Two major credit rating agencies, Moody’s and Standard & Poor’s, on Friday affirmed Viet Nam’s sovereign rating, citing the country’s strong FDI inflows, macroeconomic and external stability and modest external debt burden.

 Saigon Securities Incorporation (SSI) has decided to issue bonds worth 300 billion VND (13.3 million USD) to financial and credit institutions.

 The Dai Nam Joint Stock Company opened an international standard racecourse invested at more than 2 trillion VND (87.9 million USD) in the southern province of Binh Duong on May 1.

 Japan’s Tasuno company will extend the agreement on technical cooperation and technology transfer signed with the Vietnam National Petroleum Group (Petrolimex) in August 1999, said Petrolimex.

 The 5th Plenum of the 12th Party Central Committee in early May will issue a resolution intended to spur the development of the private sector into an important engine of the socialist-oriented market economy.

Park Chulho, director general of Kotra Hanoi, discussed with VIR the highlights of South Korean investment and future trends.

 FDI to Vietnam increases by 40.5% in first 4 months

 FPT will cooperate with French businesses to promote the fourth industrial revolution, FPT chairman Truong Gia Binh said at a workshop held in Paris on Wednesday.

 The CEO of Euro Auto company, an authorised BMW cars dealer in HCM City, has been arrested for allegedly smuggling luxury cars into the country.

 For the first time in years, the U.S. is no longer the largest seafood export market of Vietnam as it is overtaken by Japan, says a report by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.

 The ratio of businesses having to pay “under table” fees when doing customs procedure was 31 percent, according to a survey on administrative reform last year by the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

 Vietnam’s franchising market continues to flaunt its potential, as a new wave of the world’s biggest brands are increasingly looking for franchising partners.

The military-run mobile carrier Viettel is planning to expand its investments to Indonesia and Nigeria, group leaders told the annual general meeting of Viettel Global, a subsidiary of the Viettel Group.

 Da Nang is one of five cities in Southeast Asia with the fastest emerging startup scenes, according to the latest report from JLL, joining Malaysia’s Penang, Thailand’s Chiang Mai, and Indonesia’s Bandung and Bali.

 Mobile World Investment Corporation (MWG) expected that by 2019, the Bach hoa XANH chain will become its main source of revenue. However, the grocery store chain, along with BigPhone in Cambodia, is dealing with several obstacles. 

 The $220 million Dai Duong paper plant project, invested by the Taiwanese company Chang Yang Holding Ltd. in the southern province of Tien Giang, may be scrapped due to environmental concerns.

 Tran Quang Nghi and Le Tien Truong served in key positions on the team representing Vinatex’s capital interests PetroVietnam Petrochemical and Textile Fiber JSC (PVTEX) between March and August, 2008. 

 Vietnam’s trade deficit is becoming a burning problem as the country’s new free trade agreements are coming into effect.

 The Ministry of Finance has issued a draft on conditions to lift the ban on Vietnamese playing at casinos.  

 Petrolimex Insurance Joint Stock Company (PJICO), with code PGI, will sell 20 per cent of its charter capital to Samsung Fire&Marine Insurance.