Individuals or organisations who are found to cause damage to trees will be fined up to VNĐ30 million (US$1,300) from January 15, says a new Government decree.

 The central city’s transport department and South Korea’s Seoul Metro corporation signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in urban railway development and public traffic research at a ceremony yesterday.

Last year, inspectors detected economic violations involving more than VND67.7 trillion (US$3 billion) and a total of 192 individuals. They are all under police investigation for alleged wrongdoings.

 The retirement age in Vietnam, currently 60 for men and 55 for women, may be gradually raised to 62 and 60, respectively, beginning in January 2021, the Ministry of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs proposed.

The development of coal-fired power plants in Vietnam depends largely on foreign financial resources, especially China. 

VietNamNet Bridge - Vietnam needs to increase power generation capacity by building power plants, including thermopower, but such facilities could affect the quality of water resources.

If the draft education law compiled by the Ministry of Education & Training (MOET) is approved, preschools will have to receive children from 3 months old to six years old. 

Hundreds of young men in the coastal villages around Da Nang City have given up off-shore fishing to work as taxi drivers, another sign that the traditional way of life in the central coast is changing fast,

 HCMC will allow certain types of vehicle to travel on bus rapid transit (BRT) lanes at some hours and connect BRT routes with those of normal buses.

VietNamNet Bridge - All the three large mobile network operators, VinaPhone, Viettel and MobiFone, have geared up for the 4G race. 

 People in the central region have prepared many types of flowers, fruits and ornamental plants for the Lunar New Year festival which will come in one month.

After an IPO scheduled to be launched on the Hochiminh Stock Exchange (HOSE) on January 25, PetroVietnam Oil Corporation (PV Oil) will maintain the exclusive right to export crude oil extracted by Vietnam Oil and Gas Group.

  Total capitalization of Vietnam’s stock market is predicted to reach U$200 billion this year, buoyed by  many favorable macro conditions, said Hoang Cong Tuan, head of economic research at MB Securities Company.

 Companies across the country still owe about VND5.7 trillion (US$250.9 million) in social insurance premiums, accounting for 3.3% of all receivables, Tien Phong newspaper quoted the Vietnam General Confederation of Labor (VGCL) as saying.

Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation of Japan is considering hiking its ownership at Eximbank if the restructuring of Eximbank is successful, said Yutaka Moriwaki, an Eximbank board member.

 VietNamNet Bridge – Veteran musician and writer Vu Duc Sao Bien’s latest book, Oi Cai Tuoi Trang Tron (Hello Teenage), was released in HCM City last week.  

Hundreds of fish died en masse after an industrial waste tank cracked open in the He Muong Commune in the northern province of Dien Bien on Monday. 

 Nguyen Ngoc Phat beat nearly 40 rivals to triumph at the Viet Nam – Ford Freestyle Football Championship 2018, which wrapped up in Hanoi over the weekend.

 The Ministry of Planning and Investment will submit a scheme on informal economic statistics to the Prime Minister for approval this year.

 Electricity of Viet Nam (EVN) said on Monday it received formal registrations from foreign investors to buy 36 per cent charter capital at the Power Generation Corporation 3 (Genco 3).

 The Viet Nam Asset Management Company (VAMC) has announced reference interest rates applied in the first quarter of 2018 on bad debts it had purchased.

 Princess Cruises, a five-star premium cruise line, on Tuesday announced that it would bring 80,000 international tourists to Viet Nam this year, 40 per cent more than last year.

 With huge investment, commodities suiting all tastes, ages and income levels, and round-the-clock services, convenience stores could make a splash in the Vietnamese food and beverage market.

 The body of Nguyen Xuan Dinh, who died in an accident in a construction site in Algeria, was brought home on January 15 at the request of his family.

 The use of Internet Protocol version 6 (IPv6) in Vietnam in 2017 grew by 200 percent from 2016, heard a conference held by the Vietnam Internet Centre under the Ministry of Information and Communications (MIC) in Hanoi on January 16.