FDI inflows hit $16.43 billion in nine months

Vietnam plans to launch a new commodity exchange in the fourth quarter of this year, according to a Memorandum of Understanding signed between the Singapore-listed logistics firm Straits Financial Group and the Vietnam Commodities Exchange. 

 Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Nguyen Xuan Cuong has spoken to local media about measures to boost agricultural restructuring to further develop the sector. 

Forbes Vietnam magazine announced the best 50 companies on Vietnam’s stock market in 2016 on September 29.

Sections of Sai Gon Bridge, one of the five bridges of metro route No. 1 Ben Thanh-Suoi Tien in Ho Chi Minh City, were joined on September 30.

Autonomy for universities has given them more control over courses and financing, though the latter comes with issues.

VietNamNet Bridge - Unlike two years ago, when Vietnam witnessed a wave of foreign direct investment (FDI) in textile & garment projects, the capital flow into the sector has slowed down.

 The 53 ethnic minority groups in Vietnam had a total population of 13.39 million, accounting for 14.6 percent of the country’s population (91.71 million) as by July 1, 2015, a survey revealed. 

A road map for turning Phu Quoc island offshore southern Kim Giang Province into a smart city was unveiled on the island on September 29.

 Russia’s globally-rated universities made a fact-finding tour of Vietnam from September 25-30 to seek enrolments, student exchange programmes, and connections with local partners.

Vietnamese women spend over five hours doing so-called “no-name” work such as cooking, cleaning and childcare - about 2-2.5 hours more than men. 

Deputy PM Truong Hoa Binh has agreed to spend $135 million in advance on compensating residents in the four central provices for damage from the recent environmental incident caused by Hung Nghiep Formosa.

 Vietnam and the Philippines issued a Joint Statement on the official visit on September 28-29 of President of the Republic of Philippines Rodrigo Roa Duterte to Vietnam.

The Presidents of Vietnam and the Philippines have pledged to further strengthen political and diplomatic cooperation via regular exchange of all-level visits and boosting ties on the Party, government, State, National Assembly.

  President of the Vietnam Union of Friendship Organisations (VUFO) Vu Xuan Hong presented the insignia “For peace and friendship among nations” to outgoing Japanese Ambassador Fukada Hiroshi in Hanoi on September 29.

  Deputy Foreign State Secretary Szilveszter Bus of Hungary has affirmed Hungary has endorsed the Vietnam-European Union Free Trade Agreement and will soon pass it to lay a foundation for furthering economic-trade cooperation between the two countries.

Each locality in Vietnam that has a World Heritage Site devotes special resources to the development of tourism and a unique “brand” of culture. However, the management of these sites has yielded varied results.

 Vietnamese Ambassador to Egypt and Lebanon Do Hoang Long suggested Lebanon recognise Vietnam’s full market economy status during his current visit to the Middle-east country. 

 President of Iran Hassan Rouhani will pay a State visit to Vietnam from October 5-7 at the invitation of President Tran Dai Quang, according to the Foreign Ministry’s statement. 

VietNamNet Bridge – Several years ago, Nguyen Anh Thu dropped out of school and had no way of earning an income in HCM City. Her family, originally from the Mekong Delta province of An Giang, could not afford to pay