A challenging waterfall awaits discovery

 VietNamNet Bridge – We understand where the Seven-Storey Waterfalls gets its name from as soon as we see it.

Dr Ha Phuong Thu and her dream to elevate Vietnam’s medicinal sector

 When meeting Dr. Ha Phuong Thu, only a few can believe that the small-statured woman with a soft Hue accent is a leading scientist.

Vietnam’s trade surplus with US worries economists

VietNamNet Bridge - “The surplus in trade with the US is not good at all. A deficit would be more reasonable for developing economies like Vietnam,” said Bui Ngoc Son of the Institute of World Economics and Politics.

Glass half full

 Business leaders in Vietnam remain among the most optimistic in Asia Pacific despite the global economic headwinds.

VN girl and boy bands poised to rule 2017

 VietNamNet Bridge – After a year of taking the industry by storm, three pop bands in HCM City have become new music icons for young audiences.

Real estate firms breaking the mould

2016 was a successful year for the real estate market. However, with the fast growth of the economy in general and the real estate market in particular, real estate developers are being forced to diversify products.

BUSINESS IN BRIEF 3/2

 Sacombank saw a business downturn in 2016, Three Vietnamese banks on the list of top 500 valuable banking brands in the world, Vietinbank recorded $378m pre-tax profit in 2016, New coast for Cam Ranh International Seaport

Social News 3/2

 Nhan Dan launches online Russian version, No fatal traffic accident recorded in HCM City during Tet: police, Foreign visitors to Hanoi rise at Lunar New Year, No deaths in Quảng Nam automobile factory fire

Out of season rain drenches HCM City

 An out of season  heavy rain pelted HCMC late afternoon yesterday flooding a slew of streets in many districts including Districts 6, 7, Tan Phu, Binh Tan and others. 

Swimmer Anh Vien and dream of standardisation

The decision to send swimmer Nguyen Thi Anh Vien to the United States for long-term training five years ago has brought about a landmark of changes.

Behind the spotlight

 Shooter Hoang Xuan Vinh and powerlifter Le Van Cong received a hero’s welcome home from fans and words of praise from the public after making history as Vietnam’s first Olympic and Paralympic gold medalists, respectively.

F&N Dairy Investments has registered to buy 21.77 million Vinamilk shares

 F&N Dairy Investments has registered to buy 21.77 million of Vinamilk’s shares in February. The company currently owns more than 16.5 million of its shares.

E-visas hoped to bring about breakthrough in tourist attraction

The granting of 30-day single-entry electronic visas to visitors from 40 countries from February 1 is expected to be a breakthrough in attracting foreign tourists to Vietnam.

PM urges stronger development of affordable housing

 The PM has issued Directive No. 03/CT-TTg requesting relevant ministries, sectors and localities to accelerate the development of affordable housing.

PM approved Hoa Phat's $3 billion steel project in Dung Quat EZ

 Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc has given the go-ahead to Hoa Phat's high-profile steel plant in the Dung Quat Economic Zone, newswire thanhnien.vn reported.

Pig slaughter festival continues to be held in private

 Nem Thuong Village’s traditional pig slaughtering festival in Bac Ninh Province, is still being held in private despite the huge public outcry.

Pupils show little interest in Russian, Chinese or Japanese language

 Statistics from the Ministry of Education and Training (MoET) shows that English is still the most popular foreign language at local schools, while only 1% pupils choose to study other languages.

University education lags behind in curricula, lecturer quality

 The low quality of university education is blamed on curricula which focuses on theoretical knowledge and does not provide enough practicum hours.

New policy attempts to entice foreign investment into education

 The Ministry of Education and Training (MoET) has drafted a decree on foreign investment into the education sector, aiming to offer more favourable conditions for foreign investors.

Big challenges face Vietnam's economy

 Local economists forecast that the Vietnamese economy will face greater challenges in 2017 amidst global geopolitical changes and financial uncertainties.

More ample cheap housing supply forecast in 2017

 Vietnam Real Estate Association Chairman Nguyen Tran Nam said that the local property market would see more cheap housing supply in 2017 to meet increasing demand.

Finance Ministry defends computerised lottery

 The Ministry of Finance has unsurprisingly batted away criticism of its ministry-owned computerised lottery in Vietnam, underlining it operates in a totally transparent way and in line with the law.

UK agency says Pfizer breast cancer drug too expensive

 Pfizer's breast cancer drug Ibrance, or palbociclib, is too expensive to justify its use on Britain's state-run health service, the country's healthcare cost-effectiveness watchdog said on Friday.

Effective policies relating to foreigners in Vietnam

 A string of new policies on civil status registration, employment, escorted transfer of violators, and individual income exemption involving foreign elements came into effect in 2016.


HSBC: Manufacturing in the lead for Vietnam's economy

 Backed by a strong end of year with 2016’s fourth quarter GDP growth of 6.8 per cent and a growth rate of 6.2 per cent for the whole year, the primary driver of Vietnam’s robust economic expansion is manufacturing, HSBC wrote in its latest report.