Vietnam has started building a major US$3.6 billion international container port in central Khanh Hoa province to boost regional economic development, state media said Sunday.

U.S.-based Citibank became the first U.S. bank to offer a retail banking service in Vietnam on Tuesday, the latest Western institution to target consumers in what is considered an untapped market.

Telecommunications company Vinaphone has launched its third generation mobile phone service in Vietnam's biggest cities with plans to extend it nationwide.

Vietnam is far ahead of Indonesia in terms of IT development and is closing the gap with the Philippines, a senior official from the U.N.'s communications technology agency said Wednesday.

Vietnam's trade deficit in the first eight months fell an estimated 68 percent year on year to US$5.1 billion due to a significant drop in imports, official figures showed Monday.

Vietnam barred Taisei Corp. and Kajima Corp. from working on construction projects in the Southeast Asian nation following their involvement in a collapsed bridge, a transport ministry official said.

Investors are lining up for a piece of Vietnam's “China Beach,” once a wartime R&R playground for U.S. soldiers, which industry players say could become a tourism hotspot to rival Bali or Phuket.

Figures from Vietnamese commercial banks showed they have made big pre-tax profits in the first half of the year, a banker said Wednesday.

Vietnam's trade deficit dropped to an estimated US$2.1 billion for the first half of the year as imports dived, according to official figures released Thursday.

Italian scooter maker Piaggio on Wednesday opened its first factory in Vietnam, lured by the country's lower production costs, young population and growing economy.