The Ministry of Finance last year turned down eight foreign loan programs and projects worth a staggering US$1.2 billion given their high interest rates, heard a conference in Hanoi City on January 3.

 In late 2017, share sales by HDBank and VPBank strongly drew attention from international organizations with the bidding volume much higher than that offered.

 Website developers account for the largest proportion of Vietnam’s total information technology (IT) workforce, at 74.8%, according to a report of Vietnam’s recruitment website for IT jobs TopDev.

 Trinh Xuan Thanh was questioned at court on January 9, the second day of the trial on the case of “deliberately violating State regulations on economic management, causing severe consequences” at the Thai Binh 2 thermal power project. 

 Vietnam could bring some surprises at the finals of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) U23 Championship, which will open in China on January 9, said an article on the Chinese sports website catjc.com.

 Vietnam wishes to further deepen its comprehensive partnership with the US in a pragmatic and effective manner in order to contribute to the maintenance of peace, stability, cooperation and prosperity in the region and beyond.

 HCMC will select a partner in June to develop a smart city management center, HCMC vice chairman Tran Vinh Tuyen told a seminar on the implementation of the smart city plan on January 2.

 A flood control project capitalized at VND10 trillion in HCMC is now 65% complete after one year and a half of construction and is expected to be finished in April.

 Alibaba-owned online retailer Lazada Vietnam has become an authorized distributor of all genuine Apple products in Vietnam since January 5.

 The central city has set aside two downtown streets – Tran Phu and Bach Dang – for a pilot smart-parking project.

 The State Bank of Viet Nam will not issue new banknotes with denominations lower than VNĐ5,000 (22 US cents) for Tet (Lunar New Year) to cut costs.

IMDb, the world’s prestigious online database of the global film, TV industry and celebrities, has recently named Vietnamese actress Ngo Thanh Van among the 50 most popular celebrities in its weekly-updated STARmeter ranking.

 Bitcoin is not banned in Vietnam and should not be banned in the future, said lawyers at the 2018 Investment and Business Opportunities Conference in Thanh Hoa Province last Friday.

 Deputy Prime Minister Trinh Dinh Dung has voiced concern over the possible shortage of electricity in southern Vietnam given the rising demand, heard a conference of the Vietnam Electricity Group (EVN) on January 4.

 Inexperience of domestic consulting firms is largely attributed to cost overruns at HCMC’s first two metro line projects, and the city government has recently made a report to the Government on details of such cost overruns.

Viet Uc Seafood Corporation will launch a high-quality shrimp farming greenhouse complex worth around US$44 million later this month.

 President Tran Dai Quang asked the Supreme People’s Court to seriously deal with major criminal cases, especially those regarding economic activities and corruption, during a teleconference held in Hanoi on January 9. 

 Children’s best selling author Nguyen Nhat Anh gave a book signing event in Ho Chi Minh City Book Street on January 7 to present his latest novel "Little banana tree wears green shoes".

 Singer Kiwi Ngo Mai Trang been crowned the first episode of the Celebrity MasterChef 2017.

 Fashion designer Adrian Anh Tuan will travel to China for the Harbin Fashion Week that will take place on January 12.