Mekong Delta region targets 9.4 percent export growth, Reference exchange rate goes down 2 VND, Thai investor to develop solar power project in Quang Ngai, Power tariff likely to keep unchanged this year

 Foreign direct investment (FDI) inflow to Viet Nam is expected to increase in 2017, said Do Nhat Hoang, director of the Foreign Investment Agency under the Ministry of Planning and Investment.

 Painting exhibitions and demonstrations of traditional Tết celebrations are among activities being held in celebration of Tết, the Vietnamese Lunar New Year festival, at heritage sites in Hà Nội’s Old Quarter.

 A project to preserve hát bội (classical drama) and bài chòi (a traditional game combining folklore singing and lottery picks) has been approved by Bình Định Province in an aim to attract tourists and preserve traditional theatre by 2020.

 A fashion show to highlight áo dài (Vietnamese traditional dress) will open the Ao Dai Festival 2017 on HCM City’s Nguyen Hue Pedestrian Street in District 1 on March 3.

 Already popular for its beautiful terraced rice fields, a district in mountainous Yên Bái province hopes to expand the tourist season with yellow canola blooms,  Đinh Hữu Dư reports.

 Tet (Lunar New Year)-themed paintings have long been a fixture of local celebrations, with flamboyant colours used to send New Year wishes.

 Officials from the Viet Nam General Labour Confederation have voiced concern over a recent proposal revoking the maternity benefits to which female workers are entitled.

 Ha Noi authorities have asked three construction giants to devise planning schemes to develop the areas along the iconic Red River that flows past the capital city.

Reports about ESOP (employee stock ownership plan) and Tet bonus programs from businesses show that those who have received the biggest bonuses were mid- and high-ranking managers.

VietNamNet Bridge - The securities investors in 2016 who bought shares with small capitalization value were the unluckiest investors in 2016. Those who held Truong Thanh shares ended up with nothing.

 Several major hospitals in HCM City are struggling to get crucially-needed special drugs because a legal hitch has suffocated supply. 

 As many as 16 million of the 17 million pre-activated SIM cards that were recalled nation-wide have been locked by service providers on January 15.

 Illegal coach and bus services have been flourishing in major cities in the run up to Tết (Lunar New Year) despite the Ministry of Transport’s efforts to control them.  

 Doctors at HCM City Paediatrics Hospital on Wednesday operated for seven hours to remove a large tumour that had spread to the brain of a 20-day-old infant.

 As legend has it, the Land Genie and Kitchen Gods ride carps to Heaven on the 23rd day of the last month of the lunar year, to deliver an annual report on household activities to the God of Heaven. 

 The Hanoi Medical University is acquiring immune cell therapy know-how from Japanese experts to treat cancer patients.

 A documentary series entitled Sac Mau Nhat Ban (Colours of Japan) which showcases the best of Japanese gastronomy will be aired on Vietnamese television from February 3.

 The Thang Long - Hanoi Heritage Conservation Centre plans to open a new excavation area, north of Doan Mon relic site, to visitors from January 20 to February 28.

 A Cay Neu (Neu pole) was planted at the Hue Imperial Citadel, the central province of Thua Thien-Hue on January 20, featuring a traditional activity in the run up to the Lunar New Year (Tet) festival. 

 A wide range of cultural activities are taking place in the Old Quarter and the Imperial Citadel of Thang Long in Hanoi to welcome the Year of the Rooster.

 Various kinds of flowers will be arranged at the Ecopark on the outskirts of Hanoi from January 29 to February 1.

 Deputy Prime Minister Trinh Dinh Dung on January 20 chose one of three proposed plans to renovate Tan Son Nhat Airport in HCM City.

 Impacts of the fourth industrial revolution on governments, businesses and people were highlighted by Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc when he attended a session as part of the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting in Davos, Switzerland.

The Vietnam-Japan trade is expected to reach a new height in 2017 as the two countries have agreed on many measures to boost the trade exchange.