The popular practice of exchanging new or special banknotes for a fee kicked off several weeks ago in many big cities, with one month to go before the start of Tết (Lunar New Year).

The Government has issued a list of 103 firms of which 100 per cent of stake will be held by the State and decided to equitise 137 State-owned enterprises (SOEs) in the 2016-20 period.

Vietnam Airlines, the country’s largest aviation corporation, on Tuesday started trading more than 1.22 billion shares on Unlisted Public Company Market (UPCoM) at a starting price of VNĐ28,000 (US$1.24) per share.

The State Bank of Việt Nam (SBV) will keep the interest rate of the VNĐ30 trillion (US$1.32 billion) preferential credit package for low-income homebuyers at 5 per cent in 2017.

The Vietnam Post and Telecommunications Group (VNPT) is targeting an increase of 15 per cent in profit in 2017 compared with 2016, Phạm Đức Long, general director of VNPT, said.

Vietnamese producers must improve product quality and make the most of their advantages so that imported goods don’t take over the market, the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry said.

Việt Nam International Joint Stock Bank (VIB) will trade 564.4 million shares on the Unlisted Public Company Market (UPCoM) on January 9, according to the Hà Nội Stock Exchange.

According to statistics from the General Customs Department, as of December 15 Việt Nam had imported a total 13 million tonnes of coal worth US$860 million during the year, more than four times the targeted 3 million tonnes.

Sugar output in the 2015-16 crop was 1.23 million tonnes, a year-on-year drop of 12.7 percent, said Phạm Quốc Doanh, Chairman of the Việt Nam Sugarcane and Sugar Association, at a seminar in HCM City last week of sugar producers, distributors and consumers.