VIETNAMESE NEWSPAPER HIGHLIGHTS - NOV 1, 2004.

HANOI, Nov 1 Asia Pulse - Highlights of today's newspapers:

HANOI MOI:

- Vietnam Airlines officially inaugurated a direct air route linking the Central Highlands City of Da Lat and Hanoi on Oct. 29. The airline will conduct three flights per week on the route from Da Lat to Hanoi and vice versa on every Tuesday, Friday and Sunday, said a Vietnam Airlines' official.

- Samsung Vina, a joint venture between Samsung of the Republic of Korea and the District 10 Electrical and Electronic Import-Export Company of Ho Chi Minh City, has raised its investment by US$36 million. With the three production lines recently invested in its Ho Chi Minh City-based plant, Samsung Vina hopes to become the largest electronics company in Vietnam. It is holding 23 per cent of the coloured TV market and 50 per cent of the computer screen market, said Young Hoon Chun, Samsung Vina's General Director.

KINH TE VIETNAM & THE GIOI:

- The Vietnam Coal Corporation has exported 8.15 million tonnes of coal valued at US$234.1 million over the first ten months of this year, a record 90.1 per cent year-on-year increase in value. Its main importers were China, Japan, Western European nations, the Republic of Korea and Thailand. The Corporation plans to market about 25-26 million tonnes of coal this year, of which 9 million tonnes will be exported.

- Vietnam's food output is estimated to reach 35 million tonnes this year, 500,000 tonnes more than planned, according to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development. Estimates are based on an ...