2018 is hoped to see a strong wave of equitisation of State-owned enterprises (or SOE). However, the first half of the year is yet to see as strong movement as expected.

 The National Assembly convened a plenary session under the chair of NA Chairwoman Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan on June 12, passing two resolutions and three bills.

Vietnam welcomes and highly values outcomes of the summit between the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea and the US which took place in Singapore on June 12, said spokesperson of the Foreign Ministry of Vietnam Le Thi Thu Hang. 

 Fire services in Hanoi have uncovered safety violations at 108 high rises across the capital after revealing a list of 91 properties in late May.

 The Vietnam Food Administration under the Ministry of Health on Monday released a warning after a case of mushroom poisoning in the northern mountainous of Son La.

 Deputy Minister of Public Security Nguyen Van Son called for investigation of and strict penalties for leaders of extremist groups who incited crowds to cause disorder at the headquarters of Binh Thuan Province’s People’s Committee.

 VietNamNet Bridge - This month, the original lead guitarist for the chart-topping British rock band, The Police, is set to command the stage for five nights at Sofitel Legend Metropole Hanoi. 

 A resident in HCMC has created a version of the 2018 FIFA World Cup mascot, Zabivaka the Wolf, out of egg shells.

VietNamNet Bridge - Vietnamese enterprises have been seeking a way to penetrate the Thai market to re-establish a trade balance between the two countries.

VietNamNet Bridge - Not only companies or large corporations will use AI, but small shops, households, supermarkets and buildings will also become clients of the technology.

HCMC residents were reassured that they would not see floods again after multi-billion dong anti-flood works became operational. But floods have become even more serious.

VietNamNet Bridge - Hundreds of professors and associate professors give lectures at universities, but many do not conduct scientific research.

 Cross-ownership in banks has decreased sharply after the banks recently changed their top leaders at the 2018 annual general meetings of shareholders (AGMs) to meet the central bank’s new regulation.

 The President Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum in Hanoi will be closed to visitors for maintenance from June 15 to August 15, according to the mausoleum’s Management Board.

 Vietnam’s rate of unlicenced software installation was 74 percent in 2017, down by 4 percent from 2015 and by 7 percent from 2013, according to the latest Global Software Survey of The Software Alliance (BSA).

 Vietnam now has a golden population structure and a fast growing middle class – potential buyers of private cars, which is forecast to boost domestic car sales by about 22 percent annually from now to 2025.

 Of the 132 million bank cards issued, 50 million are inactive, a waste of resources amounting to trillions of Vietnam dong as the minimum issuance cost is VND30,000 per card, Nguoi Lao Dong newspaper reported.

Vietnamese youth, who account for 60 percent of the total population, are a promising market for health and beauty products. The industry has an average growth rate of 30 percent per annum. 

A German tourist saved a 7-year-old kid in Phu Yen who got lost in Ca mountainous pass while he was driving a motorbike in the night from Da Lat Town in the highlands province of Lam Dong to Quy Nhon.

 At this time of the year, rice fields in Hanoi’s outlying district of My Duc are ripening with a stunning beauty of a vast yellow picture.