Exports hit record-high $94.8b; Electrical supply to increase by 11%; Credit card payment encouraged; Vinamilk turnover hits US$1 billion; Malaysia’s largest housing group pours investment into Vietnam; Dutch builder plans six shopping malls  

The Ministry of Transport has given the nod to a project by Viet Nam Railways to boost the carrying capacity of freight trains travelling to and from Hai Phong Port.

The Vietnam Food Association VFA has announced the new floor rice export prices, the move which is believed to help stop some rice exporters who break the commitments and export at low prices.

Staff training in the tourism sector is a long-term key task of the Viet Nam Tourism Association, according to this organisation.

The top New Year bonus of $33,000 held by a foreign-invested enterprise (FIE), down 2.08% against last year’s figure. Meanwhile, the average and lowest levels at FIEs were set at $185 and $29, respectively.

VietNamNet Bridge – Traditional festivals will be organised more carefully to improve safety and orderliness, participants at a recent workshop on the management of public celebrations heard.

VietNamNet Bridge – Coming to Vietnam to advertise their TV series entitled “My Princess,” Song Seung Hun and Kim Tae Hee will sell costumes and items that they used in the film to raise fund for needy children.

State management agencies, local authorities and people all have geared up to get adapted to the climate changes. However, they need to take long term strategies instead of following temporary measures.

VietNamNet Bridge – The number of wild tigers in Viet Nam has shrunk from 100 a decade ago to fewer than 50, said Le Xuan Canh, director of the Institute of Ecology and Biological Resources.

Educators have expressed their worries about the so called “westernization tendency” of Vietnamese children in urban areas, which may lead them to forget about their original point.

The 1942 Walt Disney's timeless classic "Bambi" and the 1994 hit "Forrest Gump" are among 25 films named to be preserved as cultural, artistic and historical treasures in the U.S. National Film Registry,

The overseas remittance to Vietnam is forecast to hit a record high of US$9 billion, up US$1 billion against last year, according to the World Bank.

VietNamNet Bridge – Thanh Hoa tourism officials are hoping the ancient citadel built during the Ho dynasty (1400-07) that was recognised as a UNESCO World Cultural Heritage site in June will attract more holidaymakers to the area.

Up to 32 percent of enterprises said they are still considering the business scale in 2012, despite the big anticipated difficulties, when they have finished the process of restructuring and can see improving market signs.

VietNamNet Bridge – Coach Falko Goetz will not return to Vietnam on January 4, 2012, as scheduled. He will send his assistant to Vietnam to deal with the contract with the Vietnam Football Federation (VFF).

VietNamNet Bridge – Pham Thi Lanh, a lottery seller in the southern province of Long An, gave back 10 lottery tickets which win top prizes worth VND6.6 billion ($330,000) to a man who bought the tickets on the nod.

VietNamNet Bridge – The Central Highlands resort city of Da Lat, already famous as the City of Flowers, is now the City of Flower Festivals.

The United States Patent and Trademark Office on Thursday published a patent application from Apple related to face and presence detection for iOS devices, which is expected to be one of the next chapters for mobile security.

Scientists of the Institute for Science and Technology of Vietnam have concluded that underground explosions in Bac Tra My district in Quang Nam province were caused by Song Tranh 2 reservoir induced seismicity, not the operation of volcanoes.

Footwear sector shrugs off economic woes; Listing standards raise issues; Top 100 products, services honoured; More int’l brands shifting base to Vietnam from China; More int’l brands shifting base to Vietnam from China