In a major shift in perspective, the Government is viewing small scale projects as the best, most sustainable way of tapping the nation’s hydropower potential.

 Deputy Prime Minister Truong Hoa Binh has urged ministries, sectors and localities to finish the build-up and carrying out of the e-Government architectural framework at ministerial and provincial levels before September this year.

 The Ministry of Finance has proposed raising environmental protection taxes on oil and petroleum products from the current 3,000 VND (13 US cents) to the ceiling level of 4,000 VND (17 cents) per litre beginning July 1, 2018.

VietNamNet Bridge - Many Vietnamese in Nha Trang in Khanh Hoa province are registering businesses under their names and then transferring them to Chinese, allowing Chinese staff to work without a work permit. 

 Planning and Investment Minister Nguyen Chi Dung tells Thoi bao kinh doanh that the high spirits engendered by 2017’s impressive gains will spur socio-economic development this year and beyond.

 Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc gave the order to start construction on the Long Son Petrochemicals (LSP) Complex – the first of its kind in Vietnam – at a ceremony on February 24 in the southern province of Ba Ria-Vung Tau.

In addition to the traditional products of gold statues depicting the God of Wealth, traders are offering dog-shaped gold products, the mascot of the year, for God of Wealth Day (Caishen Day) on the tenth day of the first lunar month.

 Thousands of bunches of gladiolus flower were thrown away at a flower market in Hanoi by sellers after Tet Holiday due to low prices.

The Office of the Government said on February 23 that it will hold a meeting with representatives from business associations, enterprises, and foreign embassies regarding the obstacles on new car import regulations.

 The Vietnamese billiards team lost to South Korea 21-40 in the first Group C match at the World Championship for national teams in Viersen, Germany on February 22.

While global trade policies take place among the world’s powerful economies, small economies like Vietnam have to sustain enormous impact from the shifts in policies.

 The Government and the State Securities Commission plan to carry out key measures to develop the stock market in a rapid and effective but safe manner, Minister of Finance Dinh Tien Dung has said.

 Vietnamese Ambassador to the US Pham Quang Vinh made an official visit to Norfolk city in the US state of Virginia from February 21-22. 

 Agroforestry and seafood exports set a new trade record of US$36.37 billion in 2017, a rise of more than US$4 billion over the previous year and setting new milestones in the process.

To make a name for oneself in a foreign country is no mean feat, but to do that in Japan, that too in the early seventies and eighties, takes extraordinary resolve and perseverance, qualities that Tran Ngoc Phuc has displayed in ample measure.

Expected to account for 33 percent of Vietnam’s population by 2020, the middle class is  a major contributor to the country’s development, according to Phung Duc Tung, head of the Mekong Development Institute.

A new year has come bringing with it, as usual, many new opportunities and challenges. Many entrepreneurs and researchers believe Vietnam will enjoy good growth this year, and they see good prospects for many sectors. 

 In the Year of the Dog, let’s learn about police dogs who have had significant contributions to help border forces ensure national border security.

The use of made-in-Vietnam medicines at provincial-level hospitals has risen to 35.4 per cent since the Ministry of Health initiated an ongoing project named “Vietnamese people give priority to using made-in-Vietnam medicines” in 2012.

 VietNamNet Bridge – Farmers in central Thua Thien-Hue Province have started breeding eels to prevent the fish species from becoming extinct.