Many innovative new products are on display at the Food Ingredients (FI) Việt Nam exhibition that opened yesterday in HCM City.

Vietnamese shares dropped on both local markets yesterday as investors took profits from blue chip gains and energy stocks fell on bumping oil prices.

Việt Nam Gold Trading Association (VGTA) chairman, Nguyễn Thành Long, asked the central bank and the Ministry of Finance to set up a national gold trading floor to mobilise gold from local people.

Ministries and sectors, along with local authorities, must promote their roles and coordination to help improve the domestic business environment and enhance national competitiveness, in accordance with a Government resolution.

The logistics industry in Việt Nam, which is expected to develop strongly in coming years, needs a new legal framework that would address future growth and its participation in a more competitive international environment, an official of  the Việt Nam Institute of Logistics said at a seminar held in HCM City yesterday.

Domestic private companies should get equitable treatment, especially in the context of the country’s increasing international integration, a seminar heard in HCM City on Monday.

Việt Nam could reach upper-middle income status (US$22,000 purchasing power parity per capita) by 2035 by growing with sustainability, equity and social inclusion, and being a capable and accountable State, a World Bank official has said.

The HCM City Startup Investment and Innovation Fund was launched yesterday to support business start-ups by youths.

The domestic property market this year would see “hot” development as Việt Nam would be one of five best prospective markets in the Asian region, experts said.