The rapid growth of supermarkets, trade centers and e-commerce is expected to strengthen throughout Vietnam in 2010, said Dinh Thi My Loan, general secretary of Vietnam Retailers Association. Vietnamese consumers are spending less on shopping than before, but that doesn’t mean they’re buying less stuff, she said. Many people still shop every day but they want it to be a more “convenient” and... 

Vietnam gold exchanges said they would close far ahead of the government’s deadline due to a halting decline in trading volumes. Earlier this month, the State Bank of Vietnam told banks to halt lending for gold investments and said all loans made to buy the precious metal must be repaid, after announcing last month that the country’s 20 gold trading floors must close by March 30. As bank lending... 

The real estate market will remain stagnant if the State Bank maintains its tight monetary policy through the first half of this year, experts warn. However, this lull provides a good opportunity for people with real housing needs rather than speculators to buy properties, according to experts. Nguyen Son Trung, director of HCM City-based Dat Nam Do Real Estate Company, says real estate transactions... 

PetroVietnam Finance Corp , an arm of Vietnam’s state oil monopoly, plans to list shares on the Singapore stock exchange in the third quarter of this year, its chairman said on Friday. “PVFC will sell an 18 percent stake owned by PetroVietnam in the Singapore listing,” Nguyen Dinh Lam said on the sidelines of a company meeting. The share offering will cut PetroVietnam’s stake... 

Financial security will be “the number one priority” in managing the stock market this year, chairman of the State Securities Commission (SSC) said at a conference late last week. Under a draft document prepared by the commission, investors and securities companies are welcome to offer and use new products but they have to obey rules about risk management on the market, Vu Bang said at the conference... 

HCMC – Mobile carriers will cut mobile charges as soon as the regulation on connection fee reduction up to 30% goes into effect with industry insiders predicting a year of price wars. Viettel, the vanguard in price slashing, announced to cut its mobile charges by 15%-20% in February. Under the decision, external and internal calling charges will be decreased by an average of VND200 per minute. The... 

HCMC – Banks are finding it difficult to hold on to U.S. dollars remitted home from overseas as clients often refuse to sell the greenback to them due to the unattractive foreign exchange rate they offer. Bankers in HCMC said at a meeting with the State Bank of Vietnam on Tuesday that only a fraction of dollar funds had returned to banks via deposits or sales. This situation will remain unchanged... 

Flagship carrier Vietnam Airlines Tuesday opened its first European representative office in Paris, France, a move aimed at expanding its network in the continent. The opening of the new facility is also part of the airline’s strategy to advertise its image to European markets in preparation for its entrance into global airline alliance SkyTeam, the second largest airline alliance in the world,... 

Vietnamese catfish products won gold medals at a recent US Chef Contest, according to Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Processors. Winners of the contest, which gathers the best cooks and food processors serving the US market, were: Basa Vina Pearl Fillets; Basa Vina Pearl Swai Loins; Basa Vina Pearl Swai and Vina Blue Barramundi Fillets, all produced by QVD Food Ltd. based in the Mekong... 

The National Centre for Socio-economic Information and Forecasting expects export earnings to hit US$66 billion this year, or 5.88 percent more than last year. The centre has also forecast two different scenarios for the overall economy. The first is a projected target for 6-6.5 percent along with 3-3.2 percent growth for the agro-forestry and fisheries sectors, 6.4-6.8 percent for construction, and...