The Vietnam Students' Association (VSA) organised a ceremony in Hanoi on January 7 to honour outstanding students and organisations with “Students with Five Good Performances” title and January Star Awards 2017.

 The real estate sector ranked third in attracting foreign direct investment (FDI) to Vietnam, accounting for 8.5% of the total registered capital, which was announced at the CBRE Vietnam’s press conference on the real estate market held on January 4.

 Vietnam's rice export recorded a good year in 2017 as export volume reached 6 million tonnes, thanks to an increased demand on the world market.

 The Office of the National Assembly picked out ten prominent events of the parliament in 2017 on the 72th anniversary of the first general elections.

 Many ornamental plants and gifts featuring dog figures have been appearing in markets to serve customers looking for something special for the Year of the Dog 2018.

 Vietnam’s Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Nguyen Ngoc Thien and China’s Minister of Culture Luo Shugang agreed to continue realising the common perception of the two countries’ leaders on enhancing bilateral cooperation in culture.

 The Hanoi Stock Exchange (HNX) said that its Unlisted Public Company Market (UPCoM) welcomed 11 newly registered stock codes, increasing the total number of businesses trading on the bourse to 701 as of January 5.

 HCM City targets a serious reduction in the number of AIDS cases by 2030, according to the city’s Health Department.

Local authorities from Hong Bang District, Hai Phong City will temporarily cut the electric supply to Viet Nam-Japan Steel Corporation if the company does not deal with the environmental incident

 National Assembly Chairwoman Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan chaired a meeting on January 8 to review the preparation of the 26th Annual Meeting of the Asia-Pacific Parliamentary Forum (APPF-26).

 Total revenue in Vietnam’s insurance sector was estimated at VND105.6 trillion ($4.6 billion) in 2017, an increase of 21.2 per cent against 2016, according to the Insurance Supervisory Authority (ISA) at the Ministry of Finance (MoF).

A representative of the Ministry of Finance (MOF) said after the sales of Sabeco and Vinamilk,  PetroVietnam, Binh Son Refinery (BSR), PV Power, PV Oil and the subsidiaries of the Vietnam Rubber Group (VRG) will be put on sale in 2018.

 Increased consumption and consumer demand have in recent years made Vietnam a more desirable destination for several international retailers – one which is expected to see giant retailers embracing the omnichannel approach to retail in 2018.

 Manufacturing sector experienced a positive end to 2017, according to report accompanying Nikkei Vietnam Manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index.

 Below are the ten major events that shaped the year.

Cyber-attacks, including the rise of ransomware, cost Vietnamese users some VND12.3 trillion (542.8 million) last year, according to a report from leading local online security firm the Bach Khoa Internetwork Security Center (BKAV).

 Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc has called for strict punishment of organizations and individuals who commit violations in military land use and management.

The Ministry of Finance is once again looking at raising VAT rate from the current 10 per cent to 11 per cent in 2019 and then 12 per cent in 2020, after it issued a proposal in August last year calling for a 12 per cent rate starting next year.

The Vietnam Steel Association has asked the Ministry of Industry and Trade’s Department of Trade Defence to assist Vietnamese steel producers in anti-dumping investigations of corrosion-resistant steel and cold rolled steels launched by the US. 

 A 3.9-magnitude earthquake hit the northwestern province of Dien Bien, about 295 km west of Hanoi, at 3:14am on January 8.