The northern port city of Hai Phong is set to accelerate administrative reform and project site clearance to create a better investment environment for investors both at home and abroad.

According to securities experts, current operating margins are not providing the securities market with liquidity. If previous margins are restored, it will create greater liquidity for mortgaged shares.

Ho Chi Minh City welcomed 195,000 foreign tourists in May, up 12 percent from a year earlier, according the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Tourism.

Vietnam will have an adequate supply of cement for local consumption for the rest of this year and the whole of 2009, confirmed Minister of Construction Nguyen Hong Quan at a conference in Ho Chi Minh City on May 28.

Central Da Nang City earned US$328.4 million from exporting goods and services over the past five months, an increase of 10.3 percent compared to the same period last year.

Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Nguyen Thanh Bien announced the target at a meeting on rice exports held in the Mekong Delta province of Tien Giang on May 28.

The exchange rate of the US dollar against the Vietnamese Dong (VND) recorded an all time high on May 27, reaching VND17,600/US$ on the black market, up 6.9 percent against the rate last December. It sparked a buying spree among the public to either hoard or transfer their dollars abroad.

Vietnam plans to increase the export of tea, coffee, spices, pepper, footwear, garments and textiles, electronic products, electric wires and cables to India.

The State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) has enough capacity to intervene and maintain a stable rate of exchange between the VND vs US$ in order to ensure that there will be no wide fluctuations in the future.

Vietnam has sent its first workers to the US, paving the way for labour exports to the high-demanding market.

The price of SJC gold in Hanoi on May 27 shot up by VND300,000-600,000 per tael compared with May 26 transactions, reaching nearly VND19 million/tael.

On May 26, Ford announced a price hike for all of its vehicles, its second rise in a month. This follows a series of import-tariff increases this month.

The Ministry of Finance (MoF) is resolved to cap essential commodity prices to ease the soaring consumer price index (CPI).

The Latin American market represents untapped potential for Vietnamese exporters, said experts from the Ministry of Industry and Trade.

Deputy Prime Minister Hoang Trung Hai has asked cement producers and businesses to ensure that sufficient supply of cement are available to help stabilise the domestic cement market.

Vietnam has so far this year absorbed more than US$14.72 billion in foreign direct investment, a 2.6 fold year-on-year increase, said the Ministry of Planning and Investment’s Foreign Investment Department.

In 2007, Vietnam provided Germany with 234,000 tonnes of coffee, second only to Brazil (288,000 tonnes), according to the figures released by the German Federal Statistical Office.

Agricultural investment is declining as farms are being used for other purposes, leaving farmers with no land for production. Therefore, it is imperative to work out a macro policy aimed at bringing about an agricultural renaissance or subsidies for farmers if they quit farming.

Jetstar Pacific Airlines will be the new brand name of local budget carrier Pacific Airlines.

Foreign direct investment businesses will be allowed to run employment services in Vietnam through a decree drafted to replace the government decree on employment generation.

Thai businessmen are showing increasing interest in Vietnam, a country with political stability and an attractive policy for foreign investment, Thailand’s Ambassador to Vietnam Kittipong Na Ranong said on May 23.

There is some concern that after June, the prices of a number of commodities will increase again. However, Hoang Tho Xuan, Head of the Trade Policy Department under the Ministry of Industry and Trade has affirmed that the price adjustments will not create severe changes in the market.

The State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) on May 23 officially launched the connection of Vietnam’s two largest card payment systems with the aim of promoting non-cash payment transaction.

Vietnam Technological and Commercial Joint Stock Bank (Techcombank) and its strategic partner Hongkong Shanghai Banking Corporation (HSBC) have linked their Automated Teller Machine (ATM) networks together to bring more convenience to retail banking customers.

The Vietnamese financial services market is expanding rapidly, but market penetration by retail and small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) remains relatively low, said a report from PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC).

The Japanese Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI), Akira Amari, has said that Vietnam is an attractive destination for foreign investors, especially Japanese entrepreneurs.

The audit agencies of Vietnam and Cambodia should boost the exchange of delegation visits and experiences, and mutual assistance in order to improve their capacity, said National Assembly Vice Chairman Nguyen Duc Kien.

The State Bank of Vietnam’s recent decision to allow commercial banks to raise their deposit interest rates has staged a race among these banks. While depositors are benefiting from the move, businesses are finding it more difficult to obtain access to bank loans.

The Ministry of Planning and Investment held a seminar in Hanoi on May 22 to discuss establishment of a general confederation of economic organisations.

The eight Vietnam banking exhibition and conference (Banking Vietnam 2008) officially took place in Hanoi on May 22 under the theme “Enhancing Competitive Advantage for Banks”.