Keeping up the momentum from the previous year, the Vietnamese economy got off to a good start in 2019 with many robust macroeconomic indices in the first month.

 The charter capital of Vietcombank has risen by 3 percent to $1.6 billion after its recent sale of more shares to two strategic investors - the Singaporean investment fund GIC Private Limited and Japan’s Mizuho Bank.

 The amount of scrap imported into Vietnam is likely to rise considerably, the Ministry of Finance has warned.

 The State Bank of VN net injected more than VND47.5 trillion (US$2 billion) into the open market operation last week to support the liquidity of the banking system amid rising capital demands at the end of the year.

 The Vietnamese government will continue provided loans for low-income homebuyers at affordable interest rates in a bid to ensure sufficient housing supply for a large number of people.

 Listed companies and public enterprises owned fully or partially by the State are required to start internal audits on April 1, 2019.

 A draft regulation that would require banks to provide details of customers’ accounts to tax authorities which has caused controversy has been removed from the latest version of the draft Law on Tax Management.

 Delivery services, especially items for Tet (Lunar New Year), are working hard to meet the surge in demand in the run-up to the year’s biggest holiday in HCM City.

 Deputy Prime Minister Trinh Dinh Dung has approved a project to enhance air connectivity.

 Jewellery sales are booming ahead of the Lunar New Year early next month.

 The Republic of Korea (RoK) was the largest export market for Vietnamese squid and octopus last year, accounting for 40 per cent of the total value, according to the Viet Nam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP).

 The mass trade of imitation products and a lack of Geographical Indication (GI) are seen as major reasons behind falling prices for Ly Son garlic, the product known as the ‘King of Garlic.’

Although not yet a pomelo growing area, in recent years, ornamental pomelo trees planted by farmers in Kim An commune (Hanoi’s Thanh Oai district) have come to customers’ houses on the occasion of the Tet. 

VietNamNet Bridge - Meeting barriers in export markets, Vietnamese garment companies are trying to return to the domestic market. 

Disbursement of FDI projects in Vietnam in January jumped to US$1.55 billion, representing an increase of 9.2% year-on-year as the US-China trade spat continue to unnerve global investos.

VietNamNet Bridge - Surveys conducted by groups of researchers have all concluded that the number of students suffering from anxiety and depression is on the rise.

 Hanoi has set a goal this year to limit the imbalance of the sex ratio at birth and keep the rate at 113 girls per 100 boys.

 Minister of Public Security To Lam, and Chairman of the General Department of Politics of the Vietnam People’s Army Luong Cuong have been promoted from the rank of Senior Lieutenant General to General.

 Vietnam’s tuna exports are expected to thrive in 2019 as several obstacles regarding origin certification have been removed, said the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP).

Dinh La Thang, board chairman of PVN between 2006 and 2011, was found to have appointed an incompetent contractor to take charge of an ethanol plant in the northern province of Phu Tho.