An agriculture business association between Vietnam and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) needs to be established to facilitate bilateral cooperation in this field, Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Phung Duc Tien told at a regular press conference held by the ministry on August 1.

The State Bank of Vietnam set the daily reference exchange rate at 23,773 VND/USD on August 2, up 16 VND from the previous day.

The Southeast Asia Commercial Joint Stock Bank (SeABank)’s pre-tax profits exceeded 2.01 trillion VND (over 85 million USD), with total outstanding loans of nearly 162 trillion VND, up 5.15% compared to December 31, 2022, according to the bank’s financial statement.

Rice export curbs by some countries like India, Russia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) will offer opportunities to both Vietnamese exporters and farmers, heard a regular press conference held by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) in Hanoi on August 1.

Saigon Co.op opened four Co.op Food stores in the southern largest economic hub of Ho Chi Minh City, Bien Hoa city in southern Dong Nai province and Thanh Hoa city in the north-central province of the same name last week.

The first direct flight between Vietnam’s central province of Thua Thien-Hue and Seoul city of the Republic of Korea (RoK) was launched on August 1.

The consumer price index (CPI) of Hanoi went up 0.99% in the first seven months of 2023 compared to the same period last year, the municipal Statistics Office reported.

VUIHOC, an educational technology (EdTech) start-up, on July 31 announced a 6 million USD investment in a Series A funding round led by TNB Aura, reported Dau tu (Investment) Newspaper.

The disbursed capital sourced from the state budget topped 291 trillion VND (12.3 billion USD) in the first seven months of 2023, equivalent to 41.3% of the yearly target and rising 22.1% from a year earlier, showing an observable improvement in public investment disbursement, said the General Statistics Office (GSO).

Vietnam’s agro-forestry-aquatic product exports raked in 29.13 billion USD in the first seven months of 2023, while its imports reached 23.25 billion USD, resulting in a trade surplus of 5.88 billion USD, up 3.4% year-on-year, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) reported.

Vietnam's manufacturing industry remained in contraction territory in July but showed some signs of stabilisation as softer declines were seen in output, new orders and employment while business confidence picked up, according to S&P Global.

The goal of attracting 1 billion USD in foreign direct investment (FDI) to industrial parks, economic zones in 2023 of the coastal province of Quang Ninh is quite positive, provincial leaders have said.

The implementation of the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA), which went into force on August 1, 2020, plays a key role in bringing Vietnamese agro-fishery products into the European market, Trade Counselor in Belgium and the EU Tran Ngoc Quan has told the Vietnam News Agency.

The Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), to which both Vietnam and Canada are members, has brought about many benefits to businesses of both sides.

Economic and investment cooperation between Vietnam and Singapore continues to be a bright spot in bilateral relations, especially in potential areas such as sustainable development, renewable energy, green economy, and digital economy, according to the Singaporean business community.

The capital city of Hanoi attracted nearly 2.3 billion USD of foreign direct investment (FDI) in the first seven months of this year, with 233 new projects worth 97.5 million USD and 108 projects permitted to increase investment capital by 193.5 million USD.

The National Payment Corporation of Vietnam (NAPAS) in coordination with the Vietnam Bank for Social Policies (VBSP) launched NAPAS 247 Quick Transfer and NAPAS 247 Quick Transfer via VietQR Code on the bank’s mobile banking app (VBSP Smartbanking) on July 31.

Retail gas prices in Vietnam, after dropping for two consecutive months, have bounced back this month following an increase in the global market.

The Government Office on July 31 issued a notice on Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh’s opinions at a recent conference reviewing the performance of the banking sector in the first half of this year, and setting forth tasks for the remaining months.

Vietnamese salt producers need to adopt new technologies, diversify products and push promotion to grow the industry sustainably and efficiently, experts said.