\Russia’s Kaluga Oblast is willing to give incentives and help Vietnamese enterprises invest in the region, a local official has said.

The Ministry of Planning and Investment (MPI) has proposed building a draft law on investment in public-private partnership (PPP) models, including BOT (build-operate-transfer) form, which is expected to become a legal foundation for all PPP investment activities.

Dak Lak authorities have allowed 18 investors to conduct survey and build solar power projects in the Central Highland province after considering their financial capacity and experience.

The Republic of Korea (RoK) is currently the biggest foreign investor in Vietnam, and its increasing presence in Vietnam’s stock market is helping attract indirect Korean investment in the country, said Chairman of the State Securities Commission of Vietnam (SSCV) Tran Van Dung.

The northern province of Phu Tho hopes Japanese businesses will continue expanding investments in the Vietnamese locality and commits to creating favourable conditions for their operation.

More Asian brands, particularly those from Southeast Asia, have been franchised to the Vietnamese market, with seven foreign franchises licensed in Vietnam this year.

The government has set a target of disbursing all public investment capital in 2018 although it acknowledged that this is a tough task, said Deputy Prime Minister Vuong Dinh Hue. 

After setting foot in the automobile manufacturing industry, Vingroup, the leading real estate group in the country, shows ambitions to jump into the US$5.3 billion pharmaceutical sector.

Numerous investors, including foreign investors, intend to invest in the suspended Chu Lai Soda processing plant invested by Chu Lai Soda Processing JSC, despite its debts exceeding VND3 trillion (US$131.58 million).

The stock market has shown positive reactions to the disclosure of the government’s intention to slash the corporate income tax (CIT) from 20-22% to 15-17%.