VN to cut tariffs on Laos imports, Flower industry needs tech growth, Masan's sales jump 90%, profits up 24% to $113m, January PMI up as new orders increase, Domestic lending drops off in January

  Lunar New Year just around the corner and Hanoi puts on its brightest face in celebration.

 Vietnamese visitors, including overseas Vietnamese, will be able to visit the Hue Imperial Citadel in the central province of Thua Thien-Hue from February 8-10 (the first to third day of the Lunar New Year) for free.

 The Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU)- an independent business within The Economist Group forecasted an upbeat prospect for Vietnam’s economy with a gross domestic product growth rate expected to stand at 6.8 percent in 2016.

VietNamNet Bridge – The most special and expensive ornamental trees are brought to the Spring Flower Festival in Phu My Hung urban area in District 7, Ho Chi Minh City, which is dubbed the “home for the wealthy”.

 Vietnam’s economic freedom index went up 2.3 points compared to last year and reached the overall score of 54, reported the Heritage Foundation in its recently published 2016 Index of Economic Freedom.

 Neither Vietnamese citizen has been detained by Ukraine so far, head of the Foreign Ministry’s Consular Department Ly Quoc Tuan affirmed on February 3.

 The Republic of Korea (RoK) on February 3 confirmed the arrest of a Vietnamese citizen who broke through Incheon international airport security to enter the country illegally.

 Economic ministers from 12 member nations signed the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) agreement in Auckland, New Zealand on the morning of February 4.

VietNamNet Bridge – SHB Da Nang have signed contracts with strikers Gaston Merlo Argentina and Horace James of Jamaica in preparation for the national football V-League championship this year. 

 Coach Pham Nhu Thuan of Quang Ninh Coal has finalised his team for the new season after signing a contract with American Rod Dyachenko this week.

 The total state budget revenue in January was 95 per cent of the revenue year-on-year due to about 66 per cent fall in crude oil revenue, the finance ministry said.

 ATMs run out of money ahead of Tet, Dong Nai to stop unlicensed ports, HCMC transporters preparing for Tet, Misused hoist causes construction accident, Disadvantaged communes to receive aid from government

Minister of Transport Dinh La Thang yesterday dismissed the General Director of Hanoi Railway Transport Company, Nguyen Viet Hiep, for failing to comply with the Government's policy on the import of machinery, equipment and technological lines used.

 The State Bank of Viet Nam has told commercial banks to accord top priority to supplying cash at automatic telling machines (ATMs) during the Tet (Lunar New Year) holiday.

VietNamNet Bridge - Analysts have compared the investors and the e-commerce market with foxes and grapes. The foxes have come, but the grapes are still not ripe.

VietNamNet Bridge - After Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung said that Vietnam will not develop more coal hydropower plants, environmental organizations released statements lauding the decision.

Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong offered his best wishes to incumbent and former leaders of the Party and State as well as the entire Vietnamese people yesterday on the occasion of the Lunar New Year festival.

VietNamNet Bridge - A teacher of history tried to kill himself with a knife at a ceremony held by the Le Quy Don High School to celebrate the 15th anniversary of the school's establishment.

 VietNamNet Bridge – The Government has issued a new decree governing foreign firms’ establishment of representative offices and branches in Vietnam.

 VietNamNet Bridge – Tan Quy Dong and Cai Mon in Dong Thap and Ben Tre provinces are the two biggest flower cultivation areas of the Mekong Delta.

The Ministry of Culture has asked the PM's permission to join South Korea in compiling a multinational dossier seeking UNESCO’s recognition of the traditional craft of lacquer as part of the world’s intangible cultural heritage.

 The Vietnam e-Business Index (EBI) 2015 report has revealed great disparity in e-commerce development among localities, particularly in big cities including Ho Chi Minh and Hanoi.

 Hospitals across the country have prepared everything for medical examination and treatment of emergency cases before and during the Tet (Lunar News Year) holiday period.

VietNamNet Bridge - Economists have warned that the foreign-invested economic sector may become dominant in the national economy.