Member parliaments of the Asia-Pacific Parliamentary Forum (APPF) have played a significant role in fostering regional connectivity and cooperation to propel economic-trade development and integration.

 Although global cashew demand is predicted to continue rising, the Vietnam Cashew Association (Vinacas) and cashew processors and exporters are worrying about a high price trap which may affect their activities in 2018.

 The Government has to pay debt totaling at least US$28.8 million a year to the Chinese side for the Cat Linh-Ha Dong urban railway in Hanoi City, news website VnEconomy.vn reports.

 Vietnam Air Traffic Management Corporation (VATM) is planning to build a new air traffic control center worth VND1.4 trillion in HCMC as the existing one at Tan Son Nhat International Airport is getting outdated.

The VN National University – Hanoi has become the first educational institution to recognize the American assessment test for university admissions as students are allowed to submit their SAT results to apply for entrance to the university.

 Vietnam’s leadership has strongly re-affirmed the important role that foreign direct investment has played and will be playing as one of the mainstays in Vietnam’s socio-economic development.

 Modern retail channels are taking off in Vietnam with the entry of newcomers and expansions by existing players.

 The technical glitches that caused the southern bourse to shut down for two days have finally been fixed. Securities firms said that they could have lost an estimated $1.2 million in commissions as a result of the closure.

On January 22, the trading system of the HSX stumbled upon a major technical fault, causing the bourse to power down for two days. Le Hai Tra, acting chaiman of HSX, talked about the causes and effects of the technical plight.

Most oil field exploitation in Vietnam is in the final stage. This has led to a decline in oil & gas output. 

 China imported phones and phone parts worth US$7.15 billion from Vietnam last year, up nearly eight-fold against 2016, according to a newly-released report by the General Department of Vietnam Customs.

 Gardeners in Ba Bo flower village, BinhThuy district in Can Tho city have been busily tending to their flower nurseries as they prepare for the Lunar New Year festival (Tet).

Workers in HCM City are putting finishing touches to miniature landscapes with flower and ornamental trees in preparation for the flower show scheduled for February 13-19 along Nguyen Hue Pedestrian Street.

 The Nguyen Hue Flower Street 2017, the biggest annual event welcoming the lunar New Year, will be opened to the public on the evening of February 13.

Vietnamese representative Tuong Linh took home the Miss Popularity award as she finished in the top 18 of Miss Intercontinental 2017.

 A man in the central province of Ha Tinh has been fined VND38 million (USD1,727) after he threatened local people with a handgun after causing a traffic accident.

 Vietnam and the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) will accelerate the signing of a free trade agreement (FTA) in the first half of 2018.

 The Ho Chi Minh City's Department of Construction said that its plan to remove 20,000 shanty houses on and along local canals by 2020 may not be realised due to various challenges.

 In the face of the growing momentum of urbanisation, Vietnam is looking for ways to pursue urban green growth.

 2018 is slated to be a positive year for the Vietnamese dong, thanks to Vietnam’s stable macroeconomics and strong capital inflows. However, analysts differ on how strong Vietnam’s currency will be at the end of the year.