Social housing: Loan interest rate maintained at 5%, VIB rolls out biometric authentication logins, Moody assigns first-time rating to LienVietPostBank, Cement consumption reaches 80 million tonnes in 2017

VietNamNet Bridge - The growth of the Vietnamese food market has made it a magnet for foreign companies. 

2017 was an eventful year for international cooperation at the National Centre for Hydro-meteorological Forecasting, helping the centre improve its severe weather forecasting capacity.

 Deputy Prime Minister Vuong Dinh Hue has approved the Vietnam Posts and Telecommunications Group (VNPT)’s restructuring plan for 2018-2020.

The export turnover of 353,000 tonnes of cashew in 2017 touched 3.52 billion USD, the highest level ever recorded, according to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.

 The government will strive to reduce and simplify half its of current existing conditional business requirements in 2018 in an effort to improve Vietnam’s business climate to boost growth.

Vietnamese people spend USD354m on snacks in 2017, according to the market research company Statista.   

 Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc has requested Quang Nam Province’s authorities to provide a report on a local $120-million soda plant which has been halted just some months after becoming operational.

At the end of the school day, the students at The Sacred Heart in HCM City often dash home without taking the time to change their uniforms or even take a shower so they can help their parents sell lottery tickets or cassava.

Visitors to the resort city of Da Lat can take a tour of the Langbiang plateau and sample rượu cần, a specialty of ethnic minorities living in the Central Highlands.

 VietNamNet Bridge – Young pop idol Son Tung M-TP’s latest music video (MV) has attracted more than 167 million viewers on YouTube.    

The Ha Noi People’s Committee has submitted a report to Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc asking him to allow the Vingroup and T&T Group to compile investment dossiers on three of 10 urban railway projects 

 Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc has recently assigned socio-economic development targets to the ministries of Planning and Investment, Agriculture and Rural Development, Industry and Trade, Public Health, and Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs. 

 The HCM City People’s Court has dismissed a suit by the Dutch-based ride-hailing company Uber International Services Holding against the city tax department seeking remedy against a claim for back taxes.

 Deputy Prime Minister Vuong Dinh Hue has approved the equitisation plan of Viet Nam Southern Food Corporation (Vinafood 2).

 State Bank of Viet Nam (SBV) made a net cash injection of VND18 trillion (US$792 million) into the economy in the past week.

 The Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT) will enhance trade promotion programmes and give more support to businesses to increase their competitiveness in the local market in 2018.

 Data released by Airbnb recently puts two major cities of Vietnam – Hanoi and Da Nang – among the world’s top 10 intriguing travel destinations in 2018.

 Viet Nam’s Ly Hoang Nam defeated No 3 seed Reboul Fabien of France in the quarterfinals of the Hong Kong F6 Futures tournament yesterday.

 Following the completion of legal procedures, American David Harrison Arnold of Saigon Heat has become a resident of Viet Nam and will now be classified as a local player in the team at the ongoing ASEAN Basketball League (ABL) 2018.