VIETNAMESE NEWSPAPER HIGHLIGHTS - APRIL 1, 2004.

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

NHAN DAN:

- Ho Chi Minh City earned more than US$2 billion from exports in the first quarter of this year, 15.3 percent more than the same period last year. Of the figure, State-owned enterprises contributed US$1.62 billion and foreign-invested enterprises, US$500 million.

- The World Bank has been approved a US$158 million credit for Vietnam's programmes on irrigation modernisation and dam safety in a bid to improve agricultural productivity, increase household income and reduce rural poverty.

- The signing of contracts to send construction workers to Malaysia by Vietnamese businesses temporarily suspended due to financial difficulties of Malaysia's construction projects.

HANOI MOI:

- Construction began on a 302ha-residential complex in Hanoi's new Long Bien district on March 28. The Viet Hung Complex, with a floor space of about 1 million sq.m, is the first modern centre built in Long Bien district, formerly an agricultural area, and provide much-needed urban housing.