PRESS DIGEST - Vietnam newspapers - Aug 11

HANOI, Aug 11 (Reuters) - These are some of the leading stories in the official Vietnamese press on Monday. Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.

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FINANCIAL NEWS:

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THOI BAO KINH TE VIETNAM

-- State-owned economic groups must have a registered capital of at least 7 trillion dong ($424 million) and the parent company must be wholly or mostly owned by the state, the Finance Ministry said in a draft decree on operation of state conglomerates.

-- Lien Viet Bank, one of Vietnam's two banks licensed this year, said its branch in Hanoi has raised more than 1 trillion dong ($61 million) in deposits after two months of operation.

-- Asean Capital said in a meeting with Ba Ria-Vung Tau provincial authorities it would buy shares in the province's small- and medium-sized companies operating in the agriculture sector or building infrastructure for listing on U.S. stock exchanges.

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ECONOMIC AND GENERAL NEWS:

NHAN DAN

-- Rice trading houses in An Giang, the Mekong Delta's top grain growing province, would buy up to 110,000 tonnes between now and October. They have exported about 300,000 tonnes so far this year at an average price of $524 per tonne.

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LAO DONG

-- The government has allowed airlines to apply fuel surcharges to offset high oil prices, the Finance Ministry said.

-- At least 49 people remained missing, including 38 in the mountainous province of Lao Cai, following heavy rains, flash floods and landslides that hit several northern provinces over the weekend.

- - - - (Reporting by Hanoi Newsroom)