A conference on cooperation in investment, trade and tourism promotion between the Central Highlands province of Kon Tum and Thailand’s four northeast provinces was held in Kon Tum city on May 24.

(CPV) – The Prime Minister has issued Decision 31/2013/QD-TTg establishing Phu Quoc Economic Zone in the Mekong Delta province of Kien Giang.

(CPV) – The Ministry of Finance on May 23 announced Circular 71 amending the export tax on fossil coal in the export tax list.

The Ministry of Construction has asked Prime Minister to consider and advocate allowing 13 northern mountainous provinces to join the northern mountainous urban programme, with a total loan of USD250 million from the World Bank (WB).

Japan has announced to end tests for trifluralin, a commonly used pre-emergence herbicide, on Vietnamese shrimp exported to the country, according to the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP).

A new issue of Government bonds worth VND5 trillion sold out at an auction organised by the Hanoi Stock Exchange (HNX) on May 21.

(CPV) – The Ministry of Planning and Investment (MPI), in coordination with the World Bank in Vietnam, organised a conference titled “Sharing experiences in completing criteria for classification and categorization of state-owned enterprises (SOEs)” on May 21, in Hanoi.

(CPV) – The May Consumer Price Index (CPI) in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh city dropped by 0.16 percent and 0.22 percent, respectively, from the previous month.

(CPV) – Aiming to follow direction of the PM and remove difficulties on production, support the market and deal with bad debt, the Hanoi People’s Committee has issued plans to carry out Hanoi’s 2013 Promotion Month.

(CPV) – Rice export volume reached more than 2.38 million tonnes from the start of the year to May 16, valued at more than USD1.03 billion, according to the Vietnam Food Association (VFA).

The HCM City administration has approved the expansion of the Cat Lai ferry station connecting HCM City’s District 2 with Dong Nai province’s Nhon Trach district.

A business exchange programme was held in Hanoi on May 20 for enterprises of Vietnam and India to look for investment and trade opportunities.

World Heritage sites in Vietnam’s central region have been introduced to the world through the offering of a travel book called My Son Sanctuary World Heritage Site and flyers on international flights of Asiana Airlines of the Republic of Korea (RoK).

(CPV) – The residential index stood at 89.2 in the first quarter of 2013, a slight 0.4 point decrease quarter-on-quarter, and a 3 point decrease year-on-year, announced Savills Vietnam Limited Company on May 20.

Shares fell into the red during the May 17 session on both national stock exchanges.

HCM City will host a series of trade fairs to promote made-in-Vietnam goods this year in response to the “Vietnamese people use Vietnamese goods” campaign.

Vietnam exported more than 38,000 tonnes of pepper in the first four months of 2013, earning USD370 million, up 30 percent year-on-year.

(CPV) – Savills Vietnam has competed against a number of real estate agents and property consultants in the country to win four awards in the prestigious Asia Pacific Property Awards 2013.

(CPV) – Export turnover of FDI businesses (including crude oil) in the first quarter of 2013 reached USD19.1 billion, a year-on-year rise of 24.1 percent, according to the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT).

(CPV) – A conference to introduce the call for a second round of proposals to the Vietnam Challenge Business Fund (VBCF) was held on May 15th, in Hanoi.