Tech-reliant Vietnam hit hard by downturn

HO CHI MINH CITY, Vietnam — It's hard to see hints of an economic downturn on the horn-blaring streets of this commercial hub.

High-end restaurants are overflowing, fashionably dressed young women fill chic stores, and everyone seems to be talking on cell phones while plowing motorbikes through roundabouts swarming with Honda scooters and SUV taxis. Vietnam's main stock market, after losing 66 percent last year, has been riding a seven-month high, up more than 20 percent this year.

But the conspicuous consumption masks the reality that the global economic implosion is rippling across the Pacific and jolting this Communist Southeast Asian country, which had enthusiastically ridden the rising tide of globalization. Small Taiwanese manufacturers of low-end tech products silently closed plants in Vietnam for good during the New Year Tet celebration without telling workers.

Savills opens real estate trading floor in Hanoi

UK-based real estate service provider Savills Vietnam opened a property trading floor Wednesday in Hanoi, a company spokeswoman said.

It had received a license last month from the Ministry of Planning and Investment, becoming the first foreign-owned firm to receive a nationwide license, the company said.

Hanoi to reclaim over 100 state-owned sites

VietNamNet Bridge – Hanoi authorities plan to take back more than 100 State-owned plots of land. Most of them are street-front sites in the inner city, and worth millions of dollars.

Vietnam pledges to improve quality of developments

Developers in Vietnam face stricter regulations and checks as part of a government led initiative to improve the quality of buildings.

From holiday resorts to large civil projects like bridges, more attention is to be focused on standards, the Ministry of Construction has announced.

There is particular concern that a massive growth in the industry had led to many shortcomings in buildings. Now each phase of a construction project must be implemented thoroughly, from the drawing board to consultation and carrying out and checking the final work, said Minister of Construction Nguyen Hong Quan.

He said that there is particular concern about work quality for large scale, national projects involving complicated techniques. New legal standards are to be set for quality management and contractors who are deemed to be responsible for shoddy work face punishment.