Securities enterprises expect the VN-Index to beat the 430-point level some time this week after the stock market extended its winning streak for an eighth day in a row and a mild correction last Thursday showed signs of retreating. Although this is a strong resistance, most brokers are optimistic about developments of the stock indices in the coming time as many important macro economic policies... 

Vietnam is estimated to have US$9.5 billion worth of incoming remittances in 2012, far lower than the projected figure of US$11 billion, said Nguyen Hoang Minh, deputy director of the central bank’s HCMC branch. Speaking to the Daily on the sidelines of a conference in HCMC last Friday, Minh said HCMC received around US$4.1 billion of remittance, of which 23% was invested in unfinished property... 

Lending rates may fall in the current macroeconomic context, but it is unlikely they will steeply drop to 5-8% as desired, heard a forum on challenges and opportunities for businesses in 2013 held in HCMC last Saturday. An entrepreneur from the Binh Dinh Businessmen Club in HCMC posed a question as to why lending rates in Vietnam cannot be lowered to 2-3% as in the U.S. or other Western countries.... 

Despite economic difficulties, the number of business startups in HCMC last year was still higher than that of bankrupt and dissolved ones, according to the HCMC Statistics Department. There were 23,708 enterprises established in HCMC from last year’s beginning to December 15, down 2.5% year-on-year. According to the department, the total number of enterprises stopping and temporarily suspending... 

The Ministry of Industry and Trade has removed a rule that forces importers of mobile phones to transport the gadget into the nation by sea. The ministry’s decision came after importers and dealers had filed complaints about the rule, saying it had made life hard for them. The move, said a source from the ministry, is part of the ministry’s drive to streamline administrative procedures and thus... 

Pre-tax profits of banks in HCMC last year represented a mere 30% of their 2011 amounts, according to a 2012 review report by the central bank’s HCMC branch. The HCMC branch of the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) in the report said a couple of local banks might have suffered losses last year. Explaining the unexpected result, an SBV official said the nation last year experienced a slew of problems that... 

Auto manufacturers and dealers are concerned that their sales might go down since a possible car registration fee reduction could lead consumers to suspend their purchase plans. The Government is working on the draft of a resolution thrashing out measures designed to help the corporate sector the difficulties for production and business activities, including lowering the automobile registration fee. If... 

While most segments of the HCMC real estate market were struggling to seek tenants and stabilize occupancy, the retail space segment did better business last year, CB Richard Ellis Vietnam (CBRE) said in a report released last week. There was an extra retail space supply of 78,000 square meters in the final months of 2012, with 38,000 square meters at the Vincom Center A project in the heart of... 

The privately-held carrier Air Mekong has rejected a news report that it had delayed jet fuel payments for the country’s main supplier Vinapco. The Tuoi Tre report cited a source from Vinapco as saying that since the fourth quarter of last year, the fuel seller had eight times written to the airline requesting payments that had fallen due and exceeded the amount a bank had guaranteed. But Air... 

Ho Chi Minh City People’s Committee has signed off on Saigon Hi-Tech Park’s (SHTP) VND8,175 billion ($392.64 million) second phase. The second phase covers 587 hectares in District 9, connecting with the phase one to make SHTP’s total area 913ha. The second phase would build main infrastructure, plus technical infrastructure for a science space specialising in science development, research...