China’s launch of a regular air route to the airport on Phu Lam in Hoang Sa (Paracel) archipelago seriously violates Vietnam’s sovereignty over the archipelago, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Le Hai Binh said on December 23. 

VietNamNet Bridge - Economists say that 2017 is expected to be an auspicious year for Vietnam’s economy, with few signs of uncertainties.   

 Many transgender people in HCM City are risking their lives using hormones sold illegally at local shops.

 An apartment block in Hanoi has applied very high parking fees for cars, sparking angry protests from drivers.

 Thailand’s foreign direct investment into Vietnam has been increasing sharply in recent years, according to a survey report by researcher Pittaya Suvakunta from Thailand’s Thammasat University.

 The People’s Supreme Procuracy (PSP) today decided to suspend the case of the former editor-in-chief of the The Elderly newspaper.

Vice Chairman of Hanoi Department of Planning and Architecture said that it will be impossible for Hanoi to ease traffic congestion without developing public transport. Meanwhile, land allocated to transport infrastructure remains far too modest.

 Vietnam has signed and will sign 16 free trade agreements (FTA), the Government said in a report sent to the National Assembly Standing Committee.

VietNamNet Bridge - The Ministry of Finance (MOF) has opened a draft decree on the management of transfer prices in related transactions and anti-transfer pricing. 

 There has been a strong wave of migration within Vietnam over the last three decades, a recent workshop held by the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and the General Statistics Office (GSO) heard.

 Eleven seafood processing companies in the southern city of Vung Tau went on trial on December 22 when the city People’s Court returned a verdict forcing them to compensate VND13.2 billion (US$580,000) for discharging wastewater into Cha Va river.

 The Ministry of Health has announced its 10 most outstanding events for the year.

VietNamNet Bridge - Vietnam still cannot take advantage of its 3,200 kilometers of coastline, 6,500 kilometers of rivers, 126 river ports, 2,300 passenger ports and 4,800 berths.

 Vietnamese citizens may be allowed to enter a new casino at the Van Don Special Administrative-Economic Zone in northern Quang Ninh province on a trial basis.

 The Hanoi Department of Foreign Affairs has decided to remove its deputy director Nguyen Duc Hoang from his positive because Hoang has assailed former lecturer 76 year old Nguyen Khanh 

 Vietnam’s real estate market will continue to see stable development in the apartment segment with abundant supply in 2017, a conference in Hanoi on December 20 heard.

 The number of newly-established firms set a record in 2016, reflecting improvement in business confidence, following the Government’s efforts to boost reform.

 Authority of Information Security under Ministry of Information & Communications yesterday held a conference in Hue city to instruct law policies and technological measures for ensuring information security.

Minister of Industry and Trade Tran Tuan Anh has decided to hire a foreign consulting company operating in Vietnam to draft an investment plan on steel by 2025 and visions till 2035. 

 The military-run Viettel continues to be No.1 in the local telecommunications and ICT industry with high revenue, profits and contributions to the State budget in 2016, according to the Ministry of Information and Communications (MIC).