Business

With a trade deficit in October of nearly $500 million, the nation swung to an overall deficit in the first ten months of $357 million, according to the Ministry of Industry and Trade.

HCM City's banks have started to collect VND10,000 and VND20,000 cotton banknotes to exchange for plastic notes.

The government said it may not be able to apply an increase in the minimum wage as expected due to a lack of finances.

With a young population and fast income growth, Vietnam is seen as a promising market for foreign fast-food companies.

Vietnam’s welded carbon-quality steel pipes exported to the US market will enjoy an anti-dumping duty of zero percent.

Property projects that have yet to finish site clearance and compensation issues should be suspended, said the Construction Minister.

Just weeks after its momentous launch of the iPhone 5, Apple is back with what is expected to be another hot gadget -- a "mini" version of its market-leading iPad tablet.

Asia will be the first to feel the impact of any Middle East oil supply disruption as regional demand surges, the International Energy Agency said.

The consumer price index rose in Hanoi by just 0.37% in October, according to the municipal Statistics Office.

Vietnam has been ranked 81st in the ICT Development Index for 2011, a jump of five places from the previous year's index.

The General Department of Customs has imposed new tariff rates on new and secondhand luxury automobiles imported on or after October 18.

Incompetent banks should be left to go bankrupt in order to enhance the banking system’s efficiency, one agency said.

Foreign direct investment in China continued to fall in September, the government said, owing to persistent weakness in the global economy and a slowdown in China.

Vietnamese business investments in oversea markets reached nearly $1.3 billion in the first nine months of this year.

European Union leaders took a big stride towards establishing a single banking supervisor for the euro zone, agreeing it would enter into force next year, opening the way for the bloc's rescue fund to inject capital directly into ailing banks.

The Ministry of Construction is compiling a draft decree to loosen requirements for low-income earners to buy houses.

EU leaders at a Brussels summit agreed to create a single mechanism for overseeing eurozone banks that will be rolled out during 2013, according to diplomats.

The central city of Danang has attracted over USD152 million in foreign direct investment in the first nine months of the year.

Investment into the agricultural sector remains modest and has even seen annual decreases, an official has said.