Two-way trade between India and Vietnam is expected to reach US$2 billion in 2008, two years ahead of the goal set in the joint statement issued nearly one year ago when the two countries established a strategic partnership.

The International Jewelry Vietnam 2008 (IJV 2008) opened in Ho Chi Minh City on May 2, drawing the participation of 100 enterprises from 15 countries around the world.

The Prime Minister has allowed the Vietnam Coal and Mineral Industry Group (TKV) to set up joint stock companies with foreign partners for bauxite-aluminium projects.

The central region, which took the brunt of the past war and has been constantly hit by natural disasters, boasts great potential for economic development. However, it needs a new way of thinking on development, requiring close cooperation between regional provinces.

Vietnam’s aquatic exports in April reached US$3 million or 25 percent of the annual target, raising turnover in the first 4 months to US$1.098 billion, a rise of 8.4 percent compared to the same period last year.

At 9 am on May 2, gold at the Hanoi SJC Company was traded at VND17.050-17.250 million per tael, VND550,000 per tael lower than the previous day.

Vietnam’s fruit and vegetables are currently being exported to more than 50 nations and territories around the world. Its exports are expected to reach around US$700 million by 2010.

The UK’s “The Economist” magazine has commented that Vietnam’s tourism may be “booming”.

Tay Nguyen (Central Highlands) has become a dynamic economic region with an average growth rate of 13 percent per annum over the last 33 years. The region is home to 47 ethnic groups with diverse cultures and has vast reserves of natural resources.

Ho Chi Minh City welcomed 230,000 foreign visitors in April, an increase of 15 percent from a year ago, according to the Municipal Tourism Department.

The Nam Trieu Shipbuilding Industry Corporation, an affiliate of Vinashin group, handed over a 53,000 tonne cargo vessel to Britain’s GRAIG Group on April 29 in the northern coastal province of Quang Ninh.

The Vietnam Craft Village Association opened an information centre in Hanoi on April 30.

After 33 years of construction and development, the southern province of Binh Thuan is now on track to boost agricultural production in a sustainable fashion. In 2008 – a pivotal year of the five-year development plan (2006-2010), the province targets a GDP growth rate of 15 percent.

Vietnam’s High-Quality Products Fair 2008 entitled “Connection and Integration” opened on April 29 in the Phu Tho Sport Complex, Ho Chi Minh City.

Construction of a heavy industry factory at a cost of VND450 billion started in the oil-field province of Ba Ria-Vung Tau on April 29 with full investment from the Vina-Halla Company Ltd of the Republic of Korea (RoK).

Vietnam is becoming a more attractive destination for international financial services companies, said a chief executive of Western Union, one of the world leading money transfer companies based in the US.

Vietnam’s industrial production in April is estimated at US$3.43 billion, taking the total value for the first four months to US$13.5 billion, a year-on-year increase of 16.4 percent, according to the General Statistics Office.

The Mekong Expo 2008 entitled “To develop industry, trade, irrigation, rural communications in the Mekong Delta during the country’s industrialisation and modernisation process” is taking place in Can Tho city from April 29-May 5.

Ho Chi Minh City has so far this year attracted 126 Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) projects, worth more than US$1.9 billion.

Seafood exporters from southernmost Ca Mau province met with their German partners at a forum in Berlin on April 28 with the aim of promoting business cooperation between the two sides.

There is currently no shortage of rice in Ho Chi Minh City and the price has fallen by VND7,000 per kilogramme, said Pham Hoang Ha, director of the Ho Chi Minh City’s Department of Trade.

Members of the Vietnam Banks’ Association have agreed to cap the yearly interest rate for Vietnamese dong deposits termed over 6 months at 12 percent.

In Vietnam, the model of gold trading floor is showing the efficiency of capital mobilisation from businesses. However, no legal documents on controlling the gold trading floor’s operations has been created so far.

An abrupt increase in rice price over the last two days is due to false rumour and speculation while that is still a rice surplus in the country, said Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung at a monthly Government meeting on April 28.

Domestic rice prices have begun to decline after localities adopted immediate measures to deal with rice dealers and private traders who had teamed up to corner the market.

The European Union (EU) is an important partner for Vietnam in the process of international economic integration and will always be a leading trade and investment partner.

The nation’s plastics industry earned nearly US$200 million in the first quarter and is well on the way to meeting its US$1 billion export target for 2008, according to the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT).

The Government will ensure food security by focusing on increasing national reserves over exporting, Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung said at a teleconference on April 27.

The Sao Khue Awards have been presented to 47 individuals, organisations and businesses, who have made a significant contribution to developing Vietnam’s software industry and information and communications technologies (ICT).

AHEAD Indochina- a group of leading Hungarian companies involved with trade and information and technology (IT) has opened its headquarters in Hanoi with the aim of boosting economic and investment relations between Hungary and Vietnam as well as with other Southeast Asian nations.