The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development has approved a master plan on irrigation for the Tay Nguyen Central Highlands to 2030 with total investment of more than 103 trillion VND (nearly 4.4 billion USD).

Renovating its growth model and improving productivity are among the key requirements to improve Vietnam’s economic competitiveness, heard a recent seminar in Ho Chi Minh City.

The State Capital Investment Corporation (SCIC) was transferred from the Ministry of Finance to the Committee for Management of State Capital at Enterprises (CMSC) on November 12.

The 14th National Assembly adopted a resolution on adjustments to the medium-term public investment plan for 2016-2020 with 89.48 percent of votes on November 12 during the on-going 6th session.

Vietnam’s agriculture sector is aiming for annual growth of a minimum 3 percent, with labour productivity improving 3.5 percent a year by 2020, said Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Ha Cong Tuan.

The Nghi Son refinery plant in the Nghi Son Economic Zone of the central province of Thanh Hoa, is expected to contribute about 8 trillion VND (342.6 million USD) to the State budget in 2018.

The State Bank of Vietnam set the daily reference exchange rate at 22,725 VND/USD on November 12, which is 2 VND higher than the end of last week.

More commercial banks expect their credit growth limits to be expanded this year after Techcombank became the first to get the nod to do so from the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) recently.

Local farmers in the northern province of Ninh Binh’s Ninh Binh city have earned a better living by applying hi-tech farming practices.

Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc has asked the Vietnam Joint Stock Commercial Bank for Industry and Trade (VietinBank) to boost its transparency, financial potential and management capacity in line with international standards.

The southern province of Ba Ria-Vung Tau has set a goal to develop logistics into a major service sector with a focus on seaport development.

Customs inspection paperwork will be reduced, while procedures and services will be improved to aid firms’ operational activities, experts said at a conference in Ho Chi Minh City this week.

Some provinces have called for preferential solar power prices to be extended to the end of 2020 instead of June 30, 2019.

SunRice Group has completed the acquisition of a rice processing mill in the Mekong Delta province of Dong Thap, the first direct financial investment of the Australian business in Vietnam.

Moody’s Investors Service has changed its 12-18 month outlook on the banking system in Vietnam (Ba3 stable) to stable from positive.

Six major businesses with State ownership represented by the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT) were handed over to the Committee for Management of State Capital at Enterprises (CMSC) on November 10.

Developing eco-industrial parks would help Vietnam attract foreign direct investment and promote sustainable growth.

Online shopping is expected to surge in the remaining months of this year with many e-commerce players launching promotions.

The Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP) said a delegation from the European Parliament (EP)’s Committee on Fisheries visited Hanoi and coastal provinces from October 28 to November 2 to examine Vietnam’s efforts to fight illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing (IUU).

Investment chances in Vietnam, especially once the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) takes effect, were introduced to Italian entrepreneurs at a workshop in Rome on November 9.