Khanh Hoa’s July export turnover rebounds -  After several months of declines, the central province of Khanh Hoa posted export turnover of USD 86.3 million for last month, double the June figure. Seafoods, coffee, cashews, furniture and clothing led the exports as export value decreased 4.5 per cent in the first seven month of this year compared to the same period in 2008. Local firms were advised to concentrate on selling seafood products and handicrafts in a bid to reach this year’s export target of USD 570 million.

Domestic firms join footwear expo in China - The HCM City Leather and Footwear Association is organising a business trip to an international footwear exhibition in Shanghai. The three-day event, beginning on September 2, would be a chance for footwear companies to showcase their products and seek business opportunities, the association said.

Bianfishco to export 50 containers of catfish - Binh An Seafood JSC (Bianfishco) has contracts to export 50 containers of frozen tra catfish to the US this month, said the Viet Nam Association for Seafood Exporters and Processors. Bianfishco, one of the country’s four largest tra catfish exporters, shipped 525 tonnes of catfish to Spain, earning USD 1.4 million in May. It also exported USD 1.65 million of catfish to the Netherlands, France and Germany.

Serviced apartment block to be unveiled in HCM City - The Kumho Asiana Plaza Sai Gon Company will open a 31-floor serviced apartment tower beginning early next month. Managed by the InterCont-inental Hotels&Resorts, the InterContinental Asiana Sai Gon Residences will offer 260 rooms of between 78 to 204 sq.m, with one to three bedrooms, according to Tash Tobias, resident manager.

The tower includes restaurants, library, lobby lounge, fitness and spa rooms. The property is a part of a larger Korean-invested project, the Kumho Asiana Plaza complex, which is located on the land lot bordered by Hai Ba Trung, Nguyen Du, Le Van Huu and Le Duan streets in District 1.

The complex also features a 305-room InterContinental Asiana Sai Gon Hotel, 32,000 sq.m. of grade A commercial office space, 7,200 sq.m. of shopping, and wining and dining outlets. 

HCM City hosts trade fair for small IT businesses - A trade fair supporting small and medium-sized telecom, electronics and IT enterprises opens in HCM City on Saturday. During the four-day fair, the first of its kind, businesses will reduce prices by 25-50 per cent on electronics, telecoms equipment, software and hardware They also plan on-site recruitment interviews. The Fair of Electronics Communication Information Technology is at the HCM City Computer Association.

Standard Chartered, Asia Commercial Bank link up - An agreement on cash services has been signed by the Asia Commercial Joint Stock Bank and Standard Chartered Bank (Viet Nam) Ltd.

This agreement allows Standard Chartered to expand its transaction banking coverage by using ACB’s branch network and will work with it to provide cash management services to corporate customers. ACB’s network covers all major cities and provinces through 205 branches and transactional points. Standard Chartered’s corporate customers will be able to use ACB’s outlets for cash transactions.

Vietnamese goods on show at Moscow trade fair - About 90 companies have registered for a trade fair showcasing Vietnamese goods in Moscow from September 15-19. The fair is organised by the ministries of Industry and Trade and Agriculture and Rural Development and the Vietnamese Embassy in Russia. Displays will include agro-forestry-fisheries goods, textiles and garments, wooden goods, footwear and electronics.

Cambodian market in focus at HCM City conference - A conference in HCM City on Friday will explore measures for Vietnamese enterprises to expand exports and better exploit potentials in the Cambodian market. The conference, titled "Business rules in the Cambodian market", is organised by the HCM City Investment and Trade Promotion Centre.

Another PetroVietnam subsidiary to list shares - PetroVietnam Construction Corporation will list 150 million shares on the Ha Noi Stock Exchange under the code PVX. This 150 million shares has a total value of VND1.5 trillion (USD 84.3 million). The company has targeted a turnover of VND3.6 trillion (USD 202.2 million) and an after-tax profit of VND177.1 billion (about USD 10 million) for this year.

Vincom Securities launches online money transfer service - Vincom Securities in 10 Aug 2009 launched an online service which allowed customers to transfer money from trading accounts opened with Vincom Securities to saving accounts in different commercial banks. The service includes Token card which helped protect clients’ information during the usage.

Song Da Finance to issue convertible bonds - Song Da Finance Co planned to issue VND300 billion (USD16.8 million) of convertible bonds. Two-thirds would be sold to shareholders and the remainder, to strategic partners.

The bonds would convert to shares in two stages, in the first of which investors could convert a half of their holding bonds to shares after 18 months from the issue date while in the second stage, they can convert all the holding bonds after 36 months. The company, which needs central bank and State Securities Commission approval for the issue, has targeted a turnover of VND151 billion (USD 8.5 million) and an after-tax profit of VND41.2 billion (USD 2.3 million) for the year.