Vietnam’s small businesses are among the fastest growing and most confident in the region, according to new survey data released on March 2.

 Vietnamese pharmaceutical market harbours immense potential, but domestic enterprises are exploiting only half of this at best.

 Most local companies have shown optimism about business results in 2016, providing momentum for further growth in 2017.

 The export of wood and wood products is expected to fetch US$8 billion this year, up from US$7.3 billion last year.

Olympian sharpshooter Hoang Xuan Vinh fell just short of making it through to the final round of the 50m Pistol at the International Shooting Sport Federation World Cup.

 As many as 150 cherry blossom trees and 7,000 cherry blossom branches imported from Japan will be put on show in downtown Hanoi as part of a Japanese cultural exchange in Hanoi slated for March 10 – 12. 

Outstanding performances of folk music that used to be played at the communual houses have helped music lovers experience the unique cultural atmosphere of villages in northern Vietnam. 

 The national index of industrial production (IIP) rose by 2.4 percent year-on-year in the first two months of 2017, according to the latest report of the General Statistics Office.

 Vietnam is to suspend import of five agricultural commodities from India, which are peanuts, cassia alata seeds, cocoa seeds, French bean seeds and tamarind from India due to the high risk of them containing insects.

Vietnam and India held their 10th defence policy dialogue at deputy ministerial level in Hanoi on March 1, focusing on the implementation of the agreement reached between the two countries.

Preparations for the first APEC Senior Officials Meeting have been completed after the SOM Steering Committee on ECOTECH, the SOM Friends of the Chair on Connectivity and the Policy Support Unit concluded their final meetings.

 President Tran Dai Quang and his spouse hosted a State banquet in Hanoi on March 1 in honour of Japanese Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko, who are on their State visit to Vietnam from February 28 – March 5. 

PM Nguyen Xuan Phuc has asked ministries and sectors to work together to build growth scenarios for each sector and field, towards realising the targets of a 6.7 percent growth and 4 percent inflation in 2017. 

 VietNamNet Bridge – The Hoan Kiem District police in Ha Noi have slapped a woman with a fine of VND6 million (US$266) for littering a pavement.

 VietNamNet Bridge – No list of Ha Noi’s best reading spots would be complete without a mention of the BFree library.

After winning first prize at the 12th national creativity competition for youth, two students from Da Nang will go to Japan to attend an international exhibition in May to display their Braille printer.  

If state management agencies approve a plan to sink 1.5 million cubic meters of waste sludge into waters, the waste will destroy the entire biological and physical circle of a vast sea area. 

VietNamNet Bridge - With big real estate players such as Vingroup, Sungroup and FLC and the provincial authorities’ policy on investment in infrastructure, Quang Ninh has become a new magnet in the resort real estate market.

VietNamNet Bridge - MOET has asked universities to publicize surveys and reports on the employment of their graduates. The statistics must be published on the schools’ websites, beginning this year.

 VietNamNet Bridge – When Tran Xuan Huong’s husband was hospitalised last year after his cancer got worse, she took him to a big military hospital in Ha Noi in the hope of saving his life.