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Vietnam has increased fuel prices by 5 percent as world oil prices hover above US$70 per barrel. The move follows an 8 percent increase last month. State media reported on Wednesday that the price of gasoline increased from 13,500 dong (75 US cents) to 14,2000 dong (79 cents) per liter while diesel increased to 12,100 dong (67 cents) per liter from 11,500 dong (64 cents). In February, Vietnam opened its first oil refinery in central Vietnam. The $3 billion project has yet to reach its full capacity of 7.1 million U.S. tons (6.5 million metric tons) of crude oil. Last year, the country produced nearly 16 million U.S. tons (15 million metric tons) of crude, almost all of which was for export, while it imported nearly 14 million U.S. tons (13 million metric tons) of fuel.
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The National Agro-forestry and Fisheries Quality Assurance Department (Nafiqad) has sent to the Chinese side a list of fruit-growing areas, fruit-packaging establishments and exporters of five types of fruit to China. According to Nafiqad Deputy Director Nguyen Nhu Tiep, there are two ways of collecting and exporting fruit (litchis, longan, bananas, dragon fruit and watermelon) to China. Merchants either collect fruit per order of Chinese clients and then export it in bulk to be packaged later, or collect fruit and then package it for direct export or sale to establishments that export to China. The lists will be updated and sent to Chinese concerned agencies whenever there are changes or new information comes up.
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Fitch Ratings downgraded Vietnam's local currency sovereign rating to BB-minus from BB on Tuesday, blaming sustained fiscal decline and structural weaknesses in its economy. The foreign currency rating has been affirmed at BB-minus and the outlook on both ratings has been revised to "stable" from "negative". It said issues including the country's reliance on a narrow revenue base and dependence on volatile oil-related income had been highlighted during the global economic slowdown even as oil prices continued to fluctuate. The agency forecast a wider fiscal deficit despite a recovery in the Southeast Asian economy. "The structural deficit and the associated slow but steady increase in government debt have contributed to Vietnam comparing less favorably over time in fiscal terms with its rating peer group," it said in a statement.
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Vietnam National Petroleum Corp., or Petrolimex, is seeking as much as 456,000 metric tons of oil products for delivery in July to September, a 9.6% drop from the previous quarter. The state-owned company, which handles the bulk of Vietnam’s product imports, is inviting offers for gasoline, diesel, kerosene and fuel oil in a tender closing July 6, according to an official document received by Bloomberg. Offers are to stay valid until July 10. For the second quarter, the Hanoi-based company requested as much as 504,500 tons. It will be importing less as output from Dung Quat, Vietnam’s first refinery, rises progressively, said a trader in Ho Chi Minh City. The $2.5 billion facility, which started commercial operations Feb. 22, is scheduled to reach its full 6.5 million ton-a-year capacity in October. It’s expected to meet about a third of Vietnam’s fuel requirements by next year.
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Foreign investors were net buyers of VND221 billion ($12.6 million) of Vietnamese stocks Wednesday out of a total VND1.59 trillion traded, the Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange said. Volume traded totaled 41.3 million shares, with foreigners accounting for 23.4% of that volume, the stock market operator said. Last month, foreign investors were net sellers of VND188 billion of Vietnamese stocks. In the first half of this year, they were net buyers of VND261 billion.
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The five-star cruise ship Costa Allegra docked in Ho Chi Minh City on Tuesday, giving the 1,250 European passengers and crew aboard the chance to explore some of Vietnam’s most popular tourist destinations. The passengers are mainly from Italy, France, Spain, Germany and the U.K., according to domestic travel firm Saigontourist, which provides land services for the tourists on the cruise ship. The Costa Allegra passengers are scheduled to spend four day touring Vietnam’s most popular tourist destinations. They will explore HCMC, the Mekong Delta city of My Tho, the central resort destinations of Danang and ancient Hoi An Town, as well as the former imperial city of Hue and World-Heritage listed Ha Long Bay in the country’s north.
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The Vietnamese government said Thursday it plans to spend VND45.28 trillion ($2.59 billion) to build and upgrade hospitals nationwide through 2013. It said the funds will come from government bond issuance, the state budget and foreign aid. The plan will help poor people in remote and rural areas to gain better access to health care services, it added.
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First-half gross profit at Vietcombank, Vietnam's largest partly private lender by assets, reached 2.45 trillion dong ($138 million), 75 percent of its annual target, a state-run newspaper reported on Wednesday. The assets of the lender, which made its domestic share debut on Tuesday, reached 222 trillion dong as of June 30, practically unchanged from 221.95 trillion at the end of 2008, Chairman Nguyen Hoa Binh was quoted by the Securities Investment magazine as saying.
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