Japan-Vietnam alliance debuts AI cloud service, Vietnam steps up measures urged to expand e-payments via mobile subscribers, Electricity firm POW in high demand, NetLoading offers 20% stake for US$150,000

 The Dow dropped 464 points, or 2%, on Thursday. The index closed below 23,000 for the first time since October 2017. The Nasdaq lost 1.6% and only narrowly avoided closing in its first bear market since the Great Recession. 

 The value of Bitcoin has fallen below $5,000 (£3,889) for the first time since October 2017.

“What could a bank note of VND1,000 (0.43 cents) buy?” you may wonder as you contemplate an accumulated stack of small money. On a small islet in the Mekong Delta of Soc Trang, an eatery offers an answer

 The Danang Department of Taxation has just decided to penalise the administrative violations of Danang Rubber JSC (code: DRC) due to the change of company’s profit after auditing.

  The number of Vietnamese firms using e-invoices has increased from roughly 800 in 2016 to over 9,000, according to the General Department of Taxation (GDT).

 Vietnam expects to have a total of 54.2 million people in the workforce in the first quarter of 2018, up 150,000 from last year’s final quarter, according to the Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs (MoLISA).

 The highest bonus for the upcoming Lunar New Year (Tet) holiday has been reported at 855 million VND (37,900 USD) in a private business in Ho Chi Minh City.

 Hanoi ready for Huong Pagoda Festival 2018, Contest calls for songs about children with heart defects, Rice relief delivered for Lunar New Year holiday, Vietnam-Japan Festival lures 300,000

 CDH Electric Bee further divests from MWG, Vietnam should work towards achieving income per capita of US$10,000, VRG expects to list on HOSE in mid-2018, Ineffective oil projects put PVEP in peril

The photo "Hidden Smile" of Vietnamese 70-year-old boat rower has been sold for US$30,000 at an auction, said the author of the picture, French photographer Réhahn Croquevielle.

 An overseas Vietnamese in Australia has purchased the printed version of the photo titled “World’s most beautiful old woman” by French photographer Réhahn Croquevielle for 30,000 USD, according to the photographer.

 Shares of the Saigon Beer, Alcohol and Beverage Corporation, Sabeco, Viet Nam’s biggest brewer, will be offered at an initial price of VND320,000 (US$14) each on December 18, it was announced on Wednesday.

The winner of the third Global Taste of Korea Contest 2017 in Vietnam is Chu Ngoc Doanh, chef at Manna Bean Restaurant, who was chosen after a one-hour contest in Hanoi on June 30. 

 A photo titled “World’s most beautiful old woman” by French photographer Réhahn Croquevielle was sold for $10,000, said the organisers of his Couleurs d’Asie exhibition which was held in HCMC from June 1-5.

 The Ministry of Industry and Trade has denied reports that a rice company had to pay US$20,000 for a rice export licence.

 VietNamNet Bridge – “What should I study to get a job with a starting salary of $2,000 a month?”

 Ten Vietnamese brands are listed among Asia’s top 1,000 brands, of which Vietjet Air is among top 500, according to global marketing research company Nielsen.

 A pair of Four Sacred Animals jars by artisan Pham Anh Dao from the Bat Trang pottery village have been auctioned off at a price of US$275,000.