HANOI, Dec. 12 - Passenger trains between Vietnam and Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region in Southern China will begin regular daily service starting on Jan. 1, China's railway authorities said on Thursday.

Daily trains will leave Nanning, the capital of Guangxi, at 6:15 p.m. and arrive in Hanoi at 7 a.m. the following day. Trains will also depart Hanoi at 8:30 p.m, reaching Nanning at 10:05 a.m. the next day.

The trains will be operated by the Nanning Railway Bureau, said Chen Boshi, the bureau's director, who also told Xinhua that the regular passenger route would alleviate high demand from Vietnam's businessmen, laborers and students in Guangxi.

Sept. 1 - Ericsson signed the largest single contract in Vietnam—amounting to US$450 million—to develop and modernize Hanoi Telecom's nationwide mobile network today an industry journal reported.

The strategic partnership will also see Ericsson managing and operating the network under a full-scope managed services contract. Under the three-year managed services agreement, Ericsson will be responsible for the management, operation and network design of Hanoi Telecom's mobile network, including field operations and support services. Ericsson will also provide a comprehensive range of professional services, such as network deployment and systems integration.

Aug. 11- The State Bank of Vietnam announced on its website that it will no longer issue licenses for establishing joint-stock commercial banks.

The move is in response to the government’s call to revise rules for the industry.
In a statement the government said, “Pending the revisions, the issue of permits for establishing new joint-stock commercial banks will be stopped temporarily.”

The government has warned that state-owned companies should stay within their core businesses rather than diversifying to industries ranging from real estate to banking.

 Aug. 7 - Hong Kong-based Dragonair announced yesterday that it will open a new air-route to Hanoi on October 26, 2008.

Besides transporting passengers from Hong Kong to Hanoi and vice versa, Dragonair plans to conduct tourists and businessmen from North Asia, North America, Australia and New Zealand to Hanoi as well.

HANOI, July 31 - Vietnam welcomed an estimated 2.6 million international arrivals in the first seven months of this year, a year-on-year increase of 6.6 percent, the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism said Tuesday.

The number of foreign tourists rose by 3.1 percent to more than 1.6 million while the percent of foreigners coming to Vietnam for business surged 38.4 percent to 505,500. Foreign visitors originated mainly from China, the United States, South Korea, Japan, Thailand and Australia the VNAT said.

HANOI, April 2 - Hanoi will be doubled in population and tripled in size in the next 12 years, by decree of the People’s Council.

The resolution still awaits approval in the National Assembly. If approved, Ha Tay province, Me Linh district and a sizable portion of Luong Son District will merge with the capital, an expansion that will boost its size to nearly 3,500 square kilometer, and swell its population to some six million people.