PRESS DIGEST - Vietnam newspapers - June 18

HANOI, June 18 (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.

FINANCIAL NEWS:

TUOI TRE

- The central bank should narrow the gap between deposit and lending rates at banks to 2.2-2.5 percent from 3.5-4.5 percent to control credit growth and to ensure that businesses can get loans, said the Taxation Department's office for taxation management of large businesses.

THOI BAO KINH TE VIETNAM

- Banks have raised long-term deposit rates to as high as 14 percent due to the cash squeeze at some lenders, analysts said.

- The total loans of Ho Chi Minh City-based banks rose 1.96 percent in the first six months this year to 779 trillion ($37.3 billion), the central bank's office in the city said.

SAI GON GIAI PHONG

- The central bank said it has approved the plan to merge Habubank into Saigon-Hanoi Bank and required the two lenders to ensure their clients' benefits.

DAU TU

- National carrier Vietnam Airlines will seek an international financial adviser for its upcoming privatisation process and interested companies should submit their application between June 25 and July 24, Chief Executive Pham Ngoc Minh said.

LAO DONG

- The State Securities Commission, the stock market watchdog, must strictly deal with any wrongdoings regarding several investors' purchase of Sacombank shares which led to the lender's acquisition, said Finance Minister Vuong Dinh Hue.

VIETNAM INVESTMENT REVIEW

- Navibank said it will seek a foreign or a domestic strategic partner this year as part of its restructuring process. The bank's non-performing loans rose to 3.5 percent of loans at the end of March, from 2.92 percent at the end of 2011.

ECONOMIC AND GENERAL NEWS:

VIETNAM NEWS

- State-owned Vinalines would restructure its operations to focus on three core businesses including maritime transportation, seaports and services, Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung said.

QUAN DOI NHAN DAN

- The Husbandry Department will propose a credit package worth 9 trillion dong ($430.6 million) to the Agriculture Ministry seeking government approval to rescue the country's livestock industry. The industry has faced losses due to weak demand and production costs rising above selling prices.

TUOI TRE

- Provincial finance departments must control transportation companies in publishing quotations and reducing transport costs after the recent fuel price cuts, said the Finance Ministry.

THOI BAO KINH TE VIETNAM

- Vietnam may find it hard to achieve an annual target to export 600,000 tonnes of fragrant rice this year due to limited domestic supply, the Vietnam Food Association said. The country shipped 460,000 tonnes of the variety in 2011. ($1=20,930 dong) (Reporting by Hanoi Newsroom; Editing by Gopakumar Warrier)