Agriculture remains a bright spot in the overall gloomy export picture in the first five months of this year, with agro-forestry-aquaculture export turnover in May rising 9.5% month-on-month and 8.5% year-on-year to reach 2.9 billion USD.

Although the real estate sector has suffered a fall in foreign direct investment (FDI) attraction, experts are still optimistic about its prospects of the sector, especially the industrial segment which is described as a bright spot.

Low credit growth has made large banks curb capital mobilisation and implement solutions for attracting borrowers.

The Vietnamese Embassy in the Czech Republic and the Czech Chamber of Commerce jointly held a business forum in Prague on June 15 to bolster links between businesses and seek ways to strengthen traditional friendship and multi-faced cooperation of the two countries.

The State Bank of Vietnam set the daily reference exchange rate at 23,711 VND/USD on June 16, up 7 VND from the previous day.

The northern port city of Hai Phong will continue to be an attractive destination for foreign investors, said Vice President Aoyama Shigetoshi of the Japan External Trade Organisation (JETRO) on June 15.

President of Côte d’Ivoire’s National Assembly Adama Bictogo suggested that Vietnam and Côte d’Ivoire should enhance their transport cooperation with specific, substantive activities, at his meeting with Transport Minister Nguyen Van Thang in Hanoi on June 15.

The 17,943-tonne container ship Ever Chaste from the Hai Phong port docked at the Republic of Korea’s Ulsan port on June 15, marking the opening of a new regular container shipping route between the two ports.

The northern province of Bac Giang organised a ceremony on June 15 to mark the first shipment of 56 tonnes of Luc Ngan fresh lychees to China from Kep railway station.

Vietnam always considers Côte d’Ivoire one of its top trade partners in Africa, stated Minister of Industry and Trade Nguyen Hong Dien when hosting President of Côte d’Ivoire’s National Assembly Adama Bictogo in Hanoi on June 15.

The green economy and sustainable development are inescapable global trends, and businesses need to embrace them to meet the increasing demands in the domestic market and mounting pressure from foreign markets, heard the recent “Green Trade Forum” in Ho Chi Minh City.

National flag carrier Vietnam Airlines on June 15 officially launched a direct route between Hanoi and Melbourne of Australia, with two round-trip flights per week on Thursdays and Sundays.

The northern province of Bac Giang will pay attention to developing digital data to serve local digital transformation in the near future, said Director of the provincial Department of Information and Communications Tran Minh Chieu.

The People’s Committee of Hanoi has approved a project on urban economic development, under which the urban economy is hoped to make up 85% of the capital city’s gross regional domestic product (GRDP) by 2025, and 90% by 2030.

The State Bank of Vietnam set the daily reference exchange rate at 23,704 VND/USD on June 15, up 4 VND from the previous day.

The Mekong Delta city of Can Tho wants to attract investors in green industries serving the local sustainable development, said Nguyen Van Hieu, Secretary of the municipal Party Committee at a working session with Kelvin Teo, CEO of Sembcorp Development and co-chairman of Vietnam-Singapore Industrial Park (VSIP) Group on June 14.

Samsung Vina Electronics signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Shinhan Bank Vietnam to establish a strategic relationship between Samsung Wallet and financial products from Shinhan Bank on June 14.

The Vietnam National Coal - Mineral Industries Group (Vinacomin) will supply about 18.7 million tonnes of coal to thermal power plants in the second half of this year, according to General Director Dang Thanh Hai.

The number of passengers through Hanoi’s Noi Bai International Airport, the second busiest airport in Vietnam, on the first days of this summer has surged, and is expected to maintain at a high level to mid-August.

Facing recent shortage of electricity for economic and daily activities, especially in May, the Vietnam Oil and Gas Group (Petrovietnam) has exerted efforts to maximise its provision of fuel for power generation and optimise operation of its power plants to help ease pressure.