HANOI, Feb 18 (Reuters) - These are some of the leading stories in the official Vietnamese press on Wednesday. Reuters has not verified these stories. - - - - FINANCIAL NEWS: THOI BAO KINH TE VIETNAM -- State investment arm SCIC should not run more than 50 enterprises in which the state has controlling interests and should sell stakes to strategic investors, the Vietnam Association of Financial Investors said. -- Real estate developer Hoang Anh Gia Lai <HAG.HM> reported a 22.9 percent rise in last year's net profit to 765 billion dong ($45 million) as revenue rose 18.6 percent to 1.88 trillion dong. -- A score of domestic steel makers reported huge losses last year as the global economic recession dented demand for the product. ECONOMIC AND GENERAL NEWS: VIETNAM NEWS -- Vietnam needs more funds from the World Bank to boost its economic development, Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Sinh Hung told World Bank Vice President James Adam. -- The government planned to invest $647 million to build a system of dykes to protect Ho Chi Minh City and the neighbouring province of Long An from floods and high tides in 2009. - - - - NHAN DAN -- Top oil product importer and distributor Petrolimex aimed to speed up its refinery project in Van Phong Bay in the central province of Khanh Hoa, Deputy General Director Vuong Thai Dung said. The company aimed to achieve revenue of 99.4 trillion dong ($5.8 billion) and a profit of 2.5 trillion dong this year. - - - - SAIGON GIAI PHONG -- A high-speed train network linking Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City would cost Vietnam $55.7 billion, a study showed. - - - - TUOI TRE -- Bird flu outbreaks among poultry have now been reported in eight provinces across the country, half of them in the Mekong Delta, the Animal Health Department said. - - - - THANH NIEN -- Hundreds of vendors have re-emerged on Hanoi streets even though a ban on their business is in place, with some saying police patrols are less frequent than before. - - - - DAU TU -- The Industry and Trade Ministry has urged the government to issue guidelines on investment in the beverage sector to avoid wasting resources due to the strong development of the beer industry. - - - - (Reporting by Hanoi Newsroom)
A girl carries her sister on her back while watching relatives plant rice on a paddy field in Son Duong district, Vietnam's northern Tuyen Quang province, 150 km (93 miles) from ...
