Capital contributions and share purchases by foreign investors via mergers and acquisitions (M&A) deals amounted to around US$1.8 billion in the first five months of the year, up a whopping 116.2% compared to the same period last year.

 Vietnam’s first art painting live show is expected to take place in Ho Chi Minh Television’s theatre on July 29 and the Pham Hong Minh, 1991, born in Binh Dinh will be the first artist to make it.

 District authorities said that it is difficult to encourage laborers in rural districts to take park in vocational training courses and it is more difficult to find suitable jobs for them.

 Around 30,000 Vietnamese farmers in 9 provinces in the country will be trained to use internet for their work by Google over the next three years.

 The USS Coronado (LCS 4) is conducting an Expeditionary Preventive Maintenance Availability as part of a technical visit to Cam Ranh International Port in south-central Khanh Hoa province from June 11 to 15.

 China was Vietnam’s largest trade partner in the first five months of this year, with turnover of $32.76 billion, up 23.6 per cent year-on-year, according to General Department of Vietnam Customs.

 Many wells in the southern province of Dong Nai have been found to be contaminated with petrol which is the cause for them to catch fire.

The Ministry of Construction has proposed importing sand due to apparent domestic shortages. 

 The Dam Sen Water Park in HCM City has just been fined VND45 millions for organising a show featuring female dancers in bikinis which has caused public outcry.

 The steel industry is predicted to grow by 12-15 per cent in the next five years, the Viet Nam Steel Association (VSA) reported at a June 12 workshop in HCM City.

 Residents in two communes of the southern province of Binh Dinh have raised a heated protest against titanium mining activities, citing pollution concerns.

South Korea-based CJ Entertainment company, in co-operation with its Vietnamese partner, Yeah1 CMG, has completed a new film on teenage love in hopes of drawing young audiences.

Eight years ago, a 24-year-old man from the Mekong Delta Province of Dong Thap, who identified as gay at the time, decided he wanted to change his gender.

More frequent and severe natural disasters in Viet Nam due to climate change can push children into child labour if proper preventive measures are not taken, the International Labour Organisation (ILO) has warned.

 In the first five months of this year, auctions held on the Hanoi Stock Exchange (HNX) raised VNĐ2.42 trillion (US$107 million), a year on year increase of 24 per cent.

 Four universities in Vietnam have been evaluated and accredited for meeting international standards by the High Council for Evaluation of Research and Higher Education (HCERES) in France.

The Thuy Ta Ice-cream Joint Stock Company will trade three million shares on the Unlisted Public Company Market (UPCoM) on June 20.

Japanese actress and MC Rika Takeuchi has been crowned Miss Vietnam Festival in Japan.

Two lacquer paintings by artists Nguyen Gia Tri and Phi Phi Oanh are being exhibited at gallery 1 of the National Gallery of Singapore.

 People in Hanoi and throughout the Southeast Asian country of Vietnam are starting to wake up and realize the gravity of the country’s air pollution problem, Nguy Thi Khanh told an air quality panel this past May.