Companies in Ho Chi Minh (HCM) City need around 95,000 new employees for the last quarter of the year, according to the HCM City Center for Forecasting Manpower Needs and Labor Market Information.

Vietnam's gross domestic product grew at a slower pace in the first nine months of 2011 compared with the same period a year ago amid high inflation and a trade deficit.

Vietnam Airlines is considering entering Asia's booming low-cost aviation sector with a new offshoot, while aiming to build its home base into a major entry point for Indochina, its chief says.

Vietnamese companies must seek new export markets and improve product quality to improve overall export growth, experts recommended at a seminar held in Ho Chi Minh City, Thursday.

Vietnam President Truong Tan Sang said active assistance from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) had improved Vietnam's macro-economy management.

Mountainous provinces in the north are still suffering from inadequate roads, despite significant financial investment in recent years. Vietnam Bridge and Road Science and Technology Association statistics show ground transportation in northern mountainous provinces covers an area of 59,400 kilometers, including nearly 49,200 kilometers of rural roads.

International tourists will enjoy value-added tax (VAT) refunds when they purchase goods in Vietnam under a draft currently under consideration by the Ministry of Finance.

A shortage of labor for several industries is expected to continue until the end of this year, according to Vietnam's National Center of Labor Market Information and Forecasting.

Vietnam will increase minimum wages by up to almost half in its major cities from Oct. 1 in a bid to help workers cope with one of the world's highest levels of inflation.

With its favorable weather, Vietnam has good potential for farming swifts for edible nests, but local authorities should make zoning plans to ensure the sustainable development of the new industry, a conference heard in Ho Chi Min City last week.