Business

Hanoi’s consumer price index rose just 0.49% in February against the previous month– a record low during the past 10 years, according to the municipal Statistics Office.

Vietnam’s FPT Software company has been listed among the top 100 service outsourcing providers in the world by the International Association of Outsourcing Professionals (IAOP).

While the state bank vowed to take drastic measures to restructure the banking sector, the task is turning out to be more difficult than originally expected, said an economist.

Moody's Investors Service is maintaining its negative outlook on the Vietnamese banking system, although it recognizes recent signs of stabilization on the macroeconomic front and regulatory measures that could bring benefits in the next two to three years.

Ho Chi Minh City and Japan’s Yokohama are working to establish a direct air link that serves the increase number of business travellers.

Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung has stressed the restructuring of state-owned enterprises (SOEs) as a key political task for 2014 and the following year.

Several Vietnamese state-owned companies operating in oil and gas, electricity, minerals and telecom have suffered losses investing in foreign countries.

More than 65 percent of Vietnam’s top 500 businesses with the fastest growth rates in 2013 are from the private sector, twice as much as that of state-owned companies.

Vietnamese timber exports to the EU will face new requirements, including proof that the sources of timber and timber products are not illegally harvested in the near future.

Construction work began on an innovative Vietnam-Japan technology park in Ho Chi Minh city on February 17 with a total investment of USD31 million.

It is expected that 184 companies will be audited in 2014, including 43 state-owned corporations and groups, according to the State Audit of Vietnam.

Foreign companies have continued pouring investment into Vietnam to take advantage of the opportunities presented by the TPP scheduled to be signed this year, said a local economist.

The revised bidding law, which took effect in January, prioritises local bidders, made-in-Vietnam products, human resource development, and job creation.

Two –way trade between Vietnam and Japan was estimated at 25.6 billion USD in 2013, according to the General Department of Vietnam Customs.

Many ATM card owners have been complaining about being charged with extra fees when using services at banks.

More than 600 domestic and foreign businesses have gathered at a February 15 meeting in Nghe An Province presided over by National Assembly (NA) Chairman Nguyen Sinh Hung.

The recent increase in domestic milk prices is an unavoidable trend amid the price hike in the world market, one official said.

During the 2011 -2013 period, HCM City placed particular emphasis on the service, industry and agriculture sectors, with the services industry seeing the fastest rate of growth.

The fourth round of ministerial talks on a free trade agreement (FTA) between Vietnam and the Customs Union of Belarus, Kazakhstan and Russia wrapped up in Danang city on February 14.