HANOI, Oct 8 (Reuters) - These are some of the leading stories in the official Vietnamese press on Wednesday. Reuters has not verified these stories. - - - - FINANCIAL NEWS: LAO DONG -- State-run Vietnam Development Bank said it would issue three-year and five-year bonds to raise 1.8 trillion dong ($109 million) via three auctions this month. - - - - TUOI TRE -- Nam An Securities has joined partly private Eximbank to offer loans backed by securities worth 300 million dong at a monthly rate of 1.66 percent. - - - - THOI BAO KINH TE VIETNAM -- State-run Agribank said it would offer loans to household businesses at 17.5 percent, 3.5 percentage point lower than the central bank's ceiling rate, while its lending rate for small- and medium-sized enterprises would be 17.8 percent. - - - - DAU TU CHUNG KHOAN -- Despite the failure of many initial public offerings due to poor stock markets, state utility Vietnam Electricity group is still speeding corporate value appraisal to privatise electricity plants and may seek government permission to sell shares to foreign investors and the public, said Deputy CEO Dinh Quang Tri. -- The State Securities Commission is seeking government approval of measures to support the stock market's sustainable development and prevent market crisis. ECONOMIC AND GENERAL NEWS: VIETNAM NEWS -- Vietnam has effectively controlled melamine contamination in milk products, Deputy Health Minister Cao Minh Quang said in a joint statement released together with the World Health Organisation and the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organisation. -- State oil and gas group Petrovietnam said its January to September's revenues rose 56 percent from the same period last year to a record 223 trillion dong ($13.5 billion), more than $9 billion of which came from exporting 10.4 million tonnes of crude oil. - - - - NHAN DAN -- The environment ministry has suspended the operation of seasoning maker Vedan, a unit of Vedan International Holdings Ltd <2317.HK>, for its violations in dumping untreated waste waters into a river in the southern province of Dong Nai. - - - - QUAN DOI NHAN DAN -- State-run Vietnam Development Bank said it has signed an agreement to lend state utility Vietnam Electricity group $400 million to help import equipment for Son La hydro-power plant. - - - - SAIGON GIAI PHONG -- Vietnam's top fuel importer and distributor Petrolimex said it was now making a profit of 1,700 dong to 1,800 dong (10.3-10.9 U.S. cents) for each litre of petrol sold on the domestic markets. - - - - TUOI TRE -- Utility group EVN planned to submit a new plan to raise electricity prices to the government in the fourth quarter, Industry and Trade Minister Vu Huy Hoang said. -- Deputy Prime Minister Hoang Trung Hai has asked the Finance Ministry to work on a plan to increase national oil reserves. - - - - THANH NIEN -- Member banks of the Vietnam Banks Association meet on Wednesday to discuss plans to lower interest rates on dong deposits, a banker said. - - - -
Military personnel unload relief supplies at a flooded area in Vietnam's northern Bac Giang province, about 100 km (62 miles) north of Hanoi, September 28, 2008. The death toll from a ...
