By Chua Siew Joo

Sept. 10 - Vietnam is expanding its support industries through aid from Japan in the areas of building business capacity, developing human resources and formulating legal framework.

The support industries include electronics and information technology, the garment industry, leather-shoe manufacturing, car-making and mechanical manufacturing.

During a seminar called the “Action Plan for Development of Supporting Industry of Vietnam” jointly organized by the Japan External Trade Organization and the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI) held last Sept. 5, the government announced plans to boost production in major support industries.

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.

May 12 - The Vietnamese Automobile Manufacturers’ Association (VAMA)
reports that car sales for the first four months of the year increased by 181 percent led by a rise in the commercial car segment. The 16-member VAMA announced combined sales of 47,366 units for the period.

Vinamotor sold the most number of units sold at 11,230, followed by Toyota with 7,896 and and Truong Hai with 7,492. Commercial car sales rose by 313 percent with 29,745 units sold, while passenger car sales went up 105 percent with 7,791 units. For April, automobile sales jumped to 13,271 units, an increase of 183 percent.

Car dealers attribute the increase in sales with consumers shifting from motorcycles to cars and government plans to hike special consumption tax to 50-70 percent by the year's end.

April 18 - One sure indicator of a country’s overall development is its means and modes of transport. The following three news items reveal that Vietnam is gradually growing apart from the bicycle and moped, for better or worse, but certainly for an increasingly prosperous and industrialized nation.