Inflation is forecast to hit between 7-8 percent this year, while the dollar/dong exchange rate is projected to be stable, said Vice Chairman Le Xuan Nghia of the National Financial Supervisory Council.

FINANCIAL NEWS:

THOI BAO KINH TE VIETNAM

-- Petrovietnam Drilling and Well Services Joint Stock Co said its 2011 consolidated net profit rose 19 percent from a year earlier to 1.05 trillion dong ($50.4 million).

LAO DONG

-- Thai Hoa Vietnam Group said it had net losses of 197.93 billion dong ($9.5 million) in 2011.

-- Inflation is forecast to hit between 7-8 percent this year, while the dollar/dong exchange rate is projected to be stable, said Vice Chairman Le Xuan Nghia of the National Financial Supervisory Council.

ECONOMIC AND GENERAL NEWS:

VIETNAM NEWS

-- Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung has sent an urgent message asking local authorities to double efforts to control outbreaks of bird flu which have hit 11 provinces across the country.

THOI BAO KINH TE VIETNAM

-- Vietnam's steel sales in January plunged 60 percent from last December to 233,000 tonnes, the Vietnam Steel Association said.

Source Reuters