PRESS DIGEST - Vietnam newspapers - Jan 19

HANOI, Jan 19 (Reuters) - These are some leading stories in the official Vietnamese press on Tuesday. Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.

FINANCIAL NEWS:

TUOI TRE

-- Listed companies will have to explain if their stock prices move either to the ceiling or the floor in 10 consecutive sessions, instead of five sessions now, the Finance Ministry said.

THANH NIEN

-- Asia Commercial Bank said service fees made up 26 percent of its 2.82 trillion dong ($153 million) gross profit last year, the largest contribution to the total, followed by gains from trading bonds that made up 25 percent, on par with another 25 percent from investment.

ECONOMIC AND GENERAL NEWS:

LAO DONG

-- Vietnam expects to attract between $22 billion and $25 billion worth of foreign direct investment pledges this year, up from more than $21 billion pledged last year, said Bui Quoc Trung, deputy head of the Planning and Investment Ministry's Foreign Investment Department.

TUOI TRE

-- Deputy Prime Minister Pham Gia Khiem has asked the Japanese government to actively join the implementation of major infrastructure projects in Vietnam, such as a north-south highway and a speed train railway.

THOI BAO KINH TE VIETNAM

-- Vietnam plans to cut the number of poor households to below 9.5 percent of the population this year, from a rate of 11.3 percent in 2009, the Labour Ministry said. (Reporting by Hanoi Newsroom)

Source:alertnet.org/