HANOI, July 3 (Reuters) - These are some of the leading stories in the official Vietnamese press on Friday. Reuters has not verified these stories.

FINANCIAL NEWS:

VIETNAM NEWS

-- Petrovietnam's financial arm PVFC <PVF.HM> will delay its listing plan in Singapore this year due to the global financial turmoil, Chief Executive Tran Van Hoa said.

DAU TU CHUNG KHOAN

-- The Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange index <.VNI> is expected to hover around 500 this year, Chief Executive Tran Dac Sinh said.

-- The government investment arm SCIC said it would divest from 200 companies in the second half to raise funds for new projects, including Long Thanh airport near Ho Chi Minh City.

LAO DONG

-- Taxi cab operator Mai Linh said it would list its shares on the over-the-counter market UPCom by the end of 2009.

TUOI TRE

-- Remittances from overseas are dropping between 15-29 percent so far this year, with the largest fall from the U.S. market, partly due to the global financial crisis, figures from three firms handling the money transfers showed.

THOI BAO KINH TE VIETNAM

-- Continuous order matching would start in September on the UPCom market, designed for shares of unlisted companies, the Hanoi Stock Exchange regulators said.

ECONOMIC AND GENERAL NEWS:

VIETNAM NEWS

-- President Nguyen Minh Triet promulgated three new laws this week, including the abolition of the death penalty for eight crimes including rape, theft, smuggling, illegal use of drugs and giving bribes.

NHAN DAN

-- Vietnam has so far detected 181 people as infected with the H1N1 flu virus, after 15 new cases were confirmed on Thursday, the Health Ministry said.

TUOI TRE

-- Transportation companies are considering raising fees following this week's pump price hike of more than 5 percent.

THANH NIEN

-- Dung Quat refinery has successfully blended 92-octane and 95-octane petrol grades this week.

-- Coffee farmers in top-growing province of Daklak held back sales to beef up falling prices, dealers said. (Reporting by Hanoi Newsroom)

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