A delegation from the Ho Chi Minh City People’s Committee led by its vice chairwoman Nguyen Thi Hong has visited Germany to study some markets and boost trade and economic cooperation with German cities.

Most State-owned corporations and groups saw profits in the first six months of this year, according to Pham Viet Muon, deputy head of the Steering Committee for Renewal and Development of State Enterprises.

The Ministry of Planning and Investment (MPI), the Japanese Embassy in Hanoi and the Japanese Businesses Association have held a meeting to draft an action plan for the third phase of the Vietnam-Japan Joint Initiative.

The ANZ Vietnam, an affiliate of the Australia and New Zealand Banking Group (ANZ), has introduced a new service, mobile banking, in Hanoi.

Vietnam and Brazil should create and seize opportunities for cooperation to realise their target of US$1 billion in trade turnover by 2010.

China’s second Commodities Fair 2008 opened in Hanoi on July 10 with the aim of introducing its high quality goods to the Vietnamese market.

Vietnam’s coffee industry is quite capable of raising its export turnover to more than US$2 billion a year, according to many experts at a conference in Hanoi on July 9.

According to the latest statistics released by the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism (VNAT), in the first half of this year Vietnam received nearly 2.3 million foreign tourists, including some 800,000 visitors to Ha Long Bay.

The GTel Global Telecommunications Corporation signed a contract with the Vimpel-Com group of Russia on July 8 to set up a joint-stock company providing telecommunications services.

Chilean businesses will invest more in Vietnam in the near future, local media reported.

A seminar was held in Hanoi on July 9 to evaluate the World Trade Organisation (WTO)’s impacts on the development of the coffee, cacao, pepper and cashew nuts sector after nearly two years since Vietnam joined this organisation.

More than 200 Vietnamese and Russian businesses attended a workshop in Moscow on July 8 to discuss the prospects for developing trade ties between the two countries.

On July 7, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development held an online conference to discuss the consumption of tra and basa catfish in the Mekong Delta provinces.

An Australian economist says Vietnam has become one of the best performing economies in South-East Asia with an average growth of 8-9 percent every year.

About 20 Danish businesses will arrive in Vietnam from 6-12 October to seek investment opportunities.

The ninth annual Guide Awards 2007-08 will recognise 106 businesses in the tourism sector in Vietnam, the Vietnam Economic Times magazine has announced.

The Czech Republic considers Vietnam one of its priority trade partners, a representative from the Czech Ministry of Industry and Trade said on July 8.

Deputy Prime Minister Hoang Trung Hai has asked the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT) to ensure an adequate supply of essential commodities in the remaining six months of this year.

The second Chinese Commodities (Vietnam) Fair 2008 will be held at the Hanoi Friendship Cultural Palace from July 10-13 to display household electronic appliances, power-looms, hand-held tools, garments and textiles.

Economic experts have forecast that the consumer price index (CPI) in July will fall by 1.5 percent compared to June as the Government’s measures to stabilize CPI and contain inflation have begun to take effect.

Turkey’s biggest Airlines opened a representative office in Hanoi on July 7. Turkish Airlines also chose the Huong Giang Aviation Service Co. Ltd., to be its agent in the country.

Vietnam ranked fifth in a list of Asia’s best investment destinations for foreign firms, according to a survey conducted by financial advisory firm Ernst & Young and the Japan External Trade Organization.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs in coordination with the German Hanns Seidel Foundation held a seminar in Hanoi on July 7 to share experiences in joining the World Trade Organisation (WTO) and implementing the WTO commitments.

The strong measures introduced by the State bank of Vietnam (SBV) to stabilise the monetary market have begun to pay off, with borrowing interest rates and exchange rates of foreign currencies being kept in check.

An international exhibition on information and communication technology (ICT) and electronics will take place at Ho Chi Minh City’s International Exhibition Centre, from July 16-19.

Cities and provinces in the southeast region saw a rise in foreign invested projects in the first half of the year. Hi-tech projects are concentrated in more urbanized areas and labour-intensive ones in less-urbanised provinces.

Industrial zones in the capital city attracted a total investment of more than US$152 million in the first half of the year, an annual increase of 27 percent, according to an official from the Hanoi Industrial and Export Processing Zones Management Board.

The first batch of handicraft products worth US$5,700 has been exported to the British market by Lac Phuong Nam company in Ho Chi Mih City.

The Vietnam Tourism Association (VTA) held a ceremony in Hanoi on July 5 to announce the top ten travel agents and hotels in Vietnam in 2007. This is the highest prize for the Vietnamese tourism sector, which is given annually to honour the top ten travel agents and hotels.

The Vietnam Shipbuilding Industry Group (Vinashin) has decided to cut 49 projects worth VND6,500 billion. This is a large sum when compared with the equity capital of economic groups and State-owned enterprises.