PRESS DIGEST - Vietnam newspapers - March 27

HANOI, March 27 (Reuters) - These are some of the leading stories in the official Vietnamese press on Thursday. Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.

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FINANCIAL NEWS:

TUOI TRE

-- The government accepted that annual economic growth would slow in 2008. Domestic consumption was increasingly sluggish in March, down 7.4 percent from February due to higher prices.

-- Commercial banks in Hanoi bought dollars at 16,050 dong to 16,070 dong, up between 100 dong and 140 dong, while the interbank exchange rate fixed by the State Bank of Vietnam edged down 500 dong to 15,960 dong to the dollar.

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THOI BAO KINH TE VIETNAM

-- The Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange .VNI recorded a 363.78 percent increase in share demand on Wednesday while the volume of shares put on sale dropped 15.88 percent.

-- The Hanoi Securities Trading Center .HASTCI welcomed the An Thanh Securities Company as a new member with a registered capital of 41 billion dong ($2.5 million).

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HANOI MOI

-- The National Assembly Standing Committee agreed to cut corporate income tax to 25 percent from 28 percent.

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THANH NIEN

-- Vietnam should tighten foreign exchange controls, monitor investment, especially foreign investment in securities and widen the trading band for foreign currencies against the dong further, Nguyen Huu Tu, head of the Communist Party Central Committee's Economic Commission told a seminar on inflation.

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VIETNAM NEWS

-- Trading in over-the-counter shares remained listless despite the government lifting the cap on foreign ownership in unlisted companies to 40 percent from 30 percent, securities firms said.

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ECONOMIC AND GENERAL NEWS:

NHAN DAN

-- Vietnam will host the 12th ASEAN Finance Ministers meeting between April 1-4 in the central city of Danang.

-- The government has issued a decree on the recruitment and management of foreigners who work in Vietnam.

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TUOI TRE

-- The Ministry of Transport invited tenders from local and foreign investors for the construction of Da Lat-Thap Cham and Bao Lam-Phan Thiet rail lines with an estimated investment of $1.6 billion.

-- Doctors suspect bird flu may have killed a 20-year-old man who died at a Ho Chi Minh City hospital after suffering from high fever, coughing and serious lung damage. The man slaughtered and ate duck 10 days before his death, his relatives said.

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QUAN DOI NHAN DAN

-- Vietnam should adjust its inflation and growth target this year as inflation in the first quarter exceeded growth, said Nguyen Tien Thoa, head of the Finance Ministry's Price Control Department.

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SAIGON GIAI PHONG

-- Vietnam could earn an extra $100 million each year if farmers improved their harvesting skills, Vietnam Coffee Association chairman Luong Van Tu said.

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LAO DONG

-- Actual foreign investment in Vietnam reached $1.68 billion during the first quarter of this year, 24 percent higher than the same period last year, the Planning and Investment Ministry said.

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THOI BAO KINH TE VIETNAM

-- Rice exporters must have stocks of at least half the export volume they apply for from the Vietnam Food Association during the first half of this year, the association said. (Reporting by Hanoi Newsroom)