Vietnam will not depreciate its currency (VND), and with US$20.7 billion in its reserves, the country can deal with any fluctuations to stabilise its monetary market, said Nguyen Van Giau, Governor of the State Bank of Vietnam.

The Netherlands Government and Vitens-Evides International BV company will provide EUR4.2 million for a EUR5 million safe water project in Ho Chi Minh (HCM) City.

Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Nguyen Thanh Bien has said the European Commission’s decision to remove Vietnamese-made footwear imports from its generalized system of preferences (GSP) is unfair and will have negative impacts on Vietnamese footwear workers.

The Vietnamese Government is committed to building a favourable, equal, open and transparent investment environment, Finance Minister Vu Van Ninh told domestic and foreign investors during a teleconference on June 19.

Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung on June 19 called on relevant ministries to work with enterprises to purchase all commercial rice stockpiles from farmers to boost exports.

Vietnam and the European Union (EU) conducted the first round of negotiations on the Partnership and Cooperation Agreement (PCA) in Brussels, Belgium, on June 17-18.

Gold prices stood at VND19.05 million per tael at 4pm on June 19. Gold at the Bao Tin Minh Chau Company is currently trading at VND18.95-19.12 million per tael and SJC gold at VND18.97-19.06 million/tael.

An international conference on emerging markets will be held in Hanoi from June 29 to July 1, 2008 by the Ministry of Planning and Investment (MoPI) and the Emerging Markets Forum.

EBay group has established a partnership with chodientu.vn, a leading online trading centre run by Vietnam’s PeaceSoft company, to promote its e-commerce activities in the country.

Vietnam had exported 35,000 tonnes of pepper by May 2008, nearly 4,000 tonnes less than in the same period of 2007. However, the export value of pepper has increased to US$140 million, compared to the previous level of US$107 million.

The Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corporation (HSBC) in Vietnam has officially opened its biggest branch to date in Ha Noi.

The 36th international pepper conference (IPC) will be held in Ho Chi Minh City from November 24-27, according to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD).

The government has given the nod to the national flag carrier Vietnam Airlines to sell 10-20 percent of its stocks to foreign strategic partners. The State will retain a stake of between 70-80 percent.

Hanoi authorities have asked foreign-invested enterprises in industrial and export processing zones to publicize their pay scales before August 30 in a bid to ensure labourers’ legitimate rights and interests.

The world’s online marketplace eBay has established a partnership with Vietnamese company PeaceSoft Solution to accelerate e-commerce in the country.

The European Commission (EC) will contribute 10 million euros to a Multilateral Trade Assistance project (MUTRAP) to help Vietnam fulfill its major socio-economic targets for four years up to June 30, 2012.

The Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI) has received a certificate of merit for trade promotion from the US Department of Commerce.

As of June 11, 57 out of 64 provinces and cities and 28 ministries and sectors submitted reports to the Ministry of Planning and Investment (MPI) on their plans to cut down a total of VND4,500 billion in investment capital from more than 1,000 projects.

The Vietnamese legal system regulates that the domestic currency (VND) is to be used in all transactions, but that several businesses representing foreign parent companies have recently been asking for payment in US dollars (US$) in violation of Vietnamese law.

The State Securities Commission held a conference on June 16 to further develop the stock market.

The Ho Chi Minh City Stock Exchange (HOSE) and Australia’s Monash University on June 16 signed a memorandum of understanding on information exchange and human resource development cooperation.

An 18-member delegation from the US led by Assistant Secretary of Commerce and Director General of the US Commercial Service, Israel Hernandez is visiting Vietnam from June 16-20.

Chairman of the Ho Chi Minh City People’s Committee, Le Hoang Quan, has granted a business license to a project to build Thu Thiem software park, with a total investment of US$1.2 billion.

Taiwan’s largest diversified industrial company, Formosa Plastics Group, has been licensed to build a US$7.8 billion steel complex in central Ha Tinh province’s Vung Ang Economic Zone, according to the zone’s management board.

Vietnam’s Finance Minister Vu Van Ninh has called on Asian countries to work together to find solutions to the impacts of the world economic slowdown at the 17th World Economic Forum on East Asia 2008.

Foreign investors could be able to acquire a larger stake of local State-owned enterprises under a new draft regulation on foreign-ownership caps recently published on the Government’s website for consultation.

Economists say that most equitised enterprises face difficulties in business administration and that shortcomings remain in the pre-equitisation process.

The European Commission has announced that it will abolish the Generalised System of Preferences (GSP) for Vietnam’s leather shoes imported into the European Union market as from January 1, 2009.

Many Belgian businesses are interested in Ho Chi Minh City’s investment environment and business opportunities, especially infrastructure and traffic projects, said Belgian Minister of Foreign Affairs Karel De Gucht.

The Ministry of Transport is calling on relevant agencies to speed up preparations for construction of a passenger terminal at the Noi Bai International Airport.