Vietnam and the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) will accelerate the signing of a free trade agreement (FTA) in the first half of 2018.

 The Ho Chi Minh City's Department of Construction said that its plan to remove 20,000 shanty houses on and along local canals by 2020 may not be realised due to various challenges.

 In the face of the growing momentum of urbanisation, Vietnam is looking for ways to pursue urban green growth.

 2018 is slated to be a positive year for the Vietnamese dong, thanks to Vietnam’s stable macroeconomics and strong capital inflows. However, analysts differ on how strong Vietnam’s currency will be at the end of the year.

 Foreign capital flow in the footwear industry is expected to rebound this year after a slowdown in 2017, with the anticipated arrival of a major US player.

 Vietnam created new jobs for more than 1.63 million people last year, achieving 102.48% of its plan, according to the Ministry of Labour, Invalids, and Social Affairs.

For the first time in 10 years of the ranking called the VNR500, a list of the 500 largest Vietnamese companies, private businesses have shown stronger growth in comparison with SOEs (state owned enterprises) and FIEs (foreign invested enterprises).

 AmCham announced the new scholars to not only receive financial rewards, but additional support in job skills training, internships, and job placement assistance.

 Construction of pavements in Ba Dinh and Hai Ba Trung districts continues despite an order by the capital city’s authorities, e-newspaper Vietnamplus reported.

 Up to 90 per cent of stores in the country use online channels to increase their customer base and expand business, reports sapo.vn, a shopping management software.

 The State Bank of Viet Nam (SBV) will deal strictly with credit institutions if people cannot withdraw money from their ATM in the months approaching Tet (Lunar New Year) holiday.

 The HCM City customs department aims to cut the time it takes for clearing goods by half by the end of this year, Dinh Ngoc Thang, its deputy head, told the media on the sidelines of a meeting with American businesses on Wednesday.

 Vietnam handed over two wanted Korean men to police of the Republic of Korea (RoK) at Hanoi’s Noi Bai International Airport on January 24. 

 The Hollywood blockbuster “Kong: Skull Island”, which was shot in Vietnam, has received an Oscar nomination for Visual Effects.

 Prudential Plc on January 23 announced that it had reached an agreement to sell 100 percent of its Prudential Vietnam Finance Company (PVFC) to Shinhan Card Co Ltd, a subsidiary of the Shinhan Financial Group (Shinhan), at a cost of 151 million USD.

Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh met with Minister of State attached to France’s Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs Jean-Baptiste Lemoyne in Hanoi on January 24.

 A wooden drum in the Phuong Nam Cultural Tourism Area of the Mekong Delta province of Dong Thap was recognised as Vietnam’s largest drum by the Vietnam Record Association.

 The Spanish Government pledges to provide financial assistance for Ho Chi Minh City to develop one more metro line, said an official from Spain’s Ministry of Economy, Industry and Competitiveness (MEIC). 

 The ninth International Exhibition on Shipbuilding, Shipping and Offshore Technology (Vietship 2018) officially opened at the National Convention Centre in Hanoi on January 24.

 The Prime Minister has recently granted approval for a national action plan to prevent, mitigate and eliminate illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing until 2025.