A business delegation of Belarus will visit Hanoi (Vietnam) on 30 November – 4 December, BelTA learnt from the Belarusian Chamber of Commerce and Industry. The visit will be held within the framework of the session of the joint Belarusian-Vietnamese Commission for Sci-Tech Cooperation. The visit will include business meetings and negotiations between representatives of Belarusian and Vietnamese companies and organisations. Representatives of the Belarusian enterprises will have a chance to establish direct contacts with the Vietnamese partners, discuss mutually beneficial cooperation, export/import of goods and services, possibilities of establishing joint ventures. The visit is organized by the Belarusian Chamber of Commerce and Industry jointly with the Foreign Ministry of Belarus.

Vietnam’s finance ministry has proposed an "environment tax" on oil products for the first time to reduce consumption as part of efforts to cut pollution. The ministry said in a draft regulation seen on Tuesday that gasoline and other oil products would be taxed at 1,000 to 6,000 dong (6 to 33 U.S. cents) per liter. The new rule, if approved by the central government, would be effective from 2012, the ministry said.

The Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI) on November 17 held a business forum for Vietnamese and Polish enterprises to promote mutual understanding and trade cooperation between the two countries. Nguyen Ngoc Thang, Deputy Head of the VCCI’s Foreign Relations, said that Poland is a gateway for Vietnam to export products to European nations. Vietnam and Poland have great potential to boost trade and investment. Two-way trade turnover between the two countries in recent years has grown rapidly, from USD350 million in 2007 to USD400 million in 2008. It is expected to reach USD500 million by the end of this year. Vietnam exports garments, textiles, and agricultural products it exports imports milk powder, pharmaceuticals, materials for coal, shipbuilding and steel industries from Poland.

The 4,000-ton desalination evaporator which has been installed in the desert around 60 km west of Abu Dhabi will supply a quarter of a million people with 75,900,000 liters of fresh water per day. Construction in Abu Dhabi of the Multi Stage Flash desalination evaporator from Doosan Vina began in March and was completed in just eight months. Mr. BJ Cho, CEO & general director of Doosan Vina said: “Water, water everywhere but not a drop to drink! Why on earth would anyone say that? Our planet is nearly 75% covered by water yet potable water is becoming scarcer everyday. This desalination evaporator will be the first of many, a family of evaporators produced in Vietnam that will be working to improve the quality of life for thirsty people all over the world. We are proud to be able to play a role in solving one of our planets most troubling problems - the availability of clean, safe and fresh water for all.”

HCM City has about 2,500ha suitable for producing organic vegetables, accounting for 90% of total area for vegetable cultivation, according to the steering committee for organic vegetable development. The city will still have more than 380ha of land that is not suited to producing organic vegetables because of land or water pollution, mostly in the districts of Hoc Mon, Cu Chi and Thu Duc, the committee said. The lack of zoning plans and stable outlets has hampered the expansion of organic farming in the city. The city will continue to build organic vegetable farming models that meet VietGap or HACCP (Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point) standards in the coming time, the committee said.

Vietnam will provide subsidies to its oil product distributors, which are all state-run, to stabilize the market if prices rise too high, Finance Minister Vu Van Ninh said on Wednesday. Ninh also said oil product distributors would be allowed to raise or lower pump prices without prior government approval if world crude prices rise by 7% or more from Dec. 15. If world crude prices rise by more than 12%, the government would intervene to help stabilize the market through subsidies or lower taxes, Ninh said. At present oil product distributors must seek permission from the Finance Ministry and the Industry and Trade Ministry to change their pump prices and there is no formal arrangement linking tariffs to world oil price swings.

Vietnam’s electricity generation capacity is expected to rise 20% this year, easing the country’s chronic power shortage, the industry and trade minister said on Wednesday. Despite the delays in the start-up of several power plant projects, the country would manage to add 3,000 megawatts (MW) of new power generation capacity this year, taking the total to 18,000 MW, Vu Huy Hoang told the National Assembly. "It is possible that power supply will not be as difficult as in 2008, given the new capacity," Hoang said in a live TV broadcast from parliament. Hanoi has forecast demand for electricity in Vietnam would grow 14% next year on the back of an economic recovery. The Southeast Asian country is also considering a multi-billion-dollar investment in its first nuclear power plant to address the growth in energy demand.

French bank BNP Paribas will increase its stake in Vietnam’s Orient Commercial Joint Stock Bank from 15 to 20% next year, under a memorandum of understanding signed last week. The French bank became Orient’s strategic shareholder in 2007 with a stake of 10%, which was raised to 15% through an acquisition in August. Orient said its pre-tax profits reached VND252 billion (USD13.6 million) at the end of October, representing 99% of the years target. Ten-month outstanding loans hit VND9.53 trillion (USD515.14 million), about 89% of the years plan. Orient has sought approval for a share issue to raise its charter capital from VND1.47 trillion (USD79.46 million) to VND2 trillion (USD108.11 million) and to issue VND600 billion (USD32.4 million) worth of convertible bonds, both before the end of the year. Orient is scheduled to raise its charter capital to VND3 trillion (USD168.5 million) by next year.

A consortium including South Korea’s SK Energy, Vietnam’s PetroVietnam Exploration Production Corp and France’s Total has produced 4,300 bpd crude in an invested Vietnamese field, South Korea said on Wednesday. The ministry of knowledge economy said in a statement the consortium had been exploring crude oil and gas from August in the offshore field where the Korean top oil refiner held 25 percent in stake, the Vietnamese 40 percent and the French oil major the remainder. The contract for the field, signed in February, 2007 will be effective through February 2032, the statement noted. It added South Korea’s two other consortiums in Vietnam are currently producing a combined of 159,300 bpd crude in Vietnam.

Colgate-Palmolive (Vietnam) Ltd. has opened a USD40 million toothbrush factory in southern Vietnam, the Ministry of Planning and Investment said Wednesday. The plant, located in Binh Duong province, has an annual production capacity of 250 million toothbrushes, the ministry said in a statement.