HCMC will cooperate with a global financial group to build large financial centers in a move to attract foreign investment capital into key projects in the city, said city vice chairman Tran Vinh Tuyen.

  Indonesia overtook Thailand as Vietnam’s biggest exporter of cars under nine seats in May, said the General Department of Vietnam Customs.

 The Ministry of Industry and Trade is mapping out a new strategy for the auto industry, with highlights including an exemption of special consumption tax for local content of autos, and raising tax rates on pickups to levels now applicable to sedans.

Due to the El Niño-Southern Oscillation phenomenon, about 13-15 storms and tropical depressions are forecasted to arrive in the East Sea this year, according to the National Centre for Hydro-meteorological Forecasting.

 Ho Chi Minh City will call for investment in 130 projects in the public-private partnership (PPP) model, worth over VND380 trillion (US$16.72 billion) amid local budget limitations.

 Six months since its debut on the country’s major stock exchange, Novaland has been added to the FTSE Vietnam Index, the underlying index for db x-trackers FTSE Vietnam UCITS ETF, run by Deutsche Bank, in the index’s second quarterly review of 2017.

The latest F88 pawn store opened on Hanoi’s Hoang Hoa Tham Street on April 26, bringing the startup’s store numbers to 50 in five cities and provinces in Vietnam: Hanoi, Hai Phong, Bac Ninh, Thanh Hoa, and Bac Giang.

 National carrier Vietnam Airlines said it had achieved the business target set by its shareholder last year.

Minister of Planning and Investment Nguyen Chi Dung said the plan on setting up three special economic zones (SEZs) would be submitted to the National Assembly for approval by the end of the year.

 Vietnam will compete at the Asian Fencing Championships, which will kick off in Hong Kong on June 15.

 Cao Ngoc Ha, a Vietnamese amateur runner, has entered the top 10 of the Asia Trail Master Championship by winning the Vietnam Jungle Marathon (VJM) held in Pu Luong Nature Reserve in the central province of Thanh Hoa held from May 26-28.

 Vietnamese athletes won three gold medals on the third day of competition at the Thailand Open Track and Field Championship on June 14 in Bangkok.

The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism always considers the management, preservation and promotion of traditional culture of ethnic minority groups one of urgent, strategic and long-term tasks.

 Some 100 outstanding Vietnamese blood donors were honoured in an event to celebrate World Blood Donor Day on June 14 in Hanoi. 

 Voters have expressed their satisfaction with frank answers from ministers during the National Assembly’s question and answer session in Hanoi on June 14.  

 A draft decree on auto manufacturing, assembling, importing, and maintenance and warranty business recently publicised by the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT) is concerning industry insiders.

Over the last ten days, pepper prices have fallen from an already low $3.65 to $3.21 per kilogramme, but pepper farmers in the Central Highlands continue to hold out for higher prices.

 The 2017 U15 International Football Challenge Cup funded by the Thieu Nien Tien Phong Plastic JSC kicked off in the central city of Da Nang from June 14 with four teams from Vietnam, Taiwan (China), Myanmar, and Indonesia competing.

  The 18th National Para Games opened in HCM City on June 14, bringing together more than 1,000 athletes and coaches across the country.

 Chairman of the Cuban National Assembly Esteban Lazo Hernandez visited the northern mountainous province of Son La on June 14 as part of his official visit to Vietnam.