2019 is expected to witness a sizeable amount of new supply coming on stream in retail real estate in HCMC, approximately 394,000 sq m gross floor area from 12 projects located in non-CBD areas.

 The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) has set a goal to export around 6.5 million tonnes of rice worth a total USD3 billion this year.

US-based Pfizer Group has signed an agreement on the transfer of pharmaceutical production technology to Vietnamese enterprises, so the first products are scheduled to be produced in 2020.

 Two Tibetan bears which were illegally transported in the northern city of Haiphong have been rescued and then handed over to Cuc Phuong National Park.

 Miss Ocean Vietnam 2017 Le Au Ngan Anh has just sent her first images from the Miss Intercontinental 2018 pageant despite failing to receive an official endorsement to participate in the competition.

 As many as 18,736 traffic accidents occurred in Vietnam in 2018, leaving 8,248 dead and 14,802 injured.

 Toyota Motor Vietnam (TMV) achieved a record sales volume of nearly 66,000 units, excluding imported Lexus cars, in 2018, marking a year-on-year increase of 11 per cent.

 Vietnam’s fitness platform WeFit.vn has successfully raised US$1 million in a pre-Series A funding round from Japan’s CyberAgent Capital, the Republic of Korea’s KBInvest and undisclosed angel investors.

 Vietnamese e-commerce platforms Tiki, Thegioididong and Sendo were named among ten most visited sites in Southeast Asia by price comparison website iPrice Group.

 Viettel again took first position in the list of the top 50 most valuable brands in Viet Nam in 2018 with a value of more than US$3.1 billion, increasing 24 per cent from the previous year.

 Media firm Yeah1 Group announced in HCM City on Thursday that it has bought out ScaleLab, a well-known YouTube multi-channel network which represents some of the biggest social media influencers in the world.

 Despite the central bank’s tightened monetary policy, many banks reported good business performance last year thanks to improved bad debt resolution and rising income from services.

 Ha Noi has devised a plan to cut logistics costs and improve transport connectivity in the capital city to support investors and businesses.

 Vietnam exported more than 1.8 million tonnes of coffee worth US$3.54 billion in 2018, marking year-on-year rises of 20 per cent and 1.2 per cent respectively.

 The Airports Corporation of Viet Nam (ACV) has sent a proposal to the Ministry of Transport (MoT) with plans to build a third passenger terminal (T3) at Tan Son Nhat International Airport.

 Coach Kevin Yurkus has bid farewell to defending national basketball champions Cantho Catfish after two years.

 The Ministry of Transport was looking at handing out lifetime bans to dangerous drivers, said Minister of Transport Nguyen Van The at a conference held in Hanoi on Friday.

 Fans of European literature of all ages have been invited to take part in a painting competition themed Creative with European Literary Characters.

 The Ministry of Science and Technology and the Australian Government launched the Australia – Viet Nam Innovative Project, under the name Aus4Innovation, on Thursday.

 The Transport Ministry disbursed 76 percent of the sum assigned by the Government in 2018, the highest rate recorded in the past three years. The rate was also higher than the national average of 66.35 percent.