Supermarkets participating in the city’s price stabilisation programme have increased their supply of essential goods to meet demand in the run-up to Lunar New Year (Tet) holiday.

Deputy Prime Minister Hoang Trung Hai on January 20 praised the excellent work of individuals and groups in contributing to the development of Vietnam’s gemstones, jewelry and handicraft industry.

(VOV) - HCM City hosted a forum on January 19 discussing methods to increase consumers’ trust in Vietnamese products and services.

(VOV) - Vietnam should take advantage of free trade agreements (FTAs) signed with foreign countries to achieve its set target of 10-percent export growth in 2013.

(VOV) - Cash will dominate the real estate market in 2013, said Marc Townsend, General Director of CBRE Vietnam at a seminar in HCM City on January 15.

(VOV) - The success of the commercial bank restructuring process rests heavily on the settlement of bad debts that continue to obstruct capital mobilisation for the national economy.

(VOV) - The Vietnam Association of Automobile Manufacturers (VAMA) has reported 2012’s automobile sales fell by 33 percent compared to the previous year.

(VOV) - 2013 is forecast to be a difficult year for Vietnam’s rice exports as competition from other global rice producers such as Thailand, India, Pakistan and Myanmar intensifies.

(VOV) - Deputy Prime Minister Hoang Trung Hai has asked the Vietnam National Coal - Mining Industries Group (Vinacomin) to settle inventories at the beginning of the year.

(VOV) - The Ministry of Finance is keeping a close watch on market prices to forestall any illegal commodity hoarding and price hikes in the lead up to the traditional lunar New Year (Tet) festival.

(VOV) - The Vietnam National Textile and Garment Group (Vinatex) earned US$2.6 billion from exports in 2012, a year-on-year increase of 16 percent.

(VOV) - Japan has become a lucrative market for Vietnamese exporters as it annually needs nearly 200,000 tonnes of rice.

(VOV) - Vietnamese dried fruit manufacturer Vinamit has won a four-year lawsuit against its former Chinese distributor who stole its brand name for the dried jackfruit chip product in China.

(VOV) - Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung has approved a development strategy aimed at raising the level of national reserves to 1.5 percent of GDP by 2020.

A tendency for offices in HCM City to move back to the downtown area was discernible in 2012, according to leading commercial real estate services provider Cushman & Wakefield. 

(VOV) - Vietnam’s Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) dropped to 49.3 in December, according to the latest report by the Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corporation (HSBC).

(VOV) - A plan to support the crippling stock market was submitted to the Finance Ministry on January 2.

(VOV) - The Vietnamese shrimp farming industry has operated according to the market mechanism for years, and it does not receive any government subsidies.

(VOV) - The Prime Minister has recently shown the government’s resolve to keep 2013’s inflation at 6 percent – a task that will entail overcoming a variety of challenges, according to Minister of Planning and Investment Bui Quang Vinh.

(VOV) - National Financial Supervisory Committee Deputy Head Dr Le Xuan Nghia has said the majority of  bad debts are currently owed by select commercial banks because of inadequate emergency reserves.

The government and the entire financial and banking system have taken drastic measures to reduce bad debts while assisting businesses in overcoming difficulties, said State Bank governor Nguyen Van Binh.

(VOV) - The total export volume of agro-forestry and aquatic products in 2012 was estimated at US$27.5 billion, up 9.7 percent over last year, according to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.

(VOV) - The rice and raw tobacco material commodity groups imported from Laos will be granted a zero tax rate from January 1, 2013.

(VOV) - The Vietnam Cashew Association (VINACAS) has set a 2013-2015 export target of over US$4 billion, equivalent to US$1.4-1.5 billion each year. 

(VOV) - The State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) has announced that basic interest rates will be cut by 1 percent from December 24.

(VOV) - Hanoi’s consumer price index (CPI) increased slightly by 0.26 percent in December, up 6.29 percent compared to the same period last year.

(VOV) - Japan’s Sumitomo Life Insurance Company has decided to buy Bao Viet’s stake in the Vietnamese insurance market.

(VOV) - Economists are warning the slow progress in banking reform will increase the ratio of bad debts.

(VOV) - Global Data Services JSC (GDS), a joint venture between the NTT Com and Vietnam Posts Telecommunications (VNPT), has begun supplying domestic and international network services in Vietnam.

(VOV) - The leather and footwear sector is trying to meet this year’s US$8.5 billion export earning target despite numerous difficulties in the market.