Beijing  - China and Vietnam have finished demarcation of their long-disputed land border, in a move of "historical significance" that the two sides hope will lead to greater economic and trade links, state media said on Thursday.

The year-long demarcation was completed shortly before a midnight Wednesday deadline, following eight years of surveys and negotiations, the official Xinhua news agency said.

Hanoi  - Scaffolding surrounding a building under construction in Ho Chi Minh City collapsed at midnight Monday, killing two and injuring 14, a police official said Wednesday.

"We have just received the news from our colleagues that a rescue team has found the body of one person buried in the rubble, raising the death toll to two," said Captain Nguyen Van Chuyen of Tan Phu ward police station.

Chuyen said the accident killed 34-year-old female worker Nguyen Thi Lan instantly and buried Nguyen Thi Bich Tuyen, 24.

Hanoi - The number of wildcat strikes in Vietnam has increased sharply compared with last year, a government official said Tuesday.

"This year, we have seen about a 30-per-cent increase in wildcat strikes compared with last year," said Pham Minh Huan, Director of the Salary Policy Department of the Ministry of Labour, War Invalids and Social Affairs.

Huan said that more than 80 per cent of the 650 wildcat strikes in 2008 occurred at foreign companies, often as employees demanded higher salaries.

India's largest steel maker Tata Steel is forced to extend the deadline for commissioning the first phase of its steel plant in Vietnam. The project has been delayed due to the problems with land acquisitions in the special economic zone where large number of companies are setting up their projects.

Tokyo  - The Japanese electronic giant Toshiba Corporation plans to build a new manufacturing and sales base in Vietnam to meet growing demand for high-efficiency motors in the global market, the company announced Wednesday.

The new company, Toshiba Industrial Products Asia Co Ltd, will be located in Vietnam's Dong Nai province, and will manufacture high-efficiency industrial motors rated at under 100 horsepower, plus their parts, Toshiba said.

The company will build a factory at Amata Industrial Park in Dong Nai province, on the outskirts of Ho Chi Minh City. The start of construction is scheduled for April 2009, and the plant will come on line in September 2010, the company said.

Hanoi - Vietnam will cut prices at hotels and on state-owned Vietnam Airlines by 30 to 50 per cent to boost the country's tourism industry, hit hard by the worldwide economic slowdown, senior tourism officials said Friday.

Nguyen Manh Cuong, deputy head of the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism (VNAT), said tourism in Vietnam had been hurt by the turmoil, with international arrivals down sharply.

Vietnam expected between 4.8 and 5 million international visitors in 2008, but had only received 3.9 million by the end of November. Visitor numbers from traditional tourism markets such as Japan, South Korea, and Europe were all down.