Vietnam welcomes and creates favourable conditions for Moroccan businesses to invest in the country and expand cooperation with local counterparts, President Tran Dai Quang has said.

Construction of a giant Xmas tree of 5,000 earthen pots is underway in the Phu My parish in Tru Son commune, Do Luong district, the central province of Nghe An to welcome fast-coming Christmas season.

 General Secretary of the Lao People’s Revolutionary Party and President of Laos Bounnhang Vorachith arrived in Hanoi on December 19 morning, starting an official friendly visit to Vietnam.

 A new typhoon, Kaitak, entered the south of the East Sea on December 18 afternoon. As the 15th storm to hit the waters this year, it is forecast to get stronger, according to the National Centre for Hydrometeorological Forecasting.

 The Vietnam Railways Corporation (VNR) has launched a freight rail service between Vietnam’s northern port city of Hai Phong and Kaiyuan in China’s Yunnan province.

Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc has asked the Mekong Delta region to improve logistics to increase fruit and vegetable exports to global markets.

 Shares on both local markets advanced further towards the end of December 18 afternoon session on solid investor confidence following the successful Sabeco share auction, as well as the recovery of major large-cap stocks.

The Ministry of Industry and Trade on December 18 sold all of its 343.6 million shares or a 53.6 percent stake of Sabeco, receiving an estimated $4.89 billion.

Mai Linh group, a well known taxi firm, has officially joined the app-based motorbike taxi market with its Mai Linh Bike service provided in HCMC, Hanoi and Da Nang, after one month of trial.

Authorized resellers are selling iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus at quoted prices, while second-class agents are setting lower prices to lure more buyers. The price of products imported through unofficial channels is even lower.

VietNamNet Bridge - Large forests in Gia Lai and Kon Tum provinces continue to be cut down despite serious protection measures applied by local authorities.  

A newly graduated preschool and primary school teacher receives an average VND3.2 million a month, far below the income of a taxi motorbike driver or a sidewalk ice tea seller.

 Farmers in Cho Lach district, the Mekong Delta province of Ben Tre have prepared eight to nine million of ornamental plants and flower pots for the Tet Holiday falling in February next year.

VietNamNet Bridge - The Vietnamese food market is thriving, with 10.9 percent CAGR (compound annual growth rate) predicted by BMI Research for the 2017-2019 period.

The newly-signed agreement between the parliaments of Vietnam and Morocco is an important legal foundation for the two sides to boost legislative relations as well as partnership in all fields, stated National Assembly Chairwoman Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan.

 Remittance inflows to HCM City in the 11 months of this year reached US$4.55 billion, Nguyen Hoang Minh, deputy director of the State Bank of Viet Nam’s HCM City branch, said.

 Despite untapped potential for development, Viet Nam’s bamboo and rattan sector is still facing challenges that are preventing a growth spurt, according to industry insiders.

 Rice products will be certified under the “Vietnam Rice” national brand if they are produced in accordance with VietGAP or GlobalGAP standards -- good agricultural practices to produce clean and safe farm products.

 Vietnamese shares are expected to move marginally in the last two trading weeks of 2017 as investors take a rest, however the selling of brewer Sabeco shares should give a short boost to the market.

 Over-fishing is fast depleting Quang Ninh’s marine resources, but the northeastern province has not been able to tackle it effectively.