PRESS DIGEST - Vietnam newspapers - Aug 6

Aug 6 (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:
VIETNAM NEWS (vietnamnews.vnagency.com.vn)
- An increasing non-performing loan ratio has eroded banks' profitability and has been reflected in the second-quarter earnings of many lenders, Bao Viet Securities said.

TUOI TRE
- Small banks have quietly raised the actual deposit rates to 11-12 percent by giving cash awards to depositors, while their published offer rate stood at 9 percent, clients said.

THOI BAO KINH TE VIETNAM
- BIDV, Vietnam's largest partly private lender by assets, said it has raised 2.03 trillion dong ($97 million) on Aug. 2 via an issue of two-year and three-year bonds to supplement medium and long-term funds.

DAU TU
- Vietnam will consolidate its banking system before offering more stakes to foreign lenders to ensure reasonable prices, central bank governor Nguyen Van Binh said.

ECONOMIC AND GENERAL NEWS:
VIETNAM INVESTMENT REVIEW
- VSMPO-Avisma, the world's biggest titanium maker, has signed a co-operation memorandum with Vinacomin, Vietnam's top mining group, to establish a venture to exploit and process titanium in the central province of Binh Thuan.

HANOI MOI
- The Hanoi municipal government has requested a stop to all illegal gatherings in the city after the police seized banners and briefly detained a number of people on Sunday who protested against China in the city's downtown.

TUOI TRE
- Ho Chi Minh City authority has sought a larger mandate from the Planning and Investment Ministry to license foreign-invested projects.

DAU TU
- State oil and gas group Petrovietnam said it has sought investment from Japanese firms in 25 projects in the fields of exploration and exploitation, petrochemical and refining activities, power, pipeline and port services. (Reporting by Hanoi Newsroom; Editing by Sunil Nair)