Trade – Investment

(CPV) - Rice export volume in March 2016 reached an estimated 629,000 tonnes, valued at USD274 million, bringing the total figure for the first quarter of the year to 1.59 million tonnes, worth USD629 million, up 41.6% in volume and 40.8% in value over a year earlier, reported the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural development.

(CPV) - A deal signing for comprehensive cooperation for the 2016-2020 period was conducted between the Joint stock Commercial Bank for Investment and Development of Vietnam (BIDV) and Vietnam Posts and Telecommunications Group (VNPT) on March 30th in Hanoi.

(CPV) - On March 30th, Mr. Nguyen Duc Chung, Party Central Committee member and Chairman of the Hanoi People’s Committee, granted investment license for Samsung Electronics Vietnam to build a USD300-million research and development centre in Hanoi.

(CPV) - Phong Dien district in Can Tho city and Dien Ban town in Quang Nam province have received Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung’s recognition for being new-style rural areas in 2015.

(CPV) - The Vietnam Aviation Academy under Ministry of Transport and D’viation Solutions Sdn Bhd from Malaysia on March 30th signed a collaboration agreement on a comprehensive strategic partnership with the aim of enhancing the aviation education and training in the nation.

(CPV) - An Australian delegation from the Hunter Valley Business Network (Hunternet) is visiting Vietnam to meet with nation’s mining industry and to participate in the Australian Technical Mining Conference and Australian’s Exhibition at Mining Vietnam 2016 (March 29th-31st).

The Cua Dai bridge spanning the Thu Bon river and a coastal road in the central province of Quang Nam were put into service on March 27th in the presence of National Assembly Chairman Nguyen Sinh Hung.

Limitations in growth model reform, inadequate policies towards businesses and loose connectivity between domestic and foreign enterprises are among the causes eroding the attractiveness of Vietnam’s investment climate, according to head of the Party Central Committee’s Economic Commission Vuong Dinh Hue.

Two Vietnamese businesses have registered to exhibit their products at SIAL China, Asia’s largest food and beverage show to be held on May 5th-7th.

Agro-fishery-forestry exports were estimated at USD6.73 billion in Quarter 1, a year-on year increase of 3.1 percent, according to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.

Gross domestic product (GDP) expanded by 5.46% in the first quarter, slower than the 6.12% during the same period last year, according to the General Statistics Office (GSO).

A conference to summarize the five-year trade cooperation program between Ho Chi Minh (HCM) city and southeastern-western provinces and cities for the 2011-2015 period, and realize cooperation plans for the 2016-2020 period, was held in Ho Chi Minh city on March 22nd.

The Consumer Price Index (CPI) in Ho Chi Minh city in March 2016 rose slightly from the previous month.

(CPV) - Ho Chi Minh city continues to apply four market stabilization programs with the participation of 86 enterprises, said the municipal Department of Industry and Trade.

(CPV) - The Hanoi Department of Industry and Trade and Hanoi Association of Medium and Small Enterprises on March 21st signed a mutual agreement for the 2016-2020 period.

Vietnam will promote development of renewable energy resources, aiming to increase the proportion of power produced from these sources in the national electricity structure.

Some 450 enterprises in the construction industry will showcase their products at the Vietbuild Hanoi 2016 International Exhibition, at the National Exhibition Construction Centre, Hanoi from March 24th-28th.

Vietnam’s gross domestic product (GDP) is expected to stay between 6 and 7 percent from 2016 to 2018, according to the latest report from the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW).

The Vietnam Dairy Products Joint Stock Company (Vinamilk) is on Nikkei Asian Review’s Asia300 list, which names Asia’s most dynamic companies, a company representative said on March 18th.

Vehicles passing through the newly-built Hanoi-Hai Phong Expressway and the National Highway No5 will soon have to pay between 25 percent and 50 percent more as toll.

(CPV) - Vietnam’s export turnover to Mexico reached USD1.54 billion (FOB price) in 2015, a year-on-year rise of 49.16% and the highest increase since 2006, reported the Commercial Affairs Office of the Embassy of Vietnam in Mexico.

(CPV) - A conference titled “Towards sustainable agri-finance in Vietnam - from the case of Lam Dong province” was jointly held in Hanoi on March 18th by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) and the Vietnam Academy of Social Sciences (VASS).

(CPV) - The third exhibition on International Mining and Minerals Recovery (2016 Mining Vietnam) will attract 161 companies from 22 countries and territories, including the UK, Czech Republic, Germany, Singapore and Australia.

(CPV) - Vietnam is attending the 21st World Building and Construction Expo (WorldBex) in the Philippines from March 16th - 20th.

(CPV) - The Ha Long Shipbuilding Limited Company on March 14th has launched the biggest steel-clad vessel in Quang Ninh province, namely Bien Khoi 69, after five months of construction.

The Joint Stock Commercial Bank for Foreign Trade of Vietnam (Vietcombank) on March 14th inaugurated an additional five branches in Ho Chi Minh city.

The long term cooperation and the highly mutual trust between Vietnam and Russia allow the two nations’ oil and gas companies to strengthen cooperative ties, the Russian News Agency Ria Novosti quoted Foreign Ministry Spokeperson Maria Zakharova as saying on March 11th.

President Truong Tan Sang is arriving in Tehran on March 13th, seeking closer ties with Iran, especially in economy and trade, Vietnamese Ambassador to Iran Nguyen Hong Thach has told the Tehran Times.

Developing a national brand is essential and urgent, especially in the context that Vietnam is integrating intensively and extensively into the world, said Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Do Thang Hai.

(CPV) - The Vietnam Joint Stock Commercial Bank for Industry and Trade (Vietinbank) on March 10th signed a USD200 million offshore term loan with 18 international banks, led by BNP Paribas SA and Taipei Fubon Commercial Bank Co Ltd.