Industrial production up 5.9% annually; Harsh year from Korean labour market; Banks to face uncertain growth in lending; Lixil Vietnam opens Dong Nai factory; Economic growth still depends on capital, resources

VietNamNet Bridge – Despite 2013’s economic difficulties, Vietnam attracted more than US$21 billion in registered foreign direct investment, a 54.5% improvement on 2012.

 VietNamNet Bridge – Installation and sculptural works in the exhibition ‘Venus in Vietnam’ by Vu Dan Tan and Nguyen Nghia Cuon, focusing on the image of femininity, will open at HCMC Museum of Fine Arts on today.

 A new air route connecting Da Nang city in the central region and Can Tho city in the Mekong Delta will be launched in 2014, according to Vice Chairman of Can Tho People’s Committee Dao Anh Dung.

 VietNamNet Bridge – A communication campaign has been launched in the northern province of Quang Ninh in a bid to raise public awareness about the need to protect bears during the first tourism months of 2014.

 VietNamNet Bridge – Vietnam’s grandmaster Tu Hoang Thong has claimed the gold medal in the blitz event of the 2014 Australian Chess Championships being held at Springvale Town Hall, Springvale, Victoria, from January 2-11.

 VietNamNet Bridge – The ceiling proportion of stakes a foreign investor can hold in a bank has been lifted from 15 percent to 20 percent. However, the 5 percent increase proves to be not attractive enough to foreign institutions.

 Online music prizes awarded; Hue to host International Food Festival; Phu My Hung Spring Flower Fair reproduces waterland scenes; Koganecho Bazaar 2014 calls for Vietnamese candidates

 Vietnam to compete in 20 Asiad events; Tien Minh qualifies for Korea Open semi-finals; Duan pedals to second stage win of Ben Tre cycling tournament

 The European Central Bank (ECB)'s decision to leave interest rates on hold but to step up the verbal tone put it on "wait and see" mode, economists said Thursday.

 VietNamNet Bridge – The Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) confirmed that the IAEA would support Vietnam in any way to successfully build the Ninh Thuan nuclear power plants in safety and sustainability.

 VietNamNet Bridge – MobiFone, a subsidiary of Vietnam's largest telecom service provider Vietnam Post and Telecommunication Group, has launched a pre-paid Happy Tourist package exclusively designed for foreign visitors to Vietnam.

 VietNamNet Bridge - On the morning of January 9, white lather which looked like soap suds suddenly pushed up from a manhole at the Lac Long Quan - Binh Thoi junction in Ward 10, District 11, HCM City.

 VietNamNet Bridge - Unsatisfied with the compensation rates for land and crops, farmers in Vinh Phuc province blocked the newly-inaugurated Noi Bai-Lao Cai highway in protest.

After guards threw the rice box of a worker to the ground and knocked down another for entering the factory through a wrong gate, hundreds of workers burned motorcycles and houses of guards and attacked mobile police with stones and bricks.

 VietNamNet Bridge – “As stupid as in-service courses’ students” is the saying which shows the low quality of the in-service training provided by universities.

 VietNamNet Bridge – Vietnamese tend to buy the latest and more expensive products, not to utilize the advanced technologies of the products, but to show them to friends

 Deputy PM praises Vietnam-IAEA cooperation; Party commission to accelerate trial of serious corruption cases; Viet Nam, Algeria to boost co-operation

 VietNamNet Bridge – The Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs (MOLISA) recently sent a letter to labour-export companies requesting a reduction of fees for Vietnamese workers before their departures to Taiwan.

 VietNamNet Bridge – Many enterprises, restaurants and supermarkets in Ha Noi and HCM City need more seasonal workers as the Lunar New Year holidays are approaching.

 An Indian diplomat whose arrest in the US sparked protests from India has been formally indicted by a US grand jury.

 VietNamNet Bridge – As many as 200 households living in floating villages in Ha Long Bay will be moved inland before Tet, according to Pham Hong Ha, Vice Chairman of Ha Long City People's Committee.

 VietNamNet Bridge – La Residence Hotel & Spa, run by Vietnamese staff, has been listed as one of the world’s 500 best hotels in 2014 – a prestigious honor in the travel industry.

 VietNamNet Bridge – Viet Nam faces an urgent need to become a more competitive global economy or risks being left behind, according to a statement from Deputy Prime Minister Vu Duc Dam.

 VietNamNet Bridge – A painting exhibition introducing artworks on spiritual and cultural activities of Vietnamese during the lunar New Year by eight artists opened at the Tu Do Gallery, HCM City on January 5.