PRESS DIGEST - Vietnam newspapers - July 31

HANOI, July 31 (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 State Bank of Vietnam kept the base rate for August unchanged at 14 percent per year, the re-financing rate to commercial banks at 15 percent and the re-discount rate at 13 percent.

-- Utility group EVN has delayed or cancelled more than 500 projects totalled 1.9 trillion dong ($119 million), of which 154 billion dong ($9.3 million) was divested from real estate investments during the past seven months.

-- Laos would maintain its priority on granting licences to Vietnam's investment projects in electricity manufacturing, mining and rubber planting, Lao Deputy Minister of Planning and Investment said.

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THOI BAO KINH TE VIETNAM

-- Petrovietnam Fertilizer and Chemicals Company DPM.HM would set retail fertiliser prices unified at a level 10 percent to 15 percent lower than current market prices from Friday.

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ECONOMIC AND GENERAL NEWS:

NHAN DAN

-- Foreign tourist arrivals in the first seven months rose 10.6 percent from a year ago to 2.62 million people, mainly from China, South Korea, the United States, Japan and Australia, the Tourism Administration said.

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THANH NIEN