VIETNAM

First Trade Surplus Posted: Vietnam is enjoying its first trade surplus, thanks to oil exports, the Vietnam News reported. In the first nine months of the year, exports rose to $1.67 billion, while imports were $1.52 billion. Exports were up 17.5% over the same period last year and imports up 9.1%. Vietnam hopes to boost exports this year to $2.5 billion, a third of which will come from the sale of 4 million metric tons of crude oil, the newspaper said. It exported 1.25 million tons of rice in the first three quarters, up 11% from last year, and expected to sell 1.6 million to 1.8 million tons for the whole year.