The oldest lecythidaceae tree in full bloom

The oldest lecythidaceae tree by Hoan Kiem Lake in Hanoi is in full bloom. The beauty of lecythidaceae flowers never ceases to amaze first visitors to the capital city.

PetroVietnam falls short of profit goals

 VietNamNet Bridge – The Viet Nam National Oil and Gas Group or PetroVietnam failed to meet its financial targets in the first quarter of this year.

Art & Entertainment News 11/4

Artist Tran Luong receives prestigious Prince Claus Award, Korean farm culture on display, Film week honours Re-unification, Documentaries on Long Bien bridge screened, Charitable art performance to be held next week

French Institute brings fusion trio to play HCM City

VietNamNet Bridge – French jazz fusion trio The Drops will perform at the Saigon Ranger bar in HCM City next Friday as part of a programme by the French Institute to present outstanding young talents coming out of Francophonie communities

Has the kids' helmets controversy come to a head?

 VietNamNet Bridge – Vu Bang is a proud father of two children - a second grader and a little boy attending kindergarten. He is also proud of his motorbike driving skills and how good his little daughter is at sitting on the bike.

University students create robot that helps people cross roads

VietNamNet Bridge - Students from Duy Tan University have created a robot that helps people cross the streets in Da Nang. 

Is Japanese investment capital leaving Vietnam? (part 2)

VietNamNet Bridge - Some analysts, while believing that Japanese have been leaving Vietnam for other regional countries, attributes this to unreasonable policies being pursued by the government of Vietnam.

Hanoi outlines goals in sports development strategy

 VietNamNet Bridge – Hanoi has announced its long-term sports goals in its development strategy through 2020.

HCM City to use waste to fuel power plant

VietNamNet Bridge - HCM City wants to make use of the 10,000-11,000 tons of waste discharged every day in the city to generate electricity. 

Government News 11/4

 Chinese media spotlights Vietnam Party chief visit, Cambodian PM welcomes HCM City leader, US Navy Secretary visits Danang, Vietnam remembers Cuba’s Giron victory.

Vietnam alluring for global beer players

 VietNamNet Bridge – Foreign beer producers are flocking to Viet Nam, salivating at the potential of the market, which was last year the third largest beer consumer in all of Asia.

Tho Chu archipelago

 VietNamNet Bridge – Tho Chu, an archipelago with eight islands, is a commune of Phu Quoc District, which is in turn an island off Kien Giang Province.

Ho Chi Minh City to host Japanese Festival

 VietNamNet Bridge – The 2015 Japan Festival to be held in Ho Chi Minh City is a cultural activity that strengthens the traditional bilateral ties between the two countries, said a city senior official.

Incentives for investors abound at Saigon Silicon City

The government of HCMC has given the go-ahead to the Saigon Hi-Tech Park authority to offer the highest incentives possible for overseas Vietnamese investors to get involved in Saigon Silicon City project within the park.

Firms avoid social welfare payments

 VietNamNet Bridge – President of the Committee of the Viet Nam Fatherland Front (VFF), Nguyen Thien Nhan, has called on relevant agencies to strengthen the enforcement of the social insurance law to protect workers' rights.

Longer-term thinking 'needed' on air pollution

 Warnings about dirty air come so often that only the most severe seem to catch anyone's attention.

The most famous Cham towers in Vietnam

 VietNamNet Bridge - Characterized by the art of building and carving of the ancient Cham people, Cham towers at the My Son Sanctuary and Ponagar tower are favorite tourist attractions.

A new wave of FDI inflows to Vietnam

 VietNamNet Bridge – More foreign invested businesses have embarked on impressive expansion plans to grow their presence in Vietnam.

Imprints of 25 years of Vietnam-EU partnership

 Vietnam and the EU will celebrate the 25th anniversary of diplomatic ties in 2015. On the occasion, a Vietnam News Agency reporter in Belgium interviewed the Head of the Vietnamese delegation to the EU, Ambassador Vuong Thua Phong.

Tree-huggers inspire new documentary

 VietNamNet Bridge – Entitled, 6,700 Nguoi Vi 6,700 Cay Xanh (6,700 People for 6,700 Trees), a one-hour documentary talks about Ha Noi residents' love of trees.

Unemployment figure climbs slightly to 2.22%

 The overall unemployment rate rose slightly to about 2.22 per cent in the first quarter of the year. The rate is 3.17 per cent in urban areas and 1.75 per cent in the countryside.

BUSINESS IN BRIEF 11/4

FoodPanda expands its northern market share, 8 transport BOT projects to start in Q2, Vietnam, React cooperate in combating counterfeit products, Property market recovers but price fever unlikely, HCM City apartment inventories fall by half

Four Peruvians arrested for ATM theft

 Police of Ho Chi Minh City recently detained four Peruvian nationals suspected of stealing about 1.4 billion VND (over 66,660 USD) from an automate teller machine (ATM) in the central province of Khanh Hoa.

Air Busan launches Busan–Da Nang direct route

 Air Busan from the Republic of Korea has launched a new direct flight route connecting the southern port city of Busan and central Da Nang City, central Vietnam.

Vingroup buys Vinatex’s supermarket chain

 Vietnam's leading property developer Vingroup announced on April 10 that it is acquiring all of the outstanding shares of a subsidiary supermarket chain of 39 stores currently owned by the Vinatex group.