Four large State-owned banks asked the Government to allow them to either retain their profits or pay dividends in shares rather than cash until 2020 to raise capital, enabling them to meet Basel II standards as required by the central bank.

 V.League 1 defending champions Hanoi FC will compete in the Thailand’s most prestigious pre-season tournament next week.

 Today the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership, CPTPP, enters into force in Vietnam after going live on December 30, 2018 for six Pacific Basin countries.

 The northern province of Nam Dinh will host the National Wrestling Tournament on March 15.

 A doctor in the central province of Quang Tri has been receiving widespread praise for having used 15 cans of beer (five litres) to bringing a male patient back from the brink of alcohol poisoning.

 Bamboo Airways, the fifth airline to launch in Vietnam, will start operating flights from January 16.

 The Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters & Producers (VASEP) are optimistic about Vietnamese catfish exports in 2019, anticipating revenues of between USD2.2bn-2.3bn.

 Australia has committed to providing AUD 10 million to help Vietnam strengthen the national innovation system.

 The Ministry of Finance will scrutinize amendments to tax law policy in 2019, centred on some measures aimed at preventing base erosion and profit shifting (BEPS) and restructure tax revenue sources.

 The Department of Transportation of Ho Chi Minh City plans to deploy 70 traffic projects in 2019, in order to boost the implementation of programmes to reduce traffic congestion and accidents in the city.

 Over 200,000 old automobiles ply the country’s roads though they are no longer licensed to do so, posing a threat to the community, without authorities finding a way to stop them.

 The Vietnamese Government has paid considerable attention to Samsung’s investment projects in Viet Nam and will continue to create favourable conditions for the firm to do business in the country.

 Logistics fees in Vietnam account for nearly 21 percent of the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP), with transport making up 60 percent of the figure, twice as much as some developed economies.

 Vietnam’s real estate market will see strong development in the middle-end apartment segment, according to experts.

Ho Chi Minh City made socio-economic development improvements while still dealing with problems inherited from previous years.

 A three-hour gala featuring cai luong (reformed opera) was held on Nguyen Hue Pedestrian Street in Ho Chi Minh City on January 13.

 The Garmin Run Hanoi will be held for the first time on March 24 at Gamuda Yen So Park.

 Coach Nguyen Quoc Tuan has called up 30 players for the ASEAN U22 Football Championship in Cambodia next month.

 The French Ministry of Foreign Affairs said there are no Vietnamese citizens recorded among victims of the January 12 gas-leak blast in Paris.

 A stone wind instrument initially believed to date back about a thousand years ago was recently discovered on the Bui Hui grassland of Ba To district, the central province of Quang Ngai.