July 22 – China is protesting a preliminary agreement that will allow state oil firm PetroVietnam and Exxon Mobil to explore oil in the South China Sea near Vietnam's south and central coast.

Chinese diplomats in Washington warned Exxon that the move is a breach of Chinese sovereignty and could affect its future business interests in the country.

According to Reuters, unnamed sources said that while Exxon Mobil was sure of Vietnam's sovereign rights to the area in question, it could not dismiss China's warnings as out of hand.

July 18 – Vietnam has been plagued with severe power outages that are affecting business in the country.

The Deputy Prime Minister has already ordered power suppliers to hurry the construction of electricity power plants and facilities to meet rising demand.

In Ho Chi Minh city, shops and restaurants have resorted to using electric generators to keep business running although not all the businesses in the city can afford to buy generators.

Blackouts in the city’s district 3 and Binh Thanh reported incidents of knocked out traffic lights causing traffic jams and vehicular accidents.

July 9 - Auto sales in Vietnam rose 141 percent year-on-year in the first half of 2008, industry group the Vietnam Automobile Manufacturers' Association said on Tuesday.

The association said from January to June its members sold 68,609 vehicles, including cars, trucks and buses, compared with 28,522 in the first six months of 2007.

Japan's Toyota topped the list with 12,510 units sold, followed by domestic companies Vinamotor with 14,594 units and Truong Hai with 11,295 Agence France-Presse reported.

July 2 – Australian financial institution, ANZ Banking Group Ltd, has been granted a local bank license that allows it to compete equally with Vietnam banks and expand its branches.

The bank is among the first foreign banks to be allowed a full incorporation. The move is part of the country’s compliance as the newest member of the World Trade Organization.

June 23 – Vietnam’s gross domestic product rate is estimated at 6.6 to 6.7 percent for the first six months of the year.

According to the Deputy Minister of Planning and Investment, Cao Viet Sinh, the rate helps ensure the government’s target annual growth rate of 7 percent.

Preliminary figures showed that Vietnam attracted US$31.6 billion worth of foreign investment during the period compared to last year’s US$21.3 billion.

June 11 - Things are changing so fast in Vietnam, it's hard to keep track. Last year with a GDP growth rate of 8.5 percent, the country was the place to be, money was pouring in, infrastructure was booming & the country was minting millionaires. Now however times seem to have changed drastically for Vietnam. The countrys' grappling with runaway inflation (25 percent), the highest interest rates in Asia (12 percent), a plunging currency (the dong fell 1.5 percent against the dollar in the last 6 months) and their stock markets nosedived 60 percent to become the worst performing in the world over the last month.

To make matters worse, Moody's, which grades creditworthiness, lowered Vietnam's ratings outlook last week to negative from positive. Poor ratings signal that banks may have trouble meeting their financial obligations, undermining investors' confidence in the country. In a nutshell, the economy overheated and the government was too slow to respond, says Jonathan Pincus, chief economist for the United Nations Development Program in Vietnam in a recent Time magazine article.

June 2 – Last week, international credit ratings agency Fitch lowered its Vietnam rating from stable to negative.

Fitch Ratings, a global credit rating agency, gave Vietnam a BB-minus sovereign rating. The new rating is three levels below investment grade.

Investment grade refers to the quality of a company's credit. A rating below that increases the chances of a company not being able to repay debt.

May 16 – Vietnam aims to boost exports to the Middle East and South Asia by US$2.3 billion, according to sources.

The figure is a 33 percent increase compared to last year.

For 2007, the country earned export revenues of US$230.5 million for the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and US$201.8 million for Turkey.

The country’s exports to these regions include: rice, coffee, textiles, garments, footwear, plastics, electronic appliances, seafood, tea, rubber, coal and timber.

The Ministry of Industry and Trade wants current export revenues to reach US$326 million for the UAE, US$141 million for Egypt, US$299.8 for Turkey, US$236 million for India and US$184.9 million for South Africa.

Vietnam is also thinking of importing competitive goods from these regions like petroleum and chemicals from Kuwait and Saudi Arabia, textiles and garments from India, plus cotton and timber from nations in Africa.

May 8 - Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung has approved plans to develop the capital, Hanoi, into one of the top cities in Southeast Asia in 40 years. The plan foresees a capital 13 times larger than its present size that will serve as the country’s political, cultural and economic center.

Under the new plan, Hanoi Capital Region (HNCR) will include Hanoi plus the seven provinces of Ha Tay, Vinh Phuc, Hung Yen, Bac Ninh, Hai Duong, Ha Nam and Hoa Binh.

May 6 –Vietnam’s largest electricity producer, state-owned Electricity Vietnam (EVN), is planning to purchase an estimated US$160 million worth of electricity from China. The amount translates to roughly 3.5 billion kWh of electricity that will be resold by EVN for domestic consumption.

EVN will pay 4.5 U.S. cents per kWh of electricity with a reselling price of 5.6 to 11 U.S. cents.

Vietnam’s demand for electricity is forecast to increase by 17 to 18 percent this year. Sources report that in some provinces in the country, electricity consumption has jumped by as much as 40 percent.