International Business / The Pacific

Consortium Plans Port in Vietnam: A group of companies from the U.S., Thailand and Belgium signed a preliminary contract with the government of Vietnam to build a deep-sea port and industrial park in Haiphong, published reports said. New York-based insurer American International Group Inc.; Ban Chang Holding Co., a unit of Bangkok-based property developer Ban Chang; and International Port Engineering & Management Co. of Belgium will head the project in Vietnam’s third-largest city. The plan would require a total investment of about $1 billion, the report said.