The basic salary for civil servants and public employees will increase to 1.39 million VND (about 61 USD) from the current 1.3 million VND as from July 1, 2018.

 The US Department of Commerce (DOC) on December 5 announced its preliminary affirmative ruling on corrosion-resistant steel (CORE) and certain cold-rolled steel flat products imported from Vietnam and produced from substrate originating in China.

 The Orient Commercial Joint Stock Bank (OCB) has become the first Vietnamese bank to complete the implementation of a Basel II project.

 The joint coordination committee of the Cambodia-Laos-Vietnam (CLV) Development Triangle Area will hold its 11th meeting in Vietnam’s southern province of Binh Phuoc from December 14-20.

VN National Cup champion Song Lam Nghe An (SLNA) are in Group H at the 2018 Asian Football Confederation Champions League, according to the draw at the headquarters of AFC at Kuala Lumpur held yesterday.

 Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh and Lao Foreign Minister Saleumxay Kommasith co-chaired the fourth Vietnam-Laos ministerial-level consultation in Hanoi on December 6. 

Vietnam always welcomes and creates favourable conditions for foreign investors, including those from the Republic of Korea, Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc assured Chairman of the RoK-based CJ Corporation Sohn Kyung-shik.

 The Party, Government and people of Vietnam always give the top priority to the special solidarity with Laos, Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc has said.

 The Prime Minister has issued Directive 44/CT-TTg on the organisation of the fifth national population and housing census in April, 2019. 

 The benchmark VN-Index declined for a second day on December 6, dropping 0.59 percent to close trade at 947.64 points.

VietNamNet Bridge - The Hoi An Town authorities’ decision that only local people can provide homestay services has stirred controversy.

VietNamNet Bridge - HCMC is calling for investments in projects on burning waste to generate electricity, but has warned that the equipment must be environmentally friendly. 

The public says the plan on 9,000 PhDs with a budget of VND12 trillion is unnecessary and costly, while experts say the VND12 trillion is so low that it cannot ensure the success of the program.

The Law on Amending and Supplementing a number of Articles of the Law on Credit Institutions was ratified by the National Assembly on November 20 and will take effect on January 15, 2018. 

 Nearly 200 private hospitals nationwide may lose huge numbers of patients with health insurance policies next year given a new regulation of Vietnam Social Security (VSS).

VietNamNet Bridge - BKAV Corporation has once again proved that Apple’s Face ID technology is not fully safe and should not be used in business transactions.

 Vietnam’s national cancer control strategy needed to address the serious problem of infectious agents, which cause more than 20 percent of malignancies in the world, said Prof Nguyen Chan Hung, Chairman of the Vietnam Cancer Society.

 HSBC Bank has predicted Vietnam’s inflation at 3.7% next year, driven by prices of a number of necessities and services such as healthcare, food and oil.

 As per the Vietnam Medical Association's latest study, non-communicable diseases (NCDs) are still heavy burden for the health sector. Moreover, they are by far the leading cause of death in the country.

 Boom of fast fashion trend lately in the country has offered challenges and opportunities for local textile and garment firms.