VOV.VN -  The 27th Vietnam International Trade Fair ( Vietnam Expo 2017) themed 'Enhancing Regional and Global Economic Links' is set to take place in Hanoi on April 19-22.

The Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT) has formed a Steering Committee to tackle problems of a number of projects and enterprises showing ineffectiveness and lagging behind.

The southern province of Binh Phuoc is working to strongly improve the local investment climate, by dealing with problems facing enterprises in a swift and effective manner.

Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc asked the shrimp industry to strive for an export value of US$10 billion by 2025 during a conference on shrimp production held in the southernmost province of Ca Mau on February 6.

VOV.VN - Shares on the Ho Chi Minh City Stock Exchange are expected to rise this week as positive portfolio investor sentiment becomes bearish at the start of the New Lunar Year of the Rooster.

Though Vietnam possesses huge amounts of iron ore, there is a serious shortage of steel for the mechanical engineering industry and defense industry. 

The State Securities Commission (SSC) has issued new regulations on which Unlisted Public Company Market (UPCoM) shares on the Premium list will be allowed for margin trading from April this year. 

The State Bank of Vietnam has targeted keeping interest rate stable in 2017, however, the market’s developments in the first half of January 2017 show that lending rates are suffering from many pressures.

Tuna exports are expected to increase by 8 percent this year to US$524 million, according to the Vietnam Association of Seafood Producers and Exporters (VASEP).

Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc has issued a directive to speed up the restructuring of State-owned enterprises (SOEs) during the 2016-2020 period.

VOV.VN - Numerous people in Hanoi and HCM City queued up on the early morning of February 6 in front of gold shops to buy gold on God of Wealth Day which falls on the tenth day of the Lunar New Year.

Low-cost carrier Vietjet Air on February 5 announced its promotion programme in the year with 500,000 super-saving tickets priced from only VND5,000 (US$0.21) for flights from March 1 to December 31.

Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc inspected the operation at the Minh Phu Seafood Corporation in the southernmost province of Ca Mau on February 5, one day ahead of a national conference on developing shrimp sector. 

Last year the VPBank-owned FE Credit-Consumer Finance Services added 2.7 million accounts to take its total number of customers to 3.3 million.

Domestic gold demand is expected to surge sharply on February 6 as Vietnamese prefer buying the metal to mark God of Wealth Day – the tenth day of the Lunar New Year (February 6).

Banks in Vietnam return after the Lunar New Year festival with promotions to attract deposits while the local gold market builds up speed in anticipation of the God of Wealth Day.

Totalgaz Vietnam Limited Liability Company, a subsidiary of French integrated oil and gas corporation Total, has terminated the agreement to buy Thang Long LPG Co., Ltd., the liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) storage and bottling subsidiary of Malaysian oil and gas company Petroliam Nasional Berhad.

The consumer price index (CPI) in January rose 0.46 % over December, 2016 and 5.22 % compared to the same month last year, according to the General Statistics Office (GSO).

The number of companies involved in foreign trade has increased, indicating simplified customs procedures, a senior official of the Customs General Department said.

Vietnam will likely launch its bond derivatives market in the first quarter of this year. This is part of the four-year roadmap for the domestic bond market prepared by the Ministry of Finance and projected to be submitted to the Prime Minister this year.

Retail space is set to be a cash cow for the property sector soon, particularly in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City.

Vietnam ran a trade deficit of US$100 million in January, after enjoying a trade surplus of billions of dollars in 2016.

 Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc pressed the button to launch a high-tech agricultural production at a VinEco farm in the northern province of Ha Nam on February 2. 

The Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment is drawing up a master plan on the use of Vietnam’s sea until 2035 and an action plan for the 2017-2025 period.

Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc has signed a decree allowing Vietnamese to gamble at casinos in Vietnam. It will come into effect on March 15.

 The Vietnam Steel Corporation (VnSteel) aims to earn consolidated revenue of VND18.8 trillion in 2017, an increase of VND800 billion from 2016.

2016 was a successful year for the real estate market. However, with the fast growth of the economy and the real estate market, real estate developers are being forced to diversify products and apply more advanced technologies to anticipate the market of 2017. 

Two youths from the Mekong Delta province of Dong Thap have each returned to their hometown to develop their startup ideas inspired by the province’s symbolic flower, the lotus.

As one of the first developers of the Vietnamese stock market 20 years ago, State Securities Commission chairman Vu Bang has seen plenty of ups and downs in the market. He talked about his experiences with VIR’s Huu Hoe as the 2017 lunar New Year approaches.

Vietnam aims to develop the sea-based economy to help the country benefit from the sea and secure national sovereignty and sovereign rights over sea and islands, contributing to the country’s industrialisation and modernisation.