PRESS DIGEST - Vietnam newspapers - July 9

HANOI, July 9 (Reuters) - These are some of the leading stories in the official Vietnamese press on Wednesday. Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.

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FINANCIAL NEWS:

TUOI TRE

-- Several banks in the central highland province of Gia Lai face bad debts of 21.4 billion dong ($1.3 million) as their borrowers went bankrupt, the provincial branch of the central bank said in a report.

-- Partly private Dong A Bank said it earned 404.4 billion dong ($24.5 million) in gross profit during the first half of 2008, or 57.8 percent of its annual target.

-- Many borrowers are finding it hard to secure a bank loan now in Vietnam because banks tighten their lending policy to meet the central bank's 30-percent credit growth target for 2008.

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THANH NIEN