FACTBOX-Five political risks to watch in Vietnam

SINGAPORE, Oct 8 (Reuters) – Vietnam has weathered the global economic crisis relatively well, but the country is still seen as a risky and relatively opaque investment destination.
Following is a summary of key Vietnam risks to watch:
* CORRUPTION
Corruption is endemic in Vietnam at all levels of government, and acts as a major barrier to foreign [...]

Vietnam PM pledges economic reform

TOKYO (AFP) — Vietnam’s Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung promised Thursday to push economic reforms and invited more foreign investment as Hanoi tries to limit the global slump’s impact on the communist country.
Addressing a private economic forum in Tokyo, Dung also called for further aid and investment from regional powerhouses, particularly China, India, Japan, South [...]

Vietnam govt seeks to lower growth target

HANOI (AFP) — Vietnam’s lawmakers should lower the country’s economic growth target to around five percent in the face of an economic slowdown, a senior official said Wednesday.
The government asked the National Assembly to agree to reduce this year’s target from the previous goal of 6.5 percent, Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Sinh Hung said at [...]

Vietnam reports first death from recent cholera outbreak

HANOI (AFP) — Vietnam has recorded its first cholera death during an outbreak that has spread to 11 out of 63 provinces and cities across the communist nation, the health ministry said on Tuesday.
The 50-year-old victim from northern Ninh Binh province died on May 12 a few hours after hospitalisation, said a Ministry of Health [...]

Vietnam dog slaughterhouses shut on health fears

May 18, 2009
HANOI (AFP) — Authorities in the Vietnamese capital Hanoi have temporarily closed at least a dozen dog slaughterhouses on fears their unclean conditions may help spread cholera bacteria to people, an official said Monday.
Dog meat is a popular dish in Vietnam.
It was unclear when the slaughterhouses in Hanoi’s suburban Duong Noi would be [...]

Vietnam shuts down Web site in dispute with China

HANOI, Vietnam (AP): Vietnam has shut down a Web site it ran jointly with China, officials said Monday, as diplomatic tensions escalated over islands claimed by both countries.
The two sides created the Web site in 2006 amid great fanfare in order to promote bilateral trade. But it became embroiled in their dispute over the Paracel [...]

Vietnam has too many boys: state media

May 12, 2009
HANOI (AFP) — Officials in Vietnam have warned that too many boys are being born and said the country should learn a lesson from its Asian neighbours, state media reported on Tuesday.
Vietnam produces 112 boys for every 100 girls, a gender imbalance that will leave about three million men with difficulty finding wives [...]

Vietnam environmental review of Chinese-run bauxite mines stalled

Hanoi – Vietnam’s environment minister completed a fact-finding visit to controversial bauxite mines, but officials said Monday no progress has been made on a promised environmental
review of the projects.
Minister of Natural Resources and Environment Pham Khoi Nguyen visited several active and proposed bauxite mines in Vietnam’s Central Highlands region last week. The [...]

Australian Mining Technology Cos Seek To Invest In Vietnam

HANOI -(Dow Jones)- Representatives from 15 Australian mining technology firms will visit Vietnam later this month to seek investment opportunities in the country’s mining industry, Vietnam’s Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment said Monday.
During the three-day visit starting Monday, the delegation will hold talks with state-run Vietnam National Coal-Mineral Industries Group and visit the Sin [...]

Vietnam admits shortcomings at U.N. rights review

* Exiles and rights activists accuse Vietnam of crackdowns
* Vietnam defends record, admits individual shortcomings
* Demonstration coincides with rare U.N. scrutiny
(Updates with Vietnam presentation to U.N. Human Rights Council)
By Stephanie Nebehay
GENEVA, May 8 (Reuters) – Vietnam acknowledged some human rights “wrongdoings” in its appearance before a United Nations human rights forum on Friday, but rejected [...]