Though there remains six months, some banks have almost used up the assigned quota for the whole year, and experts said it would be difficult for the banks to get an expansion approval from the State Bank of Vietnam.

A range of new policies are coming into effect this month, including wage increases, paternity leave for male workers and regulations relating to retirement age of the people’s public security force.

Six Vietnamese nationals, who were detained in South Africa in 2018 for violating the country’s biodiversity act on protection of threatened species, left the country for home on June 30 after performing their obligations to the court’s rulings.

Locals in the northwestern area do not know how to ‘live together with floods’ as people in the coastal central areas do. 

Associate Professor Nguyen Phuong Dai Nguyen, a biology expert, spends most of his time studying new types of mushrooms to distinguish between poisonous and non-poisonous species to avoid public food poisoning.

Le Thanh Nam, deputy director of the Ha Noi Department of Natural Resources and Environment, talks to Hà Nội Mới (New Hà Nội) newspaper about his agency's effort to eliminate illegal sand and pebble depots along river banks.

Leading Japanese corporations on July 1 signed Memoranda of Understanding (MoU) with Hanoi to invest a total of close to 4 billion USD in projects in the capital city.

Fifteen forest fires were recorded from June 26-30, ravaging over 100 ha of forest, according to the Vietnam Administration of Forestry under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD)

The Commercial Bank for Foreign Trade of Vietnam (Vietcombank) and the Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC) exchanged a credit contract worth $200 million to fund renewable energy projects in Vietnam.

Vietnam’s growth momentum moderated since the beginning of the year, but outlook remains positive, according to Taking Stock, the World Bank (WB)’s bi-annual economic report on Vietnam released on July 1.

In the second half of this year, increasing competition in product quality, prices and market share are predicted to force steel companies to work harder to maintain their foothold in the market.

Long drought and extreme weather condition along with large scale wild fire are making the water reserve in the central province of Ha Tinh dry out. 

Chairwoman of the National Assembly Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan and European Commissioner for Trade Cecilia Malmstrom exchanged ideas related to the signing and ratification of the EU-Viet Nam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) 

The Wildlife Street Art Bus Tour programme, which was kicked off on May 6 to raise awareness about wildlife crime, has ended in Ho Chi Minh City recently.

Vietcombank, JBIC sign contract for renewable energy projects

Vietnam is an ideal destination for foreign investors, including Chinese, despite China’s efforts to prevent capital flowing out of the country.

An investment promotion conference was held in Tokyo on July 1 where Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc said Vietnam will be the “promised land” for Japanese investors.

Vietnam’s Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs (MOLISA) and four Japanese agencies on July 1 signed a memorandum of cooperation (MoC) on sending specific skilled workers of Vietnam to work in Japan.

Some experts describe Vietnam’s education as a ‘copy and paste’ education, where everything is copied, from exam questions to teachers’ reports to students’ essays.

The extensive use of agrochemicals in Northern farms has raised alarm bells for not only consumers but also farmers engaged in manual labour and the environment.