroVietnam) said it is focused on seeking investment opportunities in foreign countries, particularly oil and gas exploration and exploitation.

Strengthening and promoting trade and economic relations between Vietnam and Iran are the theme of a seminar held in Hanoi on July 23.

In the first seven months of this year some 271 foreign invested projects were licensed in Ho Chi Minh City with a total registered capital of US$7,712 million, 12 times higher than the same period last year.

The total new investment capital in past six months was four times higher than in the same period last year, according to the Ministry of Planning and Investment. The problem is to make a careful choice of projects to prevent some areas from being too overloaded with foreign direct investment (FDI) capital.

Vietnam should boost its exports and domestic production to replace imported products, according to Noritaka Akamatsu, a leading financial economist from the World Bank (WB).

Vietnam will have to import an additional 200,000 tonnes of salt, announced the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development on July 22.

A US$1-million joint venture will operate from the third quarter of this year to pioneer the management of petrol price risk in Vietnam under a contract signed by Ginga Vietnam Holdings Pte Ltd and the Bank for Investment and Development of Vietnam’s (BIDV) Insurance Company (BIC) in Hanoi on July 22.

Vietnam plans to set up commercial centres in several countries to boost its exports, showcase its products abroad, and generally help Vietnamese enterprises to do business in those countries.

Drastic measures taken by agencies and businesses to stabilise market prices have paid off in Ho Chi Minh City with the consumer price index (CPI) dropping to 0.54 percent in July, the lowest figure since early this year, according to the municipal statistics office.

Many businesses and consumers say they now have no choice but to tighten their belt following the Ministry of Finance’s recent decision to raise petrol prices and are longing for a long-term solution from the Government and the relevant ministries to control market prices.

There have been 115 newly registered projects in the southcentral province of Phu Yen, including 34 projects from 18 foreign countries and territories.

The northern port city of Hai Phong has attracted more than US1.05 billion in foreign direct investment so far this year, nearly one third of which has gone to industrial parks, according to the city’s Department of Planning and Investment.

Despite the global economic slowdown and domestic high inflation, Vietnam’s real estate market remains attractive to foreign investors with a series of large projects recently licensed.

Authorities issued a license to a joint venture to build the first international-scale petrochemical complex, worth US$3.77 billion, in southern Ba Ria-Vung Tau province.

The Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Industry and Trade has decided to increase the retail petrol prices up by VND4,500/litre to VND19,000/litre as from 10am on July 21.

There have been signs of stability in the monetary market over the past week after many months of complicated developments and chaos.

The Vietnam Young Business Association will hold their 3rd congress at the My Dinh National Convention Centre in Hanoi on October 10-11, according to the executive board of the association.

The TECO group of Taiwan began building a US$50-million hi-tech plant in My Phuoc 3 industrial park in the southern province of Binh Duong on July 19.

Vietnam’s environment for industrial growth is still very conducive, Thailand’s Bangkok Post on July 19 cited Singapore’s AP Oil International, a lubricant and chemical specialist, as saying.

In an effort to reduce the trade deficit, Vietnam aims to fetch US$31 billion from exports in the second half of this year or a monthly average of US$5.15 billion, according to the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT).

Nghi Son Refinery and Petrochemical Limited Liability Company (NSRP LLC) has contracted Foster Wheeler Energy Limited of the United Kingdom to design the Nghi Son Oil Refinery and Petrochemical Complex.

The Republic of Korea’s (RoK) Posco group has submitted a feasibility study to build a steel plant in central Vietnam, according to Vietnam Steel Association President Pham Chi Cuong.