The Finance Ministry’s proposal to almost triple the environmental protection tax on oil and gas consumption would reduce businesses’ competitiveness against foreign firms, according to the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

 Vietnam set a target to increase its forest coverage to 41.45 percent to raise the timber export value to over 7.5 billion USD by 2020, said Ha Cong Tuan, Deputy Minister of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.

 Police of Ho Chi Minh City has smashed a ring  trafficking drugs from China to the southern city of Vietnam, seizing 14kg of methamphetamine and detaining six dealers involved.

 The first APEC Senior Officials’ Meeting (SOM 1) in 2017 holds a significant meaning in reasserting APEC’s determination to boost cooperation for growth and connectivity in the Asian-Pacific region.

 Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh said he is happy with important progress in the cooperation between Vietnam and India while hosting the Indian Ambassador to Vietnam in Hanoi on February 9.

 Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc has proposed VNA and the Republic of Korea’s Yonhap News Agency to continue strengthening multi-dimensional cooperative ties.

 President Tran Dai Quang urged Vietnam and Uzbekistan to fully tap their cooperation potential in various fields while receiving Uzbekistan’s Deputy Prime Minister and  Minister of Agriculture and Water Resources Mirzaev Zoyir in Hanoi on February 9.

 The Ministry of Foreign Affairs is closely coordinating with relevant agencies to implement Vietnam’s policy on e-visa granting to foreigners to Vietnam.

 Israeli President Reuven Rivlin has received Vietnam’s Deputy Defence Minister Nguyen Chi Vinh, affirming the support that he and the State and the Government of his country give to defence ties with Vietnam.

VietNamNet Bridge - Vietlott and traditional lotteries, casinos, and dog and horse races are causing social problems, some people contend, but experts believe they are a normal part of the market economy.

 More hotels have got underway in Hanoi, indicating that the capital city is growing attractive to hotel investors.

More than 50 serious pollution cases were discovered in 2016, including the mass fish deaths in four provinces of Ha Tinh, Quang Binh, Quang Tri and Thua Thien-Hue in the central region.

VietNamNet Bridge - On January 10, 2017, for the first time in Vietnam’s physics history, an article about nuclear physics by Vietnamese authors was published in an international scientific journal.

The confrontation between Vuivui and Tiki, one of the most successful e-commerce firms in Vietnam, which is supported by VNG, is expected to be an interesting story in 2017.

VietNamNet Bridge - In mid-January 2017, the Publishing & Printing Department of Vietnam asked publishing houses to stop releasing books about love stories, called ‘Truyen ngon tinh’ in Vietnamese. 

 More and more Japanese agribusinesses are entering Vietnam and other growth markets in Asia amid dim prospects at home, according to Nikkei Asian Review.

 There are 204 domestic social networks in operation in the fields of music, sport, science and technology, health, medical, lotteries, cinema, wedding services, and food.

 Five more venues to facilitate lethal injections will be built in Vietnam in the coming time according to the Ministry of Public Security.

 Vietnam has been outperforming and it looks like it will continue to do so.

 Some segments did better than others in Vietnam’s real estate sector in 2016 but overall trends are positive.