Japanese products appeal to Vietnamese people’s taste

 Japanese commodities and food have become increasingly popular among Vietnamese consumers, creating opportunities for firms from both countries.

VN shrimp brand: difficult, but not too late

Viet Nam is the third largest shrimp producer and the largest giant tiger prawn producer in the world. Shrimp is a major export item, but it lacks brand value.  

Vietnam’s air emission standard stands low

 VietNamNet Bridge – Standards on emission concentration in Viet Nam are below international standards. More pollutants in Viet Nam, therefore, can be emitted than in other countries, 

Climate change makes water scarce in dry season in HCM City

 VietNamNet Bridge – Climate change has a huge impact on HCM City’s water resources, the head of its public water utility has warned.

Vietnam, through an Italian lens

 VietNamNet Bridge – Viet Nam is now closer to Italy than a map would suggest, thanks to a photographic exhibition entitled ContrAddiction, Vietnam Living Country, in Udine City, Italy.

Spam campaign targets Google users with malicious link

Alphabet Inc warned its users to beware of emails from known contacts asking them to click on a link to Google Docs after a large number of people turned to social media to complain that their accounts had been hacked.

Vocational training drains State budget

 VietNamNet Bridge – Overlapping and poor co-ordination among vocational secondary schools or technical high schools continues to drain the State budget.

HCM City police to monitor traffic footage

Viet Nam Expressway Services Engineering JSC this month began providing authorities video footage and photos of vehicles violating traffic regulations on the HCM City – Long Thanh – Dau Giay Expressway.

Vietnam to boost natural sciences

 VietNamNet Bridge – Viet Nam aims to become an advanced nation in the study and application of natural sciences by 2025.

Big investors pour money into agriculture, organic food

VietNamNet Bridge - The repeated alarms about unsafe food has brought great opportunity to several big investors, who have been pouring money into organic food projects. 

Central bank reaps dividends of $270mn from three banks

 The State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) has received significant dividend payments for 2016 from BIDV, Vietcombank, and VietinBank, totaling VND6.17 trillion ($271.375 million).

Moody's affirms ratings of eight banks, upgrades VP Bank's ratings

 In its latest assessment released on May 3, Moody’s Investor Service has affirmed the long-term and short-term deposit and, where applicable, issuer and senior debt ratings of eight Vietnamese banks as unchanged (B1 positive).

Shifting nature of bank bad debts

 Figures from ten Vietnamese banks reveal the cumulative bad debt ratio has increased from 1.87 per cent at the end of 2016 to 1.9 per cent as at March 31.

Genco 3 to build $422mn solar plants in Ninh Thuan

 A unit of monopoly electricity provider Electricity of Vietnam (EVN) has unveiled a plan to build two solar power plants in the south-central province of Ninh Thuan with a combined capacity of 350 MW.

Golf returns drive developer interest

 With booming golf resort development across the country, Vietnam has come a world-class destination for golf tourism. 

Waste-to-power is twice sustainable

 Foreign investors have made their ambitions clear for building green energy waste-to-power projects in Vietnam.

How the law treats residents and officials differently

 Despite breaking the law by allowing the destruction of 116 hectares of forest in Phu Yen Province, the local authorities have only described their violations as ‘careless’. 

Staff liable for compensation payouts in miscarriage of justice

 The Ministry of Finance has just proposed that the People's Supreme Court ask those involved in the miscarriage of justice that saw Huynh Van Nen convicted to pay out compensation for their wrongdoings.

General Department of Fisheries opposes Chinese fishing ban

 The General Department of Fisheries said it rejected a Chinese fishing ban in the East Sea and would continue supporting local fishermen.

Fresh Garden Café for weekend retreat

 Fresh Garden Café on Nguyen Khanh Toan St. in Hanoi is ideal for family members to gather at weekend.

Coffee shop helps Hanoi residents escape summer heat

Customers to Kat Café in Hanoi will have the feeling of being on a beach. After removing their shoes, they can step inside and sink their feet into a thick layer of sand. 

VN Government to borrow US$15.05 billion in 2017

 The Government plans to borrow US$15.05 billion this year, according to a borrowing and debt payment scheme recently approved by Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc.

Giant lotus lanterns light up for Buddha’s birthday

 Seven giant lotus lanterns were lit up on Xuan Huong lake on May 3 to mark Buddha’s 2561th birthday as part of activities of the 2017 Buddhist Culture Week.

My Tam listed nominee at Big Apple Music Awards 2017

 Pop star My Tam has been named in a list of nominees at the Big Apple Music Awards (BAMA), according to the official Facebook page of the awards.

All casinos can pilot serving Vietnamese customers

 The draft circular to guide the implementation of certain clauses of Decree No.03/2017/ND-CP issued by the government on casino business has no clause restricting which casino in which region can pilot opening to Vietnamese customers.