Amway has been found not following a number of required procedures in order to carry out multi-level marketing (MLM) activities in Vietnam.

 More than 30 penmen gathered on Pham Ngoc Thach and Nguyen Thi Minh Khai streets in Ho Chi Minh City on January 15 to write calligraphy to welcome the upcoming Lunar New Year (Tet) festival.

 Vietnam and France need to continue implementing the Hanoi Train Station-Nhon urban metro rail project (Metro 3) in a rapid and effective manner, contributing to developing Vietnam’s urban transport infrastructure.

 The Government has approved a protocol on adjustments to the Agreement on Double Taxation Avoidance with India, which was signed in Hanoi on September 3, 2016.

 Chairman of the Ho Chi Minh City People’s Committee Nguyen Thanh Phong and Austrian Ambassador to Vietnam Thomas Loidl have highlighted the development of bilateral cooperation.

 The Vietnam Software and IT Services Association (VINASA) on January 16 launched the Sao Khue Awards in 2017 under the sponsor of the Ministry of Information and Communications. 

 The central province of Thua Thien – Hue on January 16 received a certificate recognising the “Zeng” weaving in A Luoi district as part of the national intangible cultural heritage, the second of its kind in the locality.

The cherry blossom festival of Da Lat city, the Central Highlands province of Lam Dong will open on February 11, announced the organising board on January 16.

 Vietnam won four gold medals at the International Taekwondo Technique Open which closed in Lille, France on January 16.

 What do young people think about the Lunar New Year (Tet)?

 Several commercial banks have in the early days of 2017 posted positive business performance for 2016, with profits much higher than the previous year.

 Vietnam’s hotel and resort market will see sustained or even accelerated growth in 2017, according to Alternaty, a real estate service company.

 The Vietnamese economy needs to take caution against external shocks this year due to the global economic uncertainties, a scholar has warned. 

 An exchange programme for foreign students in Vietnam to celebrate Lunar New Year was held by the Vietnam Students Association on January 15 at Hanoi University.

 Daisy gardens in flood-hit Phuoc Hoa commune in the south central province of Binh Dinh show no sign of blossoming due to long-term submerging, and with Tet just days away, flower growers’ hopes of a profitable holiday are fading.

 The University of Science under the Vietnam National University - Hanoi has become the first in Vietnam to undergo quality verification based on the ASEAN University Network - Quality Assurance standard.  

 The Dong Hanh Scholarship Fund in Singapore (Dong Hanh Singapore) on January 15 organised a Gala Dinner to raise scholarship funds for disadvantaged Vietnamese students.

 Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc has asked centrally-run agencies to create all favourable conditions for the capital city of Hanoi to develop its transport infrastructure to ease traffic 

 Vietnam-Japan strategic partnership

 A contest to design a logo for the 2017 APEC (Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation) forum announced its winner in Hanoi on January 16.

 The relations between Vietnam and the Republic of Korea (RoK) have been strengthened and developed in all areas, notably the economy, over the past years, said Vietnamese Ambassador to the RoK Pham Huu Chi.

 A senior Party official has said the visit to Vietnam by Deputy Speaker of Hungary’s National Assembly Gergely Gulyás shows the Hungarian people’s sentiments towards their Vietnamese peers.

 President Tran Dai Quang acknowledged Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s role in and devotion to nurturing the Vietnam-Japan extensive strategic partnership at a meeting in Hanoi on January 16.

VietNamNet Bridge - Cement as well as oil and gas shares were popular in 2014, bank shares in 2015, and steel shares in 2016. What about 2017?

Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc and his Japanese counterpart Shinzo Abe have reached high consensus on major orientations and specific measures to push forward the bilateral extensive strategic partnership.