VNBusinessNews – The State Bank of Viet Nam (SBV) will encourage commercial banks to expand credit programmes effectively by improving access and addressing problems faced by enterprises in debt repayment. SBV Governor Nguyen Van Giau said last Friday that for its part, the central bank would deploy its monetary policies to manage interest rates, exchange [...]

VNBusinessNews – Asian currencies rose, led by South Korea’s won, as speculation the U.S. government will increase its ownership of Citigroup Inc. helped shore up demand for riskier assets. The Bloomberg-JPMorgan Asia Dollar Index, which tracks the region’s 10 most-active currencies excluding the yen, climbed from the lowest level in three months after the Wall [...]

VNBusinessNews – The new retail electricity rates for all power drawn from the national grid, averaging VND948.5/kWh, will take effect on March 1 under a decision signed by Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung. The new price marks an increase of 8.92% over current prices. Deputy Prime Minister Hoang Trung Hai said during a press conference [...]

VNBusinessNews – Yen Binh Investment and Development Joint Stock Company has received a license to develop the “Yen Binh Global City” project in the northern Thai Nguyen Province. It will be an urban and industrial zone divided into three parts: 45% for high-technology firms, 35% for clean farming, and the rest for service companies and [...]

VNBusinessNews – Australia’s low-fared airline Jetstar is pressing ahead with a plan to launch interline ticketing with a group of 10 international airlines headed by Qantas Group in the initial time. Jetstar Airways will begin the plan with Qantas in mid March this year, and then clinch interline and ticket settlement deals with leading Asian [...]

VNBusinessNews – The Vietnamese Embassy in Germany held a meeting with nearly 40 outstanding Vietnamese entrepreneurs on February 22 who are seeking ways to develop the Vietnamese business community in this country and Europe at large. Participants discussed preparations for the 3rd Congress of the Vietnamese Business Association in Germany (VBAG) due to take place [...]

VNBusinessNews – The estimated costs of the Ben Thanh – Suoi Tien subway have doubled to $2.2 billion due to depreciation of Vietnamese dong. The Ho Chi Minh City People’s Committee has instructed the Urban Railways Management Board (URMB) to discuss the costs with the Japan International Cooperation Agency. It has also ordered the URMB [...]

VNBusinessNews – The electricity price will increase on March 1, 2009, while the capability of the Electricity of Vietnam (EVN) to settle electricity shortages remains unclear. Meanwhile, EVN has expressed concerns that a strong reform of EVN would make electricity shortages more serious and make it more difficult to ensure energy security. The reform Deputy [...]

VNBusinessNews – Advertising contracts still haven’t been signed yet though the first quarter will be over in a month. The advertising, PR and event organisation markets are gloomier than ever. Advertising companies are struggling with sharp decreases in turnover. Ngo Vu Son, Head of Outdoor Division under Unicom, said that this time last year, the [...]

VNBusinessNews – Cement makers in the north will supply 12-12.5 million tons to the southern region to meet increasing demand there, the deputy head of the Construction Materials Management Department has said. Dr. Vo Quang Diem added that to move such a large quantity, production, storage, and transportation plans must be made carefully. Southern demand [...]

VNBusinessNews – Dong interest rates have risen slightly this week as banks need more funds to lend under a government campaign to avert a deeper economic slowdown. The highest increases were on overnight loans and 1-week loans, Reuters data showed VNIBOS. Rates on overnight loans rose to 6.83 percent on Monday from 6.18% a week [...]

VNBusinessNews – The Ministry of Information and Communication (MIC) on February 18 received 3G technology development and business applications from seven mobile telecom firms namely VinaPhone, MobiFone, Viettel, EVN Telecom, Saigon Postal and Telecommunication Service Joint Stock Co (SPT), Gtel Mobile and Hanoi Telecom. However, the seven firms submitted six applications because one was made [...]

VNBusinessNews – Viet Nam, the world’s second-biggest rice supplier, will only allow new contracts for shipments from July to help stabilize prices after exports in the first half of the year exceeded a government target. The Vietnam Food Association will register export contracts for delivery between July and September, according to a statement on its [...]

VNBusinessNews – Many coffee-growing areas in the central province of Dak Lak are facing a lack of water, provincial irrigation officials warned. By mid-February, more than 170,000 hectares had been watered just once against a requirement of at least four times. Coffee trees in the province, especially in Cu Mgar, Krong Buk and Ea H’leo [...]

VNBusinessNews – Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung has asked the Ministries of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs and Finance to provide him policy options for supporting workers who lose their jobs due to the economic recession. The policies he will draft based on them will focus on three main issues: • Lending by the [...]