Việt Nam News

The Asia Pacific Gateway (APG) submarine fiber optic cable line has been put into operation after four years under construction.

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.

HCM City hopes to incorporate 50,000 new companies this year so that there are 500,000 operational ones by 2020, the chairman of the city People’s Committee, Nguyễn Thành Phong, has said.

The central city of Đà Nẵng should develop as a unique smart city and a competitive global centre of tourism and services, Prime Minister Nguyễn Xuân Phúc said at a meeting to mark the 20^th anniversary of Đà Nẵng’s autonomous status directly under the central government.

Vietnamese shares may advance in 2017, analysts say, cautioning that market conditions can get volatile with international events of 2016 continuing to exert unpredictable impacts on Việt Nam.

Bank stocks are expected to stage a comeback this year after experiencing one of its worst performing years in 2016, driven by cheap valuation as well as positive growth forecast.

The price of several kinds of lumber in Việt Nam had gone up due to scarcity created by unexpected Chinese purchases, creating pressure on the domestic wood business and Việt Nam’s wood industry.

Commercial banks in HCM City saw record credit growth of 18 per cent in 2016, according to the State Bank of Việt Nam (SBV).

The Tiên Sa Port in Đà Nẵng welcomed the Panamanian-flagged Bundi Ipasa on Sunday, the first cargo ship to dock in the biggest port in central Viet Nam this year.

Despite many difficulties, the production value of HCM City’s agro-forestry and fishery sectors increased by 5.8 per cent last year, reaching VNĐ19.59 trillion (US$859.5 million), according to the city Department of Agriculture and Rural Development.