More cancer cases reported, people pay penalty for daily food

Industrial factories, workshops have been located in rural areas, bringing money and helping improve the living standards of local residents. However, they have to pay penalty for the money they receive today: more and more people die of cancer.

Report says oligopoly exists in 6 business fields

The Competition Administration Department (CAD), an arm of the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MOIT), which conducted a survey on 10 business fields, has found out that oligopoly exists in six of them.

“Business” would be an optional subject at general school

Deputy Minister of Education and Training--Nguyen Vinh Hien on January 8, 2013, said the ministry is considering to add “business” into the general school curriculum after 2015.

Census on economic and administrative units announced

 VietNamNet Bridge – As of January, 1, 2012, Viet Nam had around 342,000 enterprises, a 2.7 time rise against 2007, according to the General Statistics Office (GSO)’s census on economic and administrative units

Software firms claim for tax incentives

The current policy on VAT incentives turns out to maltreat software firms, while the corporate income tax incentives have been benefiting foreign firms. Meanwhile, there has been no personal income tax for software workers.

Shipper by day, director by night

 VietNamNet Bridge – Jaime Zuniga came to HCM City in 2008 to work for one of the largest shipping and logistics companies in the world AP Moller-Maersk Group.

Better decentralisation move

Vietnam will put greater effort into decentralisation model’s feasibility and effectiveness by strengthening state agencies’ coordination and management in a bid to improve the quality of foreign direct investment inflows to the country.

Ha Noi flower festival salutes New Year

 VietNamNet Bridge – A flower festival will be in bloom at the Viet Nam Exhibition Centre for Culture and Arts from January 30 to February 5 to welcome the Lunar New Year.

BUSINESS IN BRIEF 12/1

Seafood and rice exporters face difficult first quarter; Mekong Delta has least FDI projects in Vietnam; Desperate firms call for government lifeline; Banking graduates face unemployment; Skills and experience prioritised, not degrees

Viettel asks to raise international incoming calls rates

 VietNamNet Bridge – Viettel has proposed that the Ministry of Information and Communication (MIC) increase the charges for foreign calls to Viet Nam from the current rate of 4.1 cents per minute to 6 cents.

116 killed, 235 injured as four blasts rock Pakistan

 Thursday marked a bloody day for Pakistan as four blasts rocked the country, leaving at least 116 people killed and 235 others injured.

Education needs priority in midland, northern mountainous provinces

 VietNamNet Bridge – Nguyen Vinh Hien, Deputy Minister of Education and Training, called for higher priority in the field of education and training in the midland and northern mountainous provinces.

Tien Minh climbs world badminton rankings

 VietNamNet Bridge – Nguyen Tien Minh has moved up two places to sixth in the world badminton rankings, the sport's governing body has announced.

SOCIETY IN BRIEF 11/1

 PM approves national plan to ease hospital overload; 2013: Vietnam Year in Choisy-le-Roi; Woman killed in city cloth store fire; Vietnam, US veterans promote exchange

Japan premier unveils $226.5 bn stimulus package

 Japan's new government unveiled a $226.5 billion stimulus package Friday to breathe life into the world's third-largest economy, rebuild disaster-hit areas and beef up the military.

Vietnam’s adoption of the Law of the Sea is normal

Vietnam’s ratification of the Law of the Sea is normal and it is a necessary task of a coastal sovereign country, a member of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea 1982, said the Foreign Ministry’s spokesperson Luong Thanh Nghi.

GOVERNMENT IN BRIEF 11/1

  Viet Nam, Italy vow to bolster all-round links; Vietnam, UK celebrate 40th anniversary of diplomatic ties; NA Chairman meets with voters; Viet Nam opposes Taiwan's oil plans; Year of Friendship set to bring VN, India together

HCM City: Evading police, three gamblers fall from 5th floor

VietNamNet Bridge - At 4.15pm on January 10, three young men fell from the fifth floor of an apartment building on Quach Van Tuan street, Tan Binh District, Ho Chi Minh City to the ground. Two died while the remaining is critical.

HCM City’s police attack street crime at night

VietNamNet Bridge - Nearly 150 police officers surrounded “hot spots” in the center of Ho Chi Minh City in the early morning of January 11 to attack street crime.

Vietnam - destination for luxury ships

 VietNamNet Bridge – The luxury cruise liner Costa Victoria of the Italia-based ship operator Costa Crociere S.p.A arrived in Ho Chi Minh City on January 7 with 2,400 passengers and crew to begin a four-day tour of Vietnam.

Commission calls for lending interest rates to be slashed

 VietNamNet Bridge – The National Financial Supervisory Commission has stressed the need to further cut bank lending rates to enable businesses to survive and grow.

Market warms up, billions of dong flowing into stocks

The cash flow has been heading for the stock market since the beginning of the year. However, it’s still unclear if the tendency is stable.

Czech based midfielder invited to train with Viet Nam

 VietNamNet Bridge – The Viet Nam Football Federation has invited Vietnamese Czech midfielder Michal Nguyen to train with the national team.

Australians face trauma of returning to razed homes

 Australians who fled for their lives from bushfires faced the trauma Friday of returning to see if they still had a home, as firefighters battled worsening conditions to douse more than 100 blazes.

Two new airlines join domestic market

Two more airlines have received licenses to enter the burgeoning domestic aviation market at a time when a slew of challenges are looming as a result of protracted local and world economic woes.