The Ministry of Science and Technology (MoST) has established a national science and technology committee to analyze and assess the reasons behind the mass fish deaths along the central and north-central coast.

Chinese investors have invested $58.5 billion in 5,011 projects in Vietnam, according to the Ministry of Planning and Investment’s Foreign Investment Agency’s statistics published on May 4.

 Deputy Minister of Information and Communication Pham Hong Hai has been introducing Vietnam’s policies and solutions in recent years to narrow the digital gap between urban and rural areas, and between the rich and the poor. 

 The upcoming operation of Idemitsu Q8 Petroleum LLC in Vietnam’s petroleum market is expected to increase the competitiveness of the local oil and gas product market and bring more benefits to local consumers, experts said.

VietNamNet Bridge - The protective forests in Kon Tum province have been ravaged in recent years.

VietNamNet Bridge - Chair of the board of directors of the Bank for Investment and Development of Vietnam (BIDV) Tran Bac Ha said the government has decided to restructure of debts of the Hoang Anh Gia Lai Group.

 United Nations (UN) Deputy Secretary General Jan Eliasson made a fact-finding trip to the southern province of Ben Tre on May 5 to find out about the impacts of ongoing drought and saline intrusion. 

Vietnam always backs Italian enterprises to boost connectivity and cooperation with Vietnamese partners and hopes to welcome more Italian investors, said President Tran Dai Quang while receiving Italian Ambassador to Vietnam Cecilia Piccioni.

 President Tran Dai Quang hosted a warm reception in Hanoi on May 5 for Chinese Ambassador to Vietnam Hong Xiaoyong.

 Deputy Foreign Minister Vu Hong Nam and Secretary of State of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation of Cambodia Ung Sean co-chaired the fifth political consultation between the two foreign ministries in Hanoi on May 5.

 Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc called on the Japanese Government to provide long-term support for Vietnam in adapting to climate change, especially drought and saline intrusion.

 Prime Minister of Kuwait Sheikh Jaber Mubarak Al-Hamad Al-Sabad starts his official visit to Vietnam at the invitation of Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc on May 6.

VietNamNet Bridge - The Vietnam Academy of Social Sciences (VASS) needed VND2 trillion to maintain its operation in the last five years. But it only had 22 ISI (Institute for Scientific Information) articles during that time.

 Technology is regarded as the key to agricultural restructuring and the solution to tackling food security and agricultural produce quality.

VietNamNet Bridge - Vietnam saw growth in the domestic software market slow down in the last five years, but outsourcing for foreign markets were higher. 

VietNamNet Bridge - The national flag air carrier’s plan to sell and lease back three A350s was approved in late 2015, before the aircraft arrive, slated for 2016 and 2017. This aims to step by step cut government-guaranteed loans.

Nokia Vietnam, now a wholly-owned subsidiary of Microsoft, must await final approval from the Ministry of Science and Technology to see if it qualifies as a hi-tech enterprise eligible for tax incentives.

The Ministry of Science and Technology worked with a visiting delegation from South Korea’s Institute of Industrial Technology and enterprises in HCM City on May 5 to share information and promote cooperation in this field.

 Candidates for the seats in the 14th National Assembly (NA) and all-level People’s Councils for the 2016 – 2021 term are engaging in activities to be elected.

VietNamNet Bridge – According to Vietnam law, income from the transfer of real estate and projects must pay tax at the rate of 20%. At this rate, tax revenues from the transfer of Big C may reach $206 million.