Bank loans for the property sector are estimated at some VND150 trillion (US$6.7 billion) this year, a 14.2% pickup from a year earlier, according the HCMC Real Estate Association (HoREA).

 Vietnam’s Ministry of Public Security and the Royal Thai Police held the first high-level dialogue on security issues in Bangkok on December 20.

 The fourth court conference of border provinces of Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia is taking place in Nha Trang city, the central province of Khanh Hoa from December 20-21, attracting 120 chief judges, judges and court officials. 

 Canada and Vietnam boast a great opportunity to promote their bond, especially in trade, investment, official development assistance (ODA), education-training and people-to-people exchange.

 Vietnam strongly condemns the assassination of Russian Ambassador to Turkey Andrey Karlov, the Foreign Ministry’s Spokesman Le Hai Binh said on December 20.

 Top government leaders of Vietnam and Cambodia have expressed wishes to cement and develop bilateral ties in the spirit of “good neighbourliness, traditional friendship, all-faceted and long-lasting cooperation”. 

 Tima, a Vietnamese peer-to-peer (P2P) lending tech platform, successfully gathered Series A funds from a Singaporean investor.

 Viet Nam paid US$8.27 billion on importing equipment and machines from China in the past 11 months of 2016, according to the General Department of Customs.

 Electricity of Viet Nam (EVN) on December 20 inaugurated the Lai Chau hydro-electricity plant in Nam Nhun District in the northern mountain province of Lai Chau.

 Vietnamese top tennis player Ly Hoang Nam eased into the second round of the Thailand F5 Futures in Huahin today.

 Two young hangliders, Hai Yen and Tuan Dung, celebrated their love with a unique wedding ceremony recently on the western outskirts of Hanoi.

 Students of the HCM City Open University are performing 19 English plays adapted from American novels and short stories, most of them award winning and made into films, at the university’s Go Vap District campus.

 Hoang Thu Thao won the best national costume award and was among the top 10 at Miss Tourism International 2016, which was held on December 18 in Shanghai, China.

 The Ministry of Finance has asked agencies and enterprises under its umbrella to efficiently use State-owned cars and implement taxi fare subsidies to certain officials instead of offering them State-owned cars.

Viet Nam will open its first ever astronomical observatory in Nha Trang next March, according to the Viet Nam National Satellite Centre (VNSC).

Three women have been arrested for illegally selling value-added tax (VAT) invoices which were estimated at more than VNĐ1 trillion (US$44.4 million), according to the Ha Noi police.

The Christmas Concert in Hanoi on December 19 got heated by the highly impressive performances of world pop star Richard Marx and Vietnamese singers Thanh Lam and Ha Tran.

Protecting, maintaining and restoring ecosystems, especially water systems, is among the most urgent tasks for strengthening the country’s resilience to climate change.

 Vietnam are in Group A of the 2017 ASEAN Football Federation U15 girls’ football tournament, according the event’s draw.

A new printed monthly Vietnamese magazine specializing in mathematics will be published from January 2017.