Although hundreds of thousands of university graduates fail to secure jobs, students and their families still hope to attend university at any cost—leaving vocational schools struggling to attract enough students to operate.

 Vietnam’s exports in 2017 were fruitful despite many difficulties caused by natural disasters and import markets. 

Sedge mats made by Xuan Duc village in Nam Dinh have been in presence of Vietnamese people lives throughout the course of history. However, the craft of making sedge mats in the village is on verge of extinction.

 VietNamNet Bridge – After winning the Golden Ball award 2017, captain of V.League 1 champions Quang Nam, Dinh Thanh Trung says he and the national team aim to win the AFF Cup this year.

 VietNamNet Bridge – You want to change VND100,000 into smaller denominations, so you pay VND150,000, a 150 per cent commission or “service charge.”

Skilled grafter Le Duc Giap from Thanh Oai district, Hanoi can earn hundreds of millions of Vietnam dong during the traditional Lunar New Year (Tet) by selling pomelo trees which he has engrafted with up to 10 different varieties of fruit.

 VietNamNet Bridge – In 2017, some 22 people died and 46 were injured each day due to traffic accidents nationwide.

The collection ‘The Beauty of Light’ is a gentle connection between two like-minded souls celebrating the beauty of light in daily life.

 The Year of the Rooster has been a rollercoaster ride for foreign banks in Vietnam: one received a licence to expand, two trimmed down their business scopes, while others decided to divest their stake in domestic banks.

The biggest M&A deals were in a variety of business fields, especially the real estate and banking sectors.

 The import tax for cars imported from ASEAN has been slashed to 0% from January 1, 2018, which is expected to raise the country’s car ownership rate which remains low compared to regional averages.

 Smog that has appeared frequently in Ho Chi Minh City, with the most recent recorded on January 3 morning, shows that local air pollution is now at an alarming level, an expert has said.

 The end of the lunar year is a busy time for the blacksmiths of Phuc Sen village in the northern mountainous province of Cao Bang. 

The use of herbal medicine is on the rise among Vietnamese in recent years, but concerns about management and arbitrary pricing are growing, too. 

 Due to the recovery of the credit market throughout the year 2017, plenty of banks announced positive business performance with increased profits whilst fostering asset trading, risk management, and control over non-performing loans.

 Despite being the world leading exporter of Robusta coffee, Vietnam has to import instant coffee to meet special customers’ needs and a huge volume of green coffee beans every year from Laos and China for processing and exports.

 The Drug Crime Investigation Department (PC47) under Ho Chi Minh City Police on January 5 uncovered two drug trafficking cases and arrested two people for illegal trading and stockpiling of ecstasy, ketamine and heroin.

 The Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Processors (VASEP) has projected shrimp exports to continue gathering momentum this year, particularly in the EU and China.

 The Vietnam Peacekeeping Department, which was upgraded from the Vietnam Peacekeeping Centre of the Ministry of National Defence, made its debut at a ceremony held in Hanoi on January 5.

 Ha Noi Stock Exchange has approved Garment 10 Corporation Joint Stock Company (GARCO 10) to list 18.9 million shares on Unlisted Public Company Market (UPCoM) on January 10.