The National Cải Lương (reformed opera) Festival 2018 is underway in Long An province, attracting the participation of 25 theatres and troupes nationwide.  

 After floods in late August, many bridges in Van Luong commune of Tan Son district, the northern midland province of Phu Tho have collapsed or been seriously damaged. 

 The rate of delayed or cancelled flights operated by domestic airlines in the first eight months of the year was lower than the world average of 25 percent.

 Vietnam’s stock market capitalisation increased 13 percent against the end of last year, reaching nearly 3.97 quadrillion VND (169.5 billion USD) by the end of August.

 The Supreme People’s Procuracy of Vietnam (SPPV) and the National Prosecuting Authority of South Africa (NPA) have agreed to cooperate in crime combat through rapid and effective criminal judicial assistance.  

 Teams from China, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore and Vietnam will compete in the International Kylin and Lion Dance competition at Da Nang’s Helio entertainment centre on September 14-16.

 Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong’s official visits to Russia and Hungary were very successful, creating conditions for developing Vietnam’s relations with the two countries in a comprehensive, substantive and more profound manner.

While Vietnam has huge potential for e-commerce development, the country’s infrastructure for the industry still lacks synchronization and connectivity.

 The sixth session of the 14th National Assembly will open on October 22 and last through November 20, according to a draft schedule presented at the meeting of the NA Standing Committee on September 11. 

VietNamNet Bridge - If businesses can successfully call for capital from investment funds, they can usually hope for a good ending, but in many cases, they end up with many problems.

 The Vietnam Asset Management Company (VAMC) plans to resolve at least 140 trillion VND (5.95 billion USD) of non-performing loans (NPLs) from now until 2020, of which 34.5 trillion VND will be settled this year.

 Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc has written an article on the occasion of the 2018 World Economic Forum on ASEAN (WEF-ASEAN 2018) which is taking place in Hanoi from September 11-13.

 Vietnam’s expressway system is set to stretch from 6,400 km to more than 7,000km by 2030, as the Ministry of Transport is mulling adding several routes to the national network.

 After returning from a 10-day training camp in Japan on September 10, the Vietnamese U19 men’s football team worked up a sweat in Hanoi as they are preparing for an upcoming friendly tournament in Qatar.

PM Nguyen Xuan Phuc hosted a dialogue on September 12 with arout 20 leaders of multinational corporations who are in Vietnam to attend the 2018 WEF ASEAN. 

A top executive of Plan International on September 12 praised the theme of the ongoing WEF on ASEAN, saying it resonates well with her organisation’s priority on young female entrepreneurs.

 Vietnam is classified as one of the outperformers among emerging economies, according to a report of McKinsey Global Institute (MGI).

Vietnam is driving its cities towards being smarter and going cashless with the aid of digital payments that will play a key role in the transformation of these cities, benefitting individuals, businesses, and the economy as a whole. 

Innovations in digital payments are expected to transform public transport systems around the world, promising a better experience for Vietnamese passengers on any mode of travel. Nam Phuong reports.

VietNamNet Bridge - A survey has found that 70 percent of businesses want to have their disputes settled by arbitrators, but in most cases, disputes are brought to court instead.