VIETNAM

New Law for State-Run Firms: The nation’s National Assembly has passed a landmark law forcing state-owned companies to fend for themselves, a move foreign economists have urged as vital to the country’s economic reforms, the Vietnam News reported. Lawyers say the new law is a crucial step in Vietnam’s plan to sell shares in its public sector firms and set up a stock market to attract foreign and domestic investment. Vietnam is trying to modernize its state-owned firms and make them more competitive with overseas companies and the private sector. The new law, which has yet to be published, lets state-run enterprises operate with greater freedom from the daily oversight of government ministries.