Vietnam won a Wednesday (04 Nov) bid to export 150,000 tons of 25 percent-broken rice to the Philippines at USD480 a ton, reported the Vietnam Food Association the same day. Winner of the remainder of the Philippines’ 250,000 ton quota was the Daewoo Group of South Korea, who contracted to sell 100,000 tons at USD468 per ton. During the first ten months of this year, Vietnam shipped 5,372,000 tons of rice, valued at USD2.2 billion. The nation signed deals to export over six million tons of rice this year. In 2008, Vietnam exported 4.65 million tons for USD2.6 billion.

All countries in the Northern European region are unanimous in abolishing an anti-dumping tax imposed on footwear products from Vietnam and China, reported the website Fashionunited.com on Tuesday. The EU has imposed a 16.5 percent anti-dumping tax on leather shoes imported from China and a ten percent anti-dumping tax on shoes from Vietnam since 2006. The anti-dumping tax should finish by the end of 2008, but the union has extended the rule for one more year after thorny discussions. The union has reopened discussions on the charge as its official term has nearly finished. Protesting against the tax, the Netherlands said that the tax had limited consumers’ choice and raised footwear products’ prices, adding to the already high unemployment rate, Fashionunited.com reported.

VTC Online, a sub-company of the Vietnam Multimedia Corporation (VTC), has opened its representative office in Vientiane, Laos. Minister of Information and Communications Minister Le Doan Hop, who is leading a delegation to the ASEAN information ministerial meeting and ASEAN+3, cut the ribbon to inaugurate the office. Representatives from Lao National Television and Vietnam’s offices and businesses operating in Vientiane also attended the ceremony. Earlier, VTC Online opened its branches in the Republic of Korea and Cambodia.

‘Vietnamese Day’ was held in the Cuban capital on Nov. 4 within the framework of the Havana International Fair 2009, drawing the participation of a large number of companies from Vietnam, Cuba and South American nations. On display at Vietnam ’s booth is a range of products, including light trucks, foodstuff, garments, leather footwear, electronic and home appliances, construction materials, handicraft items and rattan and bamboo-based furniture. More than 30 Vietnamese companies have joined 600 other firms from 54 countries and territories around the world at the fair, with the aim of beefing up commercial ties with the host country and introducing products to the South American market.

Evergreen Trading Inc. has agreed to work with the My Hoa Nam Roi Grapefruit Co-operative in the Mekong Delta province of Vinh Long to export the fruit to the US, a newspaper reported. The Wisconsin-based firm will seek permission from the US Department of Agriculture and deal with quarantine and food safety agencies to bring Nam Roi grapefruit to US supermarkets, the newspaper quoted My Hoa Co-operative Chairman Tran Van Sang. The co-operative will be in charge of setting up areas for planting the specialty fruit and completing export procedures on the Vietnam side.

The Government of India is likely to import 2 million tons of rice from the Government of Thailand and the Government of Vietnam. A meeting Group of Minister (GOM) headed by Finance Minister Mr. Pranab Mukherjee has been fixed on November 12 to discuss the issue and it is expected that the GOM will take the decision on various proposals for rice imports. It is also expected that the Government of India may give some incentives for such imports to be spread over one year. In order to meet shortfall of rice around 15 million tons in the summer-sown crop, the Government of India last month allowed tax-free imports of rice. Three state-owned companies namely PEC, MMTC and STC have been asked to import 30000 tons of rice by mid-December, it is learnt.

The Ministry of Industry and Trade forecast that Vietnam’s total seafood export revenue may hit USD4.4 billion in 2009. Of the total, tra and basa catfish shipments will account for 50.4% in volume and 32.7% in volume; shrimp export will make up 15.9% in volume and 36.9% in value; tuna export will represent 4.4% in volume and 4.0% in value and mollusk export will account for 6.7% in volume and 6.8% in value. Vietnam exported USD450 million worth of seafood in October, raising its total seafood export revenue in the first ten months of 2009 to USD3.488 billion, down 8.7% from a year earlier, the Information Center for Agriculture and Rural Development (Agroinfo) reported.

Electricity of Vietnam is looking at plans to build a hydropower plant in the northern province of Lai Chau by the end of 2010, according to a statement on the government’s website. The plant will have total investment of VND33 trillion (USD1.9 billion), according to the statement. The state-owned company, known as EVN, expects the plant to provide more than 4.7 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity per year. Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung on Wednesday visited the area where the plant would be constructed, and said the government would create favorable conditions for investment once the project was approved by the National Assembly.

Vietnam Airlines Corp., the country’s state-owned carrier, and Romanian carrier Tarom SA will join the SkyTeam alliance in June as the group expands its operations in Southeast Asia and Eastern Europe. The governing board of SkyTeam made the decision today in a meeting held in Incheon, South Korea, Korean Air Lines Co., the country’s biggest airline and a SkyTeam member, said in an e- mailed statement today. Joining the alliance will help Vietnam Air and Tarom expand their networks, boost sales and cut operating costs through cooperation with other group members. SkyTeam comprises 11 airlines at present including Delta Air Lines Inc. and China Southern Airlines Co.

Carlsberg A/S said it has signed a so-called Memorandum of Understanding with Vietnam’s Hue People’s Committee. The committee confirms its support for Carlsberg to buy the 50 percent shareholding in Hué Brewery that the Danish brewery doesn’t already own.

The Islamic Republic of Iran is set to open a consulate in Ho Chi Minh City as part of a plan to increase cooperation with Vietnam, said visiting Vice President of Iran, Ali Saeedlou, according to the Vietnam news agency (VNA). This move, suggested by Saeedlou during talks with the Chairman of Ho Chi Minh City People’s Committee, Le Hoang Quan. "With this consulate, I hope that Ho Chi Minh City and Tehran, Iran’s capital will soon establish close and effective cooperative relations in many areas," he said. Saeedlou told Le Hoang Quan that Iran will present other specific proposals to strengthen relations with Vietnam at the working session of the Vietnam-Iran Joint Committee later this year.

Representatives of 30 companies from Binh Duong province and New South Wales, Australia, met in Sydney on Nov. 3 to seek partners and explore each other’s markets. At the meeting, Director of the Binh Duong Department of Industry and Trade, Nguyen Thi Dien, delivered a presentation on the province’s potential and its rapid economic growth, especially in industry and services, with handicrafts and wooden furniture as its spearhead sectors. Also at the meeting, the participating businesspeople shared experiences regarding import-export activities and seeking out supply sources for both raw materials and investment funds.

Fourteen pairs of contracts worth nearly 114 million USD were signed by some 30 businesses from Vietnam and China at an international tourism fair held in Lao Cai province on Nov. 3. This year’s fair saw increases in the number of contracts and the value as compared to the previous event in 2007. The newly-signed deals are mainly in trading minerals, fertilizers, equipment and agricultural products, with minerals and fertilizers representing 60 percent of the total value. Also on Nov. 3, Lao Cai province and its neighboring Chinese province, Yunnan, held an investment promotion conference to introduce the potentials and strengths in industry, trade and tourism of the two countries. More than 100 businesses from the two countries attended to study policies and regulations in order to increase their investment in coming years.