Vietnam Advances in Curbing Asia’s Fastest Inflation: Economy

Vietnam is making headway against Asia’s fastest inflation as prices rise the least in 11 months, an easing that may boost confidence in its economic policy making as the nation struggles to spur foreign investment.

Consumer prices climbed 16.44 percent in February from a year earlier, the General Statistics Office said in Hanoi today. Pledged foreign direct investment in Vietnam fell 54.5 percent to $1.23 billion in the first two months of 2012 from a year earlier, the Foreign Investment Agency of the Ministry of Planning and Investment said separately.