VietNamNet Bridge – Rising demand for credit across Vietnam’s private sector is expected to drive bank loan books above the highs recorded last year.

 German and local filmmakers will gather at Mini Docfest documentary festival hosted by Hoa Sen University in Ho Chi Minh City’s District 1 on March 19-20.

 Hanoi will host a series of activities on March 19 in response to the 2016 Earth Hour, which promotes how a small individual action can make a big influence.

 VietNamNet Bridge – The number of Vietnamese unlisted public companies (UPCoM) doubled last year, and 2016 regulations should bolster once-sluggish growth even more.

M_Service JSC, the operator of mobile e-wallet MoMo, on March 17 announced it has received an investment worth $28 million from Standard Chartered Private Equity and the global investment banking firm Goldman Sachs.

 Some leading hotels in HCM City have prepared special treats to serve diners on the occasion of the upcoming Easter Day on March 27.

 Miss Ao Dai Vietnam Tran Ngoc Lan Khue has bowed out of the Top 20 at Miss Grand Slam 2015, according to GlobalBeauties.com.

 Foreign audiences gave big rounds of applause for Vietnamese-American piano child prodigy Evan Le while watching him playing Turkey March by genius Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart at NBC’s Little Big Shots on March 13.

 The Republic of Singapore Navy's (RSN) Endurance-class Landing Ship Tank (LST), RSS Endurance, led by Lieutenant Colonel Noel Chen Xin Yi, arrived at Cam Ranh Bay on March 17 to start a five-day port call.

 VN Index will climb to reach the highest level since 2008 as a rising economy and earnings draw investors, Bloomberg Business news reported on March 15.

 VietNamNet Bridge - Foreign investors have shown their interest in the value of the hotline of the HCM City Party Secretary Dinh La Thang and expect that the transparency of the investment environment will improve.

 The upcoming visit to Vietnam by President of the National Assembly of France Claude Bartolone is expected to further the strategic partnership between the two countries – which was signed in September 2013.

VietNamNet Bridge - 1988 is considered the peak year of Vietnam's difficulties when the economic crisis in the country worsened and Vietnam’s main supporter, the Soviet Union, was in a difficult situation.

VietNamNet Bridge - A new drug for cancer treatment produced by Vietnam at the price which is equivalent to one third of the similar one processed by the US will be available soon. The medicine has been successfully tested on animals in laboratory.

Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Cao Duc Phat said nearly 300,000 households lost their income in recent months or were affected by drought and saltwater intrusion, the worst in the Mekong Delta in the last 100 years.

 VietNamNet Bridge – HCM City have launched a new bus route (No. 109) from 23/9 Park in District 1 to the Tan Son Nhat International Airport in Tan Binh District.

VietNamNet Bridge - Cong Tri, a well-known fashion designer in Vietnam, launched his haute couture collection called “Paddy” at the Tokyo Fashion Week on March 15.

 VietNamNet Bridge - Bloomberg has quoted a close source as saying that Aeon - the giant retailer from Japan – is approaching an agreement to acquire the Big C Vietnam chain of France’s Casino Group.

VietNamNet Bridge – Thousands of vehicles could not move on the roads around Dan Chu roundabout in District 3, HCM City because of the gathering of young fans to see the Korean girl band T-Ara.

VietNamNet Bridge - Road building projects that would pass through natural reserves have been proposed, while many resorts have been built in national parks. 

Vietnam will become a new industrial center in the world, while its products such as footwear and garments will enjoy big benefits when TPP takes effect.

 VietNamNet Bridge – Czech photographer Zuzana Rakova has revealed a number of her amazing photos on Hon Khoi salt flats, which were taken during her trip to the central province of Khanh Hoa.

 Vietnam spends about 3.4 billion USD on medication every year, officials of the Ministry of Health said on March 16.

 Deputy Prime Minister Vu Duc Dam has just instructed that Vietnam will join the compilation of a multinational dossier to seek UNESCO’s recognition of the traditional craft of “son mai” (lacquer) as part of the world’s intangible cultural heritage.

The national flag carrier Vietnam Airlines plans to launch a direct flight from Hanoi to the Czech capital of Prague and vice versa in 2017 with the aim to boost tourism cooperation between the two countries.