Vietnam News Today (Jul. 7): International searches for Vietnamese tourism up 1,125% in June; Vietnam beefs up cooperation with Portugal; HSBC upgrades Vietnam’s growth forecast to 6.9%; Xiaomi launches production of smartphones in Vietnam.

Korean tech giant LG Electronics Inc. announced on April 20 its plans to change its smartphone production line in Vietnam’s Hai Phong city to a production base for household appliances. The move is intended to dismiss recent rumors about the sale of the plant in Vietnam.

Samsung has refuted rumors that it plans to shift part of smartphone production from Vietnam to India, saying that the former is still the group's main manufacturing base.