HANOI, July 1 (Reuters) - These are some of the leading stories in the official Vietnamese press on Tuesday. Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.

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FINANCIAL NEWS:

THOI BAO KINH TE VIETNAM

-- The Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange <.VNI> has fined three securities companies for violations in share transactions.

-- The Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange announced that OPC Pharmaceutical Joint Stock Company has filed an application for the first listing of 8,190,000 shares on the exchange.

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ECONOMIC AND GENERAL NEWS:

VIETNAM NEWS

-- Vietnam on Tuesday begins its month-long chairmanship of the United Nations Security Council, affirming the country's increasing political role in settling issues of conflict that are important to international security, the Foreign Ministry said.

-- Street vendors are banned from 62 streets in the capital Hanoi and vehicle parking on the pavement of 52 streets is also prohibited as from Tuesday as the authorities sought to create a greener, more beautiful and more orderly city.

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NHAN DAN

-- Vietnam's steel consumption in June dropped about 19 percent from May to nearly 250,000 tonnes as the rainy season starting in southern provinces put many construction projects on hold, the Vietnam Steel Association said.

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QUAN DOI NHAN DAN

-- The Northern Service Flight Company started offering air taxi services from Tuesday with the first route taking tourists from Hanoi to Ha Long Bay, using small helicopters from Eurocopter, a subsidiary of EADS <EAD.PA>.

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LAO DONG

-- Vietnamese consumers have been buying more luxurious goods and spending more than they have, boosting demand for imports and putting pressure on demand for dollars and the trade deficit.

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THANH NIEN

-- Many investors in luxury condominium projects in Ho Chi Minh City have been trying to sell their properties below their buying prices to reduce losses due to weak demand and more difficult access to mortgages.

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THOI BAO KINH TE VIETNAM

-- Vietjet Air, Vietnam's first private carrier, said it had signed a contract with GE's <GE.N> Commercial Aviation Service to lease two Boeing 737 airplanes with deliveries scheduled in November this year.

-- Vehicles nationwide must meet Euro 2 emission standards from July 1 under a new emission rule.

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