A ten-day annual antique market has just opened in Hanoi’s Old Quarter, along Hang Ma, Hang Can, Hang Luoc, Hang Dong, and Hang Ruoi streets.

 A ceremony to set up a cây nêu (New Year’s tree) on the 23rd of the last lunar month (January 20) will kick off a series of activities discovering Vietnamese traditional Tet (Lunar New Year festival) at the Viet Nam Museum of Ethnology.

Peach blossoms, kumquat trees and bouquets of flowers are indispensable in Vietnamese households during Tet.

 Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh hosted a reception for D.J Pandian, Vice President and Chief Investment Officer of the Asia Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) in Hanoi on January 18. 

 A project to use foreign teachers for teaching English will be piloted at a number of primary schools in the central province of Khanh Hoa from February. 

 Global e-government rankings affect Vietnam’s investment attractiveness, national competitiveness, and negotiations on international trade deals, Deputy Prime Minister Vu Duc Dam said at a recent meeting.

 President Tran Dai Quang has assured Azerbaijani Minister of Energy Natig Aga Emi Olgu Aliyev that Vietnam is ready to create favourable conditions for Azerbaijan’s goods to enter the country. 

 Vietnam is focusing on completing economic reforms and building a consistent, synchronous and modern administrative regime to enhance governance efficiency, said Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc.

 The Ministry of Industry and Trade required the Chemical Group and management board of Ninh Binh Nitrogenous Fertilizer Plant and Ninh Binh Nitrogenous Fertilizer to clarify responsibilities relating to wrongdoings causing the plant huge losses.

VietNamNet Bridge - The market was still dominated by the three biggest players – VinaFone, MobiFone and Viettel -- but sources said small operators were preparing for a new game.

 Ministries asked to speed up online public service delivery, Media works on anti-smoking awarded, Workers, students receive 5,000 free bus tickets for Tet, Four sentenced for illegally taking people abroad

VietNamNet Bridge - Numerous precious timber planks chopped down by illegal loggers have been left on the ground, aimd vast clearings in the Hoa Son forest.

VietNamNet Bridge - The 500 richest Vietnamese stock billionaires as of December 31, 2016 had held VND167.362 trillion worth of stock assets, or $7 billion. Forty five of them are from Hanoi, holding 27.3 percent of total assets.

 The key market highlights in December were as follows:

Vietnam has vowed to improve students’ English skills by pouring trillions of dong into English teaching programs, but the majority of university graduates cannot communicate in English.

 VietNamNet Bridge – The Ha Noi Medical University is acquiring immune cell therapy know-how from Japanese experts to treat cancer patients.

 A rise in foreign ownership limits is needed to importantly help Vietnam speed up the local banking sector’s restructuring.

 Interest rates could rise 0.5-1% in 2017: BVSC, Multi-level marketing companies face ministry's wrath, Vietnamese economy urged to be cautious of external shocks, PM approves agreements with foreign countries

 Viet Nam’s best female gymnast Phan Thi Ha Thanh has decided to retire from competitive events.

 Leaders of Lao Party, State, and National Assembly have spoken highly of contributions made by Vietnamese voluntary soldiers and experts to Laos’s national liberation cause.

 Meat and Livestock Australia has unveiled that the first large-scale purchase of an Australian cattle ranch – for beef production – by a Vietnamese company has been made.

 The Vietnam National Administration of Tourism (VNAT) will review tourist destinations in the country and announce results once a year, according to a Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism decision. 

 French photographer Rehahn last week opened a Precious Heritage Gallery Museum in the UNESCO-recognized ancient town of Hoi An in the central coast province of Quang Nam.

Dinh La Thang, secretary of HCMC’s Party Committee, has suggested opening check-in counters outside Tan Son Nhat International Airport as a measure to ease overload inside the airport and reduce congestion on the roads around the airport.

 The National Committee of the Vietnam Union of Literature and Arts Associations held an awards ceremony in Hanoi on January 17 to honour 66 outstanding literature and art works in 2016.