The southern province of Dong Nai has been formulating a wide range of measures to realise the gross regional domestic product (GRDP) target of between 10.8 and 11.8 percent this year, Chairman of the provincial People’s Committee Dinh Quoc Thai said.

According to a report by the People’s Committee of North Tan Uyen district, the district’s total State budget collection in Q2 2014 reached VND90.012bln, bringing the figure since early this year to more than VND207bln or 45% of the yearly forecast. Of these, VND92.9bln came from new collection or 42% of the yearly forecast.

Provincial Farmers’ Association, on July 1, held a conference to partially sum up its activities in the first half of 2014, in attendance of Nguyen Thanh Liem, Head of provincial Committee for Public Relations.

Breakthrough measures are needed to boost the equitisation of State-owned enterprises (SOEs), especially those proven ineffectual, said participants at a June 30 seminar in HCM City.

Aside from rubber tree, Bau Bang district's Long Nguyen commune people focus on industrial-style breeding sector. Models of raising chicken in air-conditioned farms or breeding piglets and ect bring significant economic efficiency. Le Thanh Nguyen's air-conditioned chicken farm.Visiting Le Thanh Nguyen in Ba Phai hamlet successfully applies the model of air-conditioned chicken farm. At present, he has possessed 5 coops with 66,000 fowls and applied air-conditioning system for chicken farms. In addition, his air-conditioned chicken farms are cleaner than old style farms. Until now, after 42 days of raising chicken, Nguyen enjoys about VND75mil after selling 12,000 fowls, not including incomes from selling chicken poop and so on. Nguyen intends to open 2 more air-conditioned chicken farms. In addition to air-conditioned chicken farms, many families in Long Nguyen commune invest in raising breeding pigs, yielding high productivity. Typically, Diep Loi in Ba Phai hamlet raises 32 mother pigs. On average, a mother pig lays 30 piglets per year. In 2005, Loi bred 3 mother pigs and increased up to 40 ones. A piglet gains a weight of 100kg after 5 months of raising, bringing a high income. Nguyen Van Sau, chairman of Long Nguyen commune Farmers' Society said that at present Long Nguyen commune has about 80 households developing model of planting and breeding. Despite difficulties of epidemic diseases, low prices and so on, local agricultural industry has developed strongly.                                                                                                       Reported by H.Nhung - Translated by A.C

The Vietnam Bank for Social Policies (VBSP)’s Di An branch has just reviewed its activities in the first half of 2014 and defined orientations for the rest of the year.

Tran Van Nam, Vice-Chairman of provincial People’s Committee, Head of provincial Steering Board of the National Target Program on New Rural Construction (briefly called the Steering Board) made the statement at a conference to partially sum up the three-year implementation of the National Target Program on New Rural Construction in the 2011 and 2013 period.

President Truong Tan Sang meets owners of innovative firms in Hanoi on June 24

As of June 2014, Phu Giao district has had a total of 359 farmers meeting new criteria of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, a year-on-year increase of 44. Of these, there are 26 farms on growing perennial trees, down 12 compared to last year’s same period and 12 farms on animal husbandry, up 57 compared to last year’s same period. Cao Xuan Doan and his cricket-raising farm in An Linh commune with the annual revenue of more than VND1bln.

Binh Duong in the first half of 2014 absorbed US$990mln in FDI capital. With the result, the province is going to complete its plan of attracting US$1bln in FDI capital in 2014.

Dau Tieng district’s Farmers Association yesterday held a conference to review the movement of “Good farmer in production and business” in the period of 2012 and 2014.

Vietnam achieved GDP growth of 5.25% in the second quarter of this year, bringing the six-month rate to 5.18%, according to the General Statistics Office (GSO). In the national economic structure, agro-forestry and fisheries rose 2.96%, construction and industry 5.33% and services 6.01%. The consumer price index (CPI) edged up 0.3% in June over May, 1.38% compared to December 2013, and 4.98% from a year ago. As many as 37,315 businesses registered for operation with a combined capitalisation of VND230.9 billion in the reviewed period, falling 4.1% in the number but expanding 19.3% in the registered value. Mobile handsets are a major hard currency earner of Vietnam Vietnam earned US$70.9 billion from exports in the six-month period, representing a year-on-year increase of 14.9%. The foreign direct investment (FDI) business sector took the lead, fetching US$47.8 billion or 67.5% of the country’s total export earnings. Major export items were mobile handsets and components, garments, footwear, machinery and equipment, means of transport and spare parts, and computers and appliances. The EU topped the list of consumers, purchasing US$13.1 billion worth of Vietnamese commodities, up 12.8% from a year ago. It was followed by the US (US$13 billion, up 19.5%), ASEAN (US$9.6 billion, up 4.8%), China (US$7.4 billion, up 20.8%), and the Republic of Korea (US$2.9 billion, down 3.5%). Vietnam welcomed nearly 4.3 million foreign arrivals in the first six months, a year-on-year increase of 21%. The number of Chinese visitors to Vietnam nosedived 21.2% in June compared to May due to the standoff in the East Sea. GSO general director Nguyen Bich Lam forecast that GDP for the second half would hover around 5.5-5.6%                                                                                                                                                                            VOV