HCM City’s consumer price index (CPI) this month increased by 0.18% over last month, according to the municipal Statistics Office. The increase was lower that the CPI rise of 0.45% for October 2010, the office said. This contributed to a rise of 14.69% from the beginning of this year and 18.55% for the same period of last year. In the last two months, there has been a big price hike in the education sector, up 2.16% because school fees rose between 0.42% and 7.13% depending on the grade. This was followed by medicine and health services, up 1.11%; household appliances, up 1.1%; and catering services, up 0.06%. But prices for houses, electricity, tap water, fuel and building materials declined 0.8%. Transport also fell 0.27%, 0.4% for post and telecom services and 0.3% for other goods and services.

West HCM City Telephone Company on Wednesday signed a contract with Khang Thong group to develop the US$2 billion Happyland amusement park in the Mekong Delta province of Long An. West HCM City Telephone Company, a unit of Vietnam Posts and Telecommunications Group, will provide telecom services and information technology for several works such as the administration building and Happyland studio in the first phase of the fun park project. But both sides declined to reveal the value of the cooperation deal. The two companies also signed a memorandum of understanding on development of phase two of this project, including building and operating a couple of properties in addition to telecom and IT infrastructure development. Work on Happyland amusement park started last February. The park covers 338 hectares and it is expected to expand in the future.

The Mekong Delta provinces have attracted 358 foreign direct investment (FDI) projects worth over US$7.6 billion. Long An is the leading province in FDI attraction, with 226 pr ojects worth US$2.54 billion in total, followed by Kien Giang with nine projects of US$2.33 billion. At the Mekong Delta Economic Cooperation Forum (MDEC) 2011 opening on Wednesday in Ca Mau Province, many representatives stated the investment promotion in the region must be more dynamic and creative, focusing on crucial goals and selecting effective projects and competent investors. Starting from MDEC 2007, a number of promotion conferences have been held for enterprises in the region to meet local and foreign partners, clarifying the policies and removing the difficulties in the investment environment.

Russia’s biggest independent oil producer OAO Lukoil Holdings said Thursday the Vietnamese government has approved a deal to buy a 50% stake in the Hanoi Trough-02 offshore block. In April Lukoil agreed to a production share agreement, taking half of the offshore project at the South China Sea from closely-held Quad Energy SA, which kept the other half. The Hanoi Trough-02 block, which is located on the shelf of the South China Sea, is estimated to hold 180 million metric tons of oil equivalent. The block has been explored since 2007 and by now has resulted in identification of "a number of prospects," Lukoil said. Lukoil will be the operator of the project and will drill three exploration wells this year, with the first well to be spudded in by late October.

The Kitakyushu Municipal Government said Wednesday it will provide its water supply management system to a Vietnamese city as part of a foray into overseas markets. The northern city of Hai Phong has decided to install Kitakyushu’s water system because the Japanese city also wants to expand its water business, which began in 1999 with Cambodia, elsewhere in Asia. Under the deal, Kitakyushu and Hai Phong are slated to conclude Tuesday, Kitakyushu will also undertake technical consulting for the system, which divides areas of water distribution pipes into blocks and enables 24-hour monitoring via a computer. The Hai Phong government plans to introduce the system in five years, with the aim of reducing water leakage and theft to below 10 percent from 15 percent now.