VietNamNet Bridge - Setting caught animals free is a behavior praised in Buddhist teachings, but releasing harmful exotic species can damage the environment, experts warn. 

Flowers of the perennial tree known scientifically as Dalbergia tonkinensis or sưa in Vietnamese usually bloom in late March when Hanoi’s streets are in the wet of drizzle. But this year the flowering season has come one month earlier than usual. 

 Some 490 foreigners registered for e-visas from Vietnam, with 210 approved by the Ministry of Public Security’s Department of Immigration, according to the department.

 Vehicles offering taxi services on technology platforms such as GrabTaxi and Uber must place a “TAXI” sign on their roof when on the road, the Hanoi People’s Committee has proposed.

 The Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT) has proposed 20 industries from which private organizations are banned, in the latest draft decree on goods and services under State monopoly.

 The Ministry of Finance has confirmed the tax obligation of overseas-based online hotel booking service providers with Vietnam-sourced income.

 Supported by strong liquidity in 2016, a range of foreign invested real estate projects in major Vietnamese cities is expected to launch for sale in 2017.

CEO of Cisco Vietnam Luong Thi Le Thuy talked about her experience leading Cisco Vietnam as well as Cisco’s role in helping Vietnamese companies and the government become more competitive as the world undergoes a digital transformation.

 Foreign breweries’ thirst for the Vietnamese beer market has by no means been quenched.

 PetroVietnam may not have to purchase the products of Nghi Son Refinery and Petrochemical Complex (NSRP) at the preferential price earlier agreed upon.

With Apple’s recent decision to produce iPhones in India, and with its rumoured plans in Vietnam seeing no news/mention at all, Vietnam may have to reconsider its business environment and incentives for investors in electronics manufacturing.

 In a bid to raise capital and improve medical treatment services, Hanoi is seeking both local and foreign investors to buy stakes in public hospitals it owns.

 Made-in-China trucks which had once dominated the Vietnamese market are facing the slow sales since early 2016.

 The first among 13 trains imported from China for Cat Linh-Ha Dong urban railway route in Hanoi has been transported to Vietnam.

No injuries were reported after a fire broke out on board a tourist junk on Ha Long Bay on Monday afternoon. 

 The paucity of skilled IT (information technology) workers in the country was highlighted as the FPT Corporation opened its second software village, F-Ville 2, in Ha Noi on February 13.

 Hanoi authorities propose to issue badges for Uber and Grab taxis as they currently do with traditional taxi companies.

 Investment funds are expected to perform better this year, following the successful 2016, on expectations that more individual investors will purchase their own investments, reported Dau tu Chung khoan (Securities Investment) newspaper.

 A fire that broke out at two sites of a bus assembly plant early this month destroyed spare parts and components worth VND250 billion (US$11 million).

 Viet Nam will have some 116 warehouses at the border gates with Laos and Cambodia by 2035, according to the Ministry of Industry and Trade.