HANOI, Aug 15 (Reuters) - These are some of the leading stories in the official Vietnamese press on Friday. Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.

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FINANCIAL NEWS:

THANH NIEN

-- Hoang Anh Gia Lai Corp said it has hired property firm CBRE to evaluate its 30 real estate projects before floating shares on the Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange <.VNI> in October.

ECONOMIC AND GENERAL NEWS:

VIETNAM NEWS

-- The U.N. Food and Agriculture Organisation has recommended Vietnam consider public and privately funded bird flu vaccination instead of public funded campaigns to ease the burden on the state while donations are on the decline.

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QUAN DOI NHAN DAN

-- The flash floods and landslides since late last week killed 53 people while 28 others remained missing in the northern mountainous province of Lao Cai, the provincial authorities said. The disasters left property damage worth nearly 1 trillion dong.

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TUOI TRE

-- The Health Ministry has proposed banning alcohol sales to people under 18 years old.

-- Property prices in Ho Chi Minh City have started to rise again due to greater demand for condominiums.

-- Several car makers including Mercedes Benz, Ford and BMW have started cutting prices to boost sales ahead of a higher registration tax of up to 15 percent in place from Aug. 25.

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